What is B2B Marketing? Getting the basic concepts from scratch
Have you ever heard the term "B2B marketing" in your business and market development process, but felt that it seems to be very far away from your industry? In fact, B2B marketing (Business to Business Marketing) is a marketing strategy designed specifically for business-to-business business behavior, and this is precisely the marketing knowledge that most traditional industries and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan are most likely to overlook, but need to master.
Simply put, B2B marketing is different from the B2C marketing (Business to Consumer) that you are familiar with. While B2C is for consumers, B2B is for other companies, organizations, and vendors. You may be a manufacturer, a trading company, an equipment supplier, or any industry where businesses are the primary customers, then the marketing you are doing is essentially B2B marketing. For example, your products may not be sold directly to consumers, but rather to distributors, agents, brands or other businesses to sell, process or apply, which is the most typical B2B transaction model.
B2B marketing is not just about exposure or attracting foot traffic, it's about building long-term trust, presenting a professional image, and getting the other business to recognize that your solution can truly create value for them, which is an important part of the marketing funnel. This is why B2B marketing is often less about promotions and discounts than B2C marketing, and more about professionalism, brand trust, partnership and industry reputation.
Many SMEs think that "we can rely on our relationship, we don't need marketing", but nowadays, when customers are looking for suppliers, partners, and manufacturers, they mostly start with the "marketing" concept.Google Search, LinkedIn,Industry WebsitesIf you don't have the basics of marketing in place, your competitors will already have your customers online. This is why B2B marketing is a must learn.
Definition and Characteristics of B2B Marketing
The core definition of B2B marketing is to help a business promote its goods or services to another business, not the end consumer, through a variety of marketing techniques. Whether you manufacture mechanical parts, provide ERP systems, or do export trade, if your customers are businesses, then the marketing you do is in the B2B realm.
The most important feature of B2B marketing is that it involves a long decision-making chain, a large number of people, and a high degree of rationality. Unlike B2C consumer behavior, which is mostly driven by emotional factors such as price, promotions, and fads, B2B marketing customers consider whether you can create benefits, reduce costs, or solve problems for them. Therefore, B2B marketing emphasizes on data, professional image, and real-life cases to make the other party believe that your company is a trustworthy long-term partner.
Another characteristic of B2B marketing is the large transaction scale and long cooperation cycle. From contact, proposal to transaction, a cooperation case may last as long as a few months or even a year, and the transaction is not just an order, but a long-term relationship or a high-value project, so the speed and depth of trust building is more important than any short-term exposure.
In addition, common exposure channels for B2B marketing, including industry websites, content marketing (e.g., blogs, white papers), online trade shows, LinkedIn outreach, Email marketing, etc., is a type of marketing that focuses on letting the right business customers see you, understand you, and then trust you.
Therefore, for MLM or SMEs, B2B marketing is not a trend, but a must-have basic skill for you in this digital age that will enable you to engage your customers more effectively in the marketing funnel.
What is the difference between B2B and B2C marketing?
When many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) start to deploy digital marketing, they often confuse B2B and B2C, thinking that the marketing approaches are the same. In fact, there are fundamental differences between the two in terms of marketing strategies, communication methods, and even the choice of media.
First of all, the customer target is different: B2C marketing is targeted at general consumers, emphasizing on emotional resonance, instant gratification, and life application, while B2B marketing is targeted at corporate organizations, which usually have joint decision-making at the purchasing, technical, and boss levels. The target of B2B marketing is the enterprise organization, which usually consists of purchasing, technology, bosses and other levels of joint decision-making, they are more concerned about product efficiency, cost structure, delivery security and other pragmatic oriented.
Secondly, the decision-making time is very different: while B2C consumers may see an advertisement today and place an order tomorrow, B2B consumers often go through the process of contacting, consulting, proposing, discussing, testing, etc., and a cooperation may last for months or even years. Therefore, B2B marketing emphasizes more on medium and long-term relationship management, and should not be rushed.
B2C emphasizes emotions, brand stories, and price advantages to attract impulse purchases, while B2B emphasizes professional competence, technical background, and case studies to gain the trust and recognition of the other party because the money spent by the customer is often related to the success or failure of the company's operation, which makes the risk considerations even higher.
Lastly, there are differences in exposure channels: B2C utilizes popular channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, while B2B focuses on precise exposure methods such as Google SEO, official website content, LinkedIn, EDM, and industry exhibitions.
In conclusion, the essence of B2B marketing is to help companies grow steadily by building professional trust and long-term relationships, rather than pursuing short-term sales figures.
Why traditional industries and SMEs need B2B marketing?
Taiwan's traditional industries and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have always excelled in products and technology, but in terms of marketing, many entrepreneurs are still stuck in the old mindset of "relying on connections and introductions" and believe that marketing is far away from them. However, the market environment has long since changed, and digital transformation and marketing layout are no longer the monopoly of large enterprises, but the basic equipment for all enterprises to maintain their competitiveness.
