8.

B2B Communication

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Marketing Communications – some differences
 Communications in B2B markets
o Relatively few customer to talk to.
o Person-to-person communications often a possibility.
o Complex DMU or buying group.
o Hundreds of others attempting to persuade at the same time.
o Different techniques from B2C needed.
o Messages will have a high rational content.
o Feedback more immediate.
o Used to build long-term relationships with individual companies.

 Communications in B2C markets

o Mass markets consisting of millions of customers.
o Methods other than person-to-person must be used.
o Individual or simple DMU.
o Thousands attempting to talk at the same time.
o Different techniques from B2B needed.
o Messages will have a high emotional content.
o Feedback complex.
o Attempt to build long-term relationships with market segments.
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Corporate communications
 Internal stakeholders
 Managers, workers, workers’ families, trade unions
 Shareholders

 External stakeholders
 Value/distribution chain members; suppliers, producers and intermediaries
 Local community
 Trade and professional bodies
 Local and national government, politicians
 Independent legal and regulatory bodies
 Pressure groups, environmentalists, moral campaigners
 Financiers, the ‘City’
 Media, newspapers, TV, etc.
 Customers, DMU
 Competition.

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Marketing Communications
 Importance of audience targeting

 Unintentional and intentional communications in

B2B markets
 Where the company is situated
 The manner and way the company operates.
 Products and services marketed and sold

 Strategic communication integration

 Communications and relationship marketing

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Understanding basic communications
 Sender, medium and receiver
 Noise and feedback in B2C
 Time and costs.
 o Misidentification of target audience.
 o Poor encoding in the message for the target segment perhaps using more or
 less emotion and rationality.
 o Poor decoding by receiver because of target audience level of understanding
 and readiness to receive.
 o Messages sent at any time but must be the ‘right’ time for the target audience.
 o Poor decoding because wrong medium used.
 o A multitude of competitive messages can cause confusion, hostility, cynicism
 or rejection.
 o Feedback by research and representative sample

 Noise and feedback in B2B

 More difficult to misidentify target audience.
 o DMU complex and it is possible not to ‘hit’ all members.
 o Decision-maker too busy to listen.
 o Messages sent predominantly during work time.
 o Competition based on use and functionality, not emotion, i.e. the message
 must offer a real difference.
 o Feedback by personal contact not taken seriously.
 Medium – person to person, non-human media

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Internal marketing communications

o Open door policies, talking to one another

o ‘Walking the talk’
o Regular meetings, conferences
o Training and coaching sessions
o Company newsletters and magazines
o Telephone
o Comment-boxes
o E-mail
o Video-conferencing
o Intranet
o Access to customer feedback.

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Barriers to internal marketing communication

 Unawareness at the highest level of

management of its strategic importance.
 Lack of a formal (or informal) strategic approach.
 Lack of realistic communications systems.
 Bureaucratic, multi-layer structures.
 Corporate functions, such as marketing,
administration, human resources, finance and
production, not talking to one another.
 Inward looking, blame-fearing culture.

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Managing B2B Marketing Communications
 Marketing, communications and corporate brand - B2C
and B2B
 Marketing communication strategies
 The target audience in B2B
 Two-level approach
 The DMU in large organizations
 The DMU in smaller organizations
 Characteristics of B2B target audiences
 Complex DMU, variable number of members with differing decision-making
 Make-up of the DMU can change.
 Buying for the organization so communications on a rational level.
 Levels of supplier awareness.
 Relatively few company buyers, easy to contact.
 Views of the individual important.
 Can be localized or spread around the globe.
 Advertising corporate rather than product brand.
 Depth of product/company awareness high.

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Characteristics of B2C target audiences

 Segmentation into large groups.

 Mass audience, can be difficult to communicate with.
 Simple DMU, e.g. husband and wife.
 Views of individuals relatively unimportant.
 Views of the segment important.
 Buying for self so communications on emotional as well
as rational level.
 Advertising product as well as corporate brand.
 Depth of product/company awareness minimal.

