Today, everybody expects companies to advertise their products on Google to reach their customers. While promoting products & services online seems obvious for a B2C business, it doesn’t necessarily do so from a B2B perspective. The difficulty to target B2B queries as well as the question whether online sales channels are right for large B2B deals are only two arguments that are often raised. Yet, B2B researchers and buyers are getting younger and use Google’s search engine to browse for partners, suppliers and customers. In this article, I discuss the differences between the B2C & B2B customer journey, show why digital advertising is relevant for B2B and give a suggestion on how advertisers can position there B2B business digitally.

Differences in the customer journey of B2C & B2B

B2C customer journeys have become more and more complex during the last couple of years. Reasons for the increase in complexity include a greater usage of mobile devices, the ongoing merger of online and offline as well as a changing user behaviour. Today, on their way through the purchasing process, users jump from desktop to mobile, try out products in stores, search on price comparison and review sites, and much more before they eventually finish their purchase.

With the danger of generalizing, there are certain characteristics of the B2C customer journey that remain stable. This includes, for instance, (1) an automated checkout & payment process for customers meaning that products can be purchased without personal interaction to the seller, (2) a purchasing decision that is mostly influenced by only one (or a few) person(s), and (3) a rather low barrier of purchase in comparison to B2B. And this is where the B2B customer journey differentiates.

Below, I have listed 6 differentiators that illustrates this point:

1. The relationships between supplier and customer tend to be much stronger. When successful, those relationships can last for years and benefit both parties
2. The volumes & margins are higher. It seems obvious that covering  operating needs of businesses require higher volumes
3. More individuals are involved in the purchasing process. Reason for that is the higher risk the buyer bears related to the higher prices and/or volumes of products
4. The purchasing process can take much longer, sometimes even several months. This process is oftentimes accompanied by in-depth cost analyses and difficult negotiations
5. There is greater product customization to satisfy the customer’s needs. Building B2B products at scale to fit several customers with the exact same
   feature can be difficult in certain industries
6. The target customer group is much smaller. While there are millions of users purchasing products in the B2C world, there might only be a handful of potential customers for a B2B business

For B2B advertisers this implies that understanding those differences and using them to their own advantage is key for digital success. The much higher Customer Lifetime Value gives B2B advertisers more flexibility with regards to customer acquisition costs. In certain markets, this flexibility is also needed to maintain a positive marketing ROI. More information on the B2B customer journey can be found in an interesting article published by McKinsey & Company here.

Digital advertising is relevant for B2B

Already in 2014, Google and Millward Brown Digital analysed the research and purchase behaviour of ~3.000 B2B researchers. The study uncovers significant insights that, in my opinion, should be an eye-opener for B2B businesses that have not yet considered the opportunities online. Here are some highlights:

• Google Search is the #1 research resource for B2B researchers who are online
• A significant part of B2B researchers are millennials – a societal group that grew up with digital technologies
• B2B purchasing decisions are not only made by the highest management but also strongly influenced by non-C-suite employees
• Many customer journeys start with generic search queries, not with branded ones
• Mobile devices are used during the purchasing process

In other words, the study illustrates the importance of digital activities for B2B businesses. Although there might be certain B2B industries where online is not as relevant as in others, not being digitally present or neglecting Google’s effect on B2B is a decision that, in my opinion, should constantly be challenged in each organization. Stating the obvious, being present where B2B buyers are as well as feeding them with relevant content can significantly influence the business performance. Further details on the study can be found here.

B2B positioning in the digital advertising landscape

Now, being aware of the relevance of the right online presence, it is important for B2B businesses to have a clear digital vision and strategy at hand. An unstructured digital approach with no long-term vision can lead to missed opportunities in the fields of revenue generation and branding. In the following, I am discussing 4 focus areas that should help B2B businesses to successfully position their business online.

Get the (digital) basics right

Make sure to have a professional website independently of the company’s size. There are numerous IT agencies on the market which are happy to support in setting up a great-looking and structured website that meets the expectations of your customers. Thereby, the website’s design, structure and content does not only attract visitors but is also fundamental to be found by search engines like Google Search. Additionally, providing a mobile and tablet friendly website is essential, yet something that traditional non-digital-savvy companies often fail to deliver.

Education of customers

With long sales cycles and often complex product portfolios, B2B businesses are in a position where they to a high extent can influence and shape the customer’s purchasing decision, by educating them on products, services and features. By creating informative and inspiring content not only in the form of articles but also in the form of videos, B2B businesses can feed and educate their customers with relevant material along the entire purchasing process. For videos, this exposure could be on highly engaged communities such as YouTube or on publishers’ websites through a network such as Google Video Partners. Today, there are countless examples of B2B companies utilizing these outlets successfully, with the
right strategy and targeting.

Use of Remarketing

Targeting users who have been on the company’s website is a proven solution for better marketing ROIs. Particularly with complex products and long sales cycles, reminding users of their previous interest in the product while browsing the web can be an efficient way of advertising. Thereby, Google’s technology allows  advertisers to keep website visitors on the respective Remarketing list for up to 540 days. This gives B2B businesses a time window to collect data of users’ online behaviour and to apply relevant insights when advertising online. In practice, remarketing lists can be applied across the various products of Google and should be considered by B2B businesses.

Lead generation with Search ads

As stated above, the study of Google and Millward Brown Digital showed that Google Search is the #1 tool for online B2B researches. Moreover, it could be observed that (1) the majority of B2B researchers start their research with generic queries and (2) that they spend more and more time on the search engine before moving on to a specific brand’s site. With that knowledge in mind, this indicates that the actual sales process of B2B businesses starts way before the first personal touchpoint with the customer. Google’s Search ads provide B2B businesses the opportunity to present a convincing story to customers and thereby influence their decision making early on.

4 things to keep in mind

In this article we have discussed the importance of digital marketing in the B2B world and discussed how B2B businesses can position themselves online. To wrap things up, I want to share 4 quick tips that each B2B business should keep in mind.

1. Adapt to a younger generation of B2B buyers in terms of where (Social Media, Youtube, Google Search) and how (Videos, Webinars, Online articles) you position your business.
2. Be aware that successful digital marketing requires focus and resources. It certainly does not run by itself.
3. Online conversions might look different in certain B2B industries due to product characteristics. Think about whether your online marketing objective is an uplift in branding, getting contact requests or in fact direct online sales. The advertising strategies should be optimized accordingly.
4. Finally, there is no B2C and B2B internet. There is just one internet where both consumers and businesses look for information.