Traditional industries and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often face problems such as a single source of customers, industry involution, and unstable orders, and need to develop new markets and stabilize revenue sources through effective B2B marketing. Nowadays, buyers are used to searching for suppliers through Google, LinkedIn, industry forums or exhibitions. If your company does not have any exposure on these channels, you are automatically missing out on a large number of potential business opportunities, especially through search engine exposure.
B2B marketing is not only "image making", but also a means to "create sustainable performance". From SEO website exposure, content marketing, list formation, to business development, these links are interlocked to help enterprises accumulate reliable digital assets, and build up a brand's competitive advantage in the market in the long run. Compared to competing on price, enterprises with marketing capability can grasp business opportunities and bargaining power more steadily.
Especially in Taiwan, many traditional products, small and medium-sized enterprises are facing the saturation of the domestic market, the international competition pressure increases, through the B2B marketing layout of overseas, the establishment of digital exposure and precise customer development mechanism, but become a growth opportunity against the trend. Whether you are a manufacturer, parts supplier or trading company, if you don't do B2B marketing now, it will only be harder to compete in the future.
The market environment has changed, and Transmission has to transform into a digital layout.
In the past, we used to accumulate contacts through acquaintance referrals, word-of-mouth, or on-site at exhibitions. However, with the change in the way of obtaining information, customers have long been accustomed to using digital methods to screen suppliers, for example, judging whether suppliers are credible and have professional strengths from Google keywords, articles in the industry media, professional information on LinkedIn, and the content of the company's website.
In other words, the market environment has changed from "who you know" to "who is looking for you and who sees you as more professional". If the traditional industry continues to stay in the old mode, it is tantamount to ceding potential customers to competitors who have started to deploy digital marketing earlier. In particular, more than 90% of foreign buyers looking for Taiwanese companies start with Google search, and without SEO, websites, and digital content, they would not even have a chance to be found.
What's more, after the epidemic, exhibitions have shrunk, face-to-face communication has become scarce, and online exposure and layout have become a basic condition for survival. If you don't lay out your digital marketing plan as soon as possible, you will only be more passive in the future, and it will be more difficult to find new customers. Transformation may not have to be done all at once, but starting from the construction of the official website, the layout of keywords, and the exposure of content, and gradually building digital assets, there is a chance that the growth of the enterprise will no longer rely on luck or relationships, but rather through a stable and predictable marketing system to develop new business opportunities.
Mastering marketing advantages to enhance corporate competitiveness and profitability
Why do you think MLM and SMEs should learn B2B marketing? Because B2B marketing allows you to create a longer-term and stable source of business opportunities with limited manpower and budget, which is the key to the marketing funnel. When you have a clear marketing strategy and layout, the source of customers is no longer limited to trade shows, introductions, and referrals; you can actively find customers, and customers can also actively find you through social media.
For example, through the official website SEO layout, your products, technology, solutions with keywords continue to be exposed on the Google homepage, so that the traffic is continuous and free. Or find decision makers in specific industries through LinkedIn and proactively develop new markets. These marketing techniques were mostly ignored in the past, but the actual results are far more efficient and scalable than traditional networking.
In addition, B2B marketing has a long-term compounding effect, not a single advertisement, but your company image, professional content, and past cases, which continue to accumulate as a "credible brand". When you have more exposure and higher visibility, the chance of customers choosing you will naturally increase, which can also reverse to enhance your bargaining power and conditions of cooperation, so you do not have to compete with cut-price competition to grab orders, which is one of the advantages of B2B marketing.
B2B marketing is an indispensable part of your infrastructure if you want your business to be long-lasting and stable. Rather than competing on price or waiting passively, investing in marketing and proactively grasping market trends and new opportunities is the way for future winners to survive.
B2B Marketing Success Stories: Successful Cases for Both SMEs and MLMs
Many traditional industries and small and medium-sized enterprises often say, "B2B marketing is something that should be done by the technology industry and brands, and it is not necessary or useful for us to do processing. In fact, this is a wrong myth. Whether you're in the screw, machinery, metal processing, or service business, as long as your customers are other businesses, B2B marketing can be effective. Here are two examples that will help you understand why SMEs should find their breakthrough in digital marketing.
Case 1: Zero experience in the transmission of productionOfficial Website20 new orders for SEOs in a year
This is a small parts processing factory in central Taiwan, specializing in the production of precision parts, long relied on contacts to receive orders, but the epidemic after the rapid decline in domestic orders, they began to try to do the official website SEO layout, only to find that the original network exposure is more influential than expected. Their approach is actually very simple, focusing on the keywords of the products they specialize in, writing technical content and application case studies, and putting this information on their official website, so that Google can slowly accumulate search visibility.
