- July 2, 2014
- 10:07 am
- John Caltagirone
- no comments
How B2B Companies are Turning to B2C Strategies
For as long as I can remember B2B strategies and functions were looked at and treated very differently than B2C practices. This mind set is changing as more and more organizations that are B2B are seeing that their customers are also individual consumers within a business. The same way a B2C sells to individual customers, the decision maker in a B2B is also an individual customer and should be treated that way. Perhaps the thought of a company that sells potatoes to a B2C does not sound very exciting to be marketed to a B2B customer. That is where many organization fail to see the opportunity and potential through treating their product/service as a unique solution to their customers who are thinking in a B2C mentality.
How this relates to supply chain is mainly through the marketing and integrated planning for the organization’s overall strategy. Part of selling to your customers is through showing them the transparency of your supply chain, how competitive the operation functions are compared to other organizations. Today, B2B companies are utilizing the internet and social channels to gain customers and even creating marketing campaigns targeting the “consumers” within the B2B; they are also moving towards mobile applications for business convenience. Personalizing and customizing the selling experience to a B2B customer is a function of B2C practices that B2B companies are adapting and building relationships through interaction and engagement with their clients.
In the end, the B2B customer is probably a B2C company and understanding their needs and their customers’ needs is key to gaining business. Providing a more sustainable supply chain to offer customers a better quality product that they will either be part of or a final product to the customer’s customer, means that the B2B company understands the true needs for their customers.