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Communication and promotional methods
 Advertising
 Sales promotions
 Merchandising, packaging
 Direct response
 Public relations (PR)
 Publicity
 Exhibitions
 Sponsorship
 Word of mouth
 Personal selling

Different techniques achieve different communication objectives

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Communication and promotional methods

 AIDA hierarchy of effects model

 Different customers on different levels of the hierarchy
 Simple and complex communications theory
 Setting clear communications objectives
 SMART objectives
 Measurable objectives must be set for the levels of awareness achieved by
the advertising.
 Measurable objectives must be set for the levels and intensity of interest
achieved by the trade magazine.
 Measurable objectives must be set for the depth of the desire created by the
direct mail shots and telephone calls.
 Measurable objectives must be set for the personal selling, the only objective
in term of sales volumes. The rest are set in terms of customer behavior.
 Ongoing marketing communications

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A promotional campaign

 The concept of DAGMAR

 B2B communications and promotional

techniques
o Used to achieve different corporate and product objectives.
o Move the audience from unawareness through to action.
o All good at different things.
o Reach different target audiences
o To suit the amount of budget available.

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Advertising
 B2B advertising objectives
o Informing
o Educating
o Persuading
o Reinforcing
o Selling
 The media mix (above the line communications)
 TV advertising
 Print
 Newspapers
 Magazines
 Specialist magazines
 Journals and directories
 Online magazines and directories

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Advantages and Disadvantages for B2B
advertisers using the print media

 Advantages
 Accurate targeting
 Figures available
 Mass coverage.
 Longevity and high opportunity
 More detail
 Coupon, telephone, e-mail response
 Costs
 Disadvantages
 Demands active participation
 Adverts are easily missed.

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Communication and promotional methods
 Radio
 Outdoor advertising
 Website uses
 Integrate website with company media use
 Design and content opportunities covering film, color, sound and movement and
interaction.
 Information, transaction, marketing and promotional uses.
 Sales and sales auctions
 Extranet allows secure interaction of all kinds backwards and forwards along the
supply chain.
 Intranet allows secure information and transactions to take place within the
organization and its divisions around the world.
 Multimedia opportunities, e.g. communications delivered direct to the place of
work and through the modem or TV at home.
 Almost limitless global reach potential.
 One-to-one relationships can be developed.
 Competition restricted at the point of contact.
 Opportunities abound across the whole range of communications

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Below the line and new media methods

o Mail
o Magazines

o Newspapers
o Telemarketing (on the telephone)

o Broadcast direct (TV, radio)

o The internet, extranet and intranet

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Below the line and new media methods

 Direct mail
 Direct response in magazines and directories
 Direct response in broadcasting
 Telemarketing and direct response
 Direct response and the internet
 Junk messages
 Direct response customer lists

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Direct response, relationship and database
marketing
Use as part of a customer relationship management program,


communicating and obtaining customer feedback and undertaking

continuous marketing research.
 To send information, leaflets or catalogues or to invite the respondent to
send in for a catalogue.
 To send out invitations to seminars, conferences or product launches.
 To attempt to make sales appointments, sell products directly.
 To inform prospects that a telephone call, letter, fax or e-mail will follow.
 To open new accounts.

Direct response advantages include:

 Direct relationship with the customer, bypassing the intermediary, thus allowing
relationships to be built.
 Relatively inexpensive way of making and maintaining customer contact.
 Solo contact with the customer cutting out the competition.
 A quick way of contact when speed could be of the essence.
 Often the only way to make contact with the decision-maker

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Point-of-purchase and merchandising in B2B

Used for:
 Setting the right ambience for the product display.
 Enhancing the product and attracting attention.
 Supplying its take-away information about product and
services.
 Generating sales leads.
 Disadvantages might be costly promotional material
never used.

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Point-of-purchase and merchandising in B2B

 Exhibitions and trade fairs

 To make new contacts, make appointments and take leads for the sales staff to
follow up.
 To meet existing customers, reinforce relationships, generate goodwill and
improve public relations.
 To show off the product range as well as new innovations.
 To gather market research, examine competitors’ products/services, new
technology and innovations.
 To sell products and services.

 Disadvantages of exhibitions include:

o Lack of clear objectives.
o Can be time consuming.
o Opportunity cost of using sales staff to look after the exhibition stand.

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Point-of-purchase and merchandising in B2B

 Sales and trade promotions

 To persuade buyer to make an appointment to see the supplier representative.
 To lower buyer risk and encourage trial of a new company, product or service.
 To encourage larger purchases and so block out the competition.
 To shift stock from the supplier warehouse so more or new can be bought.
 To motivate sales staff.

