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B2B vs B2C segmentation
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B2B vs B2C targeting
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B2B vs B2C segmentation criteria
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B2B vs B2C segmentation methods
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B2B vs B2C targeting strategies
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Here’s what else to consider
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Segmenting and targeting customers is a crucial step in any marketing strategy, whether you are selling to businesses (B2B) or consumers (B2C). However, the criteria and methods for doing so can vary significantly depending on your market. In this article, you will learn how to segment and target B2B customers versus B2C customers, and why it matters for your marketing success.
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- Tania Aguirre Talent Acquisition Manager | Skilled in People Operations, Recruitment Strategy, and Relationship Building 9
- William T Cooper GenAI Business Strategist - $1 Billion in Sales 7
1 B2B vs B2C segmentation
B2B segmentation is the process of dividing your potential business customers into groups based on their characteristics, needs, and behaviors. B2C segmentation is the same, but for individual consumers. The main difference is that B2B segmentation tends to focus more on organizational factors, such as industry, size, location, decision-making process, and budget. B2C segmentation, on the other hand, tends to focus more on personal factors, such as demographics, psychographics, lifestyle, and preferences.
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- Tania Aguirre Talent Acquisition Manager | Skilled in People Operations, Recruitment Strategy, and Relationship Building
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An Insight That Has Driven Success: Integrating Psychographics into B2B - Don't forget that behind every business are people with personal values, attitudes, and behaviors. A software company I know integrated psychographics into their B2B segmentation strategy, focusing on potential clients’ attitudes towards digital transformation. This approach resulted in improved customer acquisition rates by aligning with clients' core values.
Like Like Celebrate Support Love Insightful Funny 9 - William T Cooper GenAI Business Strategist - $1 Billion in Sales
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After working with several thousand B2B, B2C, and D2C companies during the past twenty-five years, several general principles become evident.Implement Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok Posts for B2C goods, especially on eCommerce sites and local B2C businesses. These social media sites can be used for lower-priced B2B items that do not require human interaction to be sold.Implement a LinkedIn Sales Methodology for larger B2B and B2C sales if a personal presentation is required to close the prospect. LinkedIn is THE social media site for B2B leads and sales.Twitter can be used for either B2C or B2B companies depending if a person or a website is the better sales conversion point.
Like Like Celebrate Support Love Insightful Funny 7 - Stefan Michel Professor of Management, Ph.D.
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While B2B and B2C segmentation differs on many dimensions, what I have found as a consultant and academic is the following common pattern: most markets consist of four segments: a *premium* or innovator segment with a high willingness-to-pay, a *value-seeking* segment that optimizes the value/cost ratio, a *price-seeking* segment that always buys at the lowest price and shows no loyalty and a "non-buyer" segment. I always include the non-buyer segment in our analysis. First of all, we can learn from them, and secondly, we might convince them to buy if we can offer the right value proposition for them.
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At the end off the day, a B2C decision is an individual making a decision on what he/she wants for himself/herself ONLY. It's emotionally driven and is a much shorter time to decision. With B2B, a group is making decisions on behalf of an organization, creating more bureaucracy, longer time lines, and more logical thinking in the decision.
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2 B2B vs B2C targeting
B2B targeting is the process of selecting the most attractive and profitable segments to market your products or services to. B2C targeting is the same, but for consumers. The main difference is that B2B targeting often requires a more tailored and personalized approach, as business customers tend to have more specific and complex needs, longer and more involved buying cycles, and multiple stakeholders and influencers. B2C targeting, on the other hand, often requires a more mass and standardized approach, as consumers tend to have more general and simple needs, shorter and more impulsive buying cycles, and fewer or no intermediaries.
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Right now it's all very blended because when we're doing any sort of advertising, especially on digital, we're looking at consumer behaviors. It's 1 person that's viewing the content, and he/she may be viewing as an individual or thinking about their business...this makes it extra tricky and why the lines are VERY blurry in a digital world.
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3 B2B vs B2C segmentation criteria
When segmenting B2B or B2C customers, the criteria you use will depend on your product or service, your market, and your objectives. Common criteria for B2B segmentation include firmographics (industry, size, location, revenue, and growth), needs (problems and how your product can solve them), behavior (actions, reactions, and interactions with your product), and decision-making (processes and roles of people involved in buying). For B2C segmentation, common criteria include demographics (age, gender, income, education, and occupation), psychographics (personality, values, attitudes, and interests), lifestyle (habits, activities, and preferences), and benefits (convenience, quality, or status).
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4 B2B vs B2C segmentation methods
The methods used to segment B2B or B2C customers depend on the data and tools available, as well as the desired level of detail and accuracy. Cluster analysis is a statistical technique that groups businesses based on similarities and differences across multiple variables. Account-based marketing is a strategic approach that treats each business as its own market. Predictive analytics is a data-driven technique that uses historical and current data to identify and anticipate future behavior and needs. For B2C segmentation, geographic segmentation divides consumers based on location, RFM analysis ranks them based on recency, frequency, and monetary value of their transactions, and persona development creates fictional profiles of ideal consumers based on their characteristics, needs, and motivations.
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5 B2B vs B2C targeting strategies
The strategies you use to target your B2B or B2C segments will depend on your value proposition, competitive advantage, and resources. For B2B targeting, consider niche marketing, which focuses on a narrow and specific segment; relationship marketing, which builds loyal relationships with customers; and content marketing, which educates and engages customers with relevant content. For B2C targeting, mass marketing reaches a large and diverse segment with a uniform message; segmented marketing targets different segments with different messages; and personalized marketing tailors the message to each individual consumer.
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- Jean-Paul LaCount Data-Driven Growth and Marketing Leader
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As far as strategies and methods, Account Based Marketing (ABM) is becoming the standard for enterprise B2B given the effectiveness of connecting and establishing relationships with target accounts.
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6 Here’s what else to consider
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