Half a year later, the number of visits to the official website, which was less than 50 per month, grew to an average of more than 500 per month, and we received enquiries from international buyers from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and so on, and there were even cases of long-term cooperation that were actually concluded. Cumulatively, through this simple but steady SEO layout, more than 20 new orders have been added in a year.
This case illustrates that even traditional industries can use digital marketing to build exposure, accumulate trust, and create new business opportunities, and that this traffic from search, with its high precision and high demand characteristics, is more stable and controllable than human referrals.
Case 2: Small Processing Factory Successfully Expanded Overseas Markets by Introducing LinkedIn
Another case is a factory that does processing for electronic equipment organizations. In the past, they thought that overseas markets are only accessible through exhibitions, but they have limited budgets and manpower, so it is often hundreds of thousands of dollars to participate in exhibitions, but the results are not stable. So they started to turn to LinkedIn as a platform to develop new customers, because it gathers a lot of purchasing and engineering decision makers from Europe, America and Asia.
They continue to publish technical content, process introduction, successful cases and other information through LinkedIn, and gradually build up the company's professional image in the international arena, and at the same time with active search lists, send messages directly to potential customers to invite exchanges. After half a year's hard work, they have successfully entered the supply chain of a large electronics manufacturer in Southeast Asia and gradually expanded to the European market.
This case shows that small enterprises do not need to spend a lot of money, but also through a number of platforms, strategic initiative to reach out to the target customer groups, do not have to wait for the other side to find, but to develop their own list, and then establish long-term cooperation. LinkedIn as an important channel for B2B marketing, for small and medium-sized enterprises, it is one of the best tools for overseas market development.
How to set up a B2B marketing strategy? Getting Started Guide for MLM and SMEs
When talking about marketing, the first response of many SMEs is usually: "We don't have a marketing department or a budget, so we don't know how to start". In fact, B2B marketing is not about investing a huge budget or hiring a marketing team, but rather starting with a clear goal, a stable layout, and continuous accumulation, which will give you a chance to realize real results. For companies that are new to B2B marketing, the most important thing is to understand that marketing is not a single technique, but a set of "systematic strategies" that must be carried out step by step, from positioning to tools to execution.
This chapter will take you through the most pragmatic and appropriate way for MLMs and SMEs to understand how to set up your B2B marketing strategy so that marketing resources are not wasted, but actually bring you customers and business opportunities.
Steps to Thinking from Scratch
If a company wants to start B2B marketing, the first step is not to advertise or invest in the community, but to identify "Who is your target customer? Where is he? What does he care about? These three questions. Only by clarifying these questions can you choose the right marketing strategy and channel, and not do the work in vain.
For example, if you are a parts processing factory, and your customers are usually equipment manufacturers and organization design companies, then you have to think about the purchasing habits of such enterprises, whether they look for suppliers through Google, or through LinkedIn and industry fairs? Further, what do they care about most, price? Quality? Delivery time? Or the flexibility of the solution? This information will have a direct impact on the content of your marketing communications and exposure.
The next step is to establish a good digital infrastructure, that is, whether your official website, brand image, basic information is in place. If a company does not even have a website, information is broken, the first impression of customers will be discounted. The website is not for your own eyes, but for potential customers to understand your professionalism and credibility of the facade.
Finally, you need to prioritize your marketing efforts and tools, not in one step, but in stages. For example, the first year to focus on SEO and website optimization, the second year to join the EDM list management or LinkedIn stranger open, these are effective marketing methods. As long as there is a plan, slowly accumulate, the result will be better than standing still.
Common Effective B2B Marketing Practices
There are many different methods of B2B marketing for the media and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but the ones that are really suitable and easy to get into are the ones that are used by the most enterprises and can achieve the most stable results:
- SEO Content Marketing:WebsiteAfter setting up your website, you should match your keyword layout and technical articles to let potential customers find you in Google. This is the most effective natural exposure technique in the long run, and it will bring a stable, high-quality inquiry list.
- EDM Marketing: Through the accumulation of lists (e.g. website filling, trade show lists, LinkedIn friending) and the continuous provision of valuable information by email, we can maintain relationships, cultivate trust, and increase the turnover rate or facilitate the return of old customers.
- LinkedIn Marketing: An indispensable platform for the B2B sector, it accumulates a professional image through content management, and also proactively searches for decision makers in specific industries for unfamiliar development. If you are targeting overseas markets, you should not be overlooked.
- B2B advertising: Google keyword ads, YouTube industry video exposure, and even industry-specific website banner ads are important tools to assist in rapid exposure, but it is recommended that they be used in conjunction with other tactics for more stable results, especially through social media promotion.
- Physical/online trade shows: If budget permits, participating in or sponsoring related industry trade shows and forums can effectively and quickly reach a large number of precise customers. However, online exposure is still the foundation, otherwise the list will be easily lost after the show.
The above tools are not good or bad, but depends on your industry type, customer habits and current resources to make a choice. The worst thing to avoid is "doing nothing, wanting to do everything". Focusing on one is better than trying everything.