 Disadvantages of a B2B promotion include:

 Sales tend to increase during the sales promotion and then decrease as soon as
it stops.
 It can encourage ‘cherry picking’ – only buying sales promotion stock

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Point-of-purchase and merchandising in B2B

 Public relations and publicity

 Events and similar activities
 Sponsorship
 News conferences
 Press and broadcast releases
 Lobbying.
 Uncontrolled publicity
 Publicity and word of mouth
 Sponsorship
 Corporate hospitality

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Personal Selling

 B2B
 Sales representatives employed to market goods and services to other
businesses, in both the public and private sectors, for use in the
business.
 Sales representatives used by a B2B wholesaler to sell on to other
businesses for their own use.

 B2C
 Sales representatives used to sell producer branded goods and services
to wholesalers or retailers to sell on to the end consumer.
 Salespeople used to sell goods and services direct from the producer or
manufacturer to the end consumer.
 Salespeople used in retail outlets to sell direct to the end consumer.

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Strategic and operational role of selling in B2B
marketing
 Opening new accounts.
 Monitoring and building existing accounts.
 Communicating and imparting information and advice.
 Gathering customer, market and competitor information.
 Acting in a PR role as the supplier’s representative in the
marketplace.
 Dealing with complaints, coming up with solutions and solving
problems anywhere relevant along the supply chain.
 Promoting benefits and persuading purchase of products, services.
 Acting as the buyer’s representative within the supplier organization.
 Negotiating price, terms and conditions in both long-term and
transactional negotiations.
 Working with other functions within the organization as well as with
other channel members.
 Contributing to the implementation and running of a CRM program

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CRM
 Combining all supplier business functions and processes, both
internal and external
 Building a value-based sales force
 Change management
 Benefits of CRM
 Better and stronger customer loyalty
 Better customer management
 Better focus
 Improved customer service
 Reduced costs
 Increased revenue
 Partnership agreements
 Enhanced profitability
 Innovation opportunities

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Why CRM programs fail?

 No real strategic commitment from senior managers.

 Too many staff entrenched in old ways of working.
 Not enough commitment, understanding, knowledge and skill
development for the staff.
 Internal politics and individual/departmental objectives working
against the overall CRM business objectives.
 Poor and misunderstood IT processes and systems.
 Lack of integration across all involved areas.
 Poor implementation, monitoring and control mechanisms.
 Different level of readiness for global divisions and countries

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Managing the sales force
 The Sales Manager : managing the sales staff and activities
 Sales Objectives: to fit with overall marketing objectives,
demand and sales forecasts, breaking down sales targets, new accounts,
promotions, collecting and communicating informations
 Sales Strategies: direct or indirect, in-house or using
 outsourcing, the size of the sales management team and skills required, and
the make-up of the sales team needed
 Sales Force Organization: depend on factors such as
costs, size of the company, type of product, number of customers and
geographical spread.
 Sales Force Administration: support and back-up in
recruitment, selection and induction training, as well as ongoing coaching
and management development. Industrial marketing will often need
specialist salespeople

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Marketing communications and promotional campaigns
 Marketing communications
 Promotional campaigns
 Promotion Mix for B2B markets can be different from that
for B2C
 Communication more technical in nature.
 Relatively small number of potential buyers.
 The geographical dispersion of customers.
 Complex nature and time length of the buying process.
 Decision making often the result of group discussions.
 Customers have more knowledge and understanding.
 Individual customers more important and more difficult to replace.
 Fewer alternative products and services.
 Fewer competitors.
 Customer and supply chain relationships more important.

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Marketing communications and promotional campaigns

 Integrated marketing communications (IMC) and

promotional campaigns
 Measuring communication and promotional
performance
 Methods of budgeting for marketing
communications
 By what the company can afford – most popular method
 The same as last year with or without a percentage increase
 As a percentage of current or expected turnover or profit.
 Based on the industry and market norm

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B2B marketing and advertising agencies

Services include
 Target identification and benefits wanted
 Corporate and product positioning
 Strategy choice
 Message construction
 Media selection
 Media payment
 Sales support
 Research, monitoring and control
 Integrating the whole communications effort.

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