When it comes to the wants and needs of your customers, business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) objectives are often vastly different. B2B and B2C lead generation do have some elements in common, but the goals and desired outcomes for the customer are generally different. In this article, we will look at what these differences are, and how you can harness technology to make your lead generation more effective.
Getting those all-important sales means attracting the attention and interest of your customers, and for both B2B and B2C opportunities, the level of impact on your business is enormous. In order to have a consistent number of sales, you need to have a steady stream of new and returning customers.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 85% of B2B Businesses view lead generation as their most important marketing goal; and according to APIS – leads are 9 x more likely to convert if they are followed up within 5 minutes.
This means there is a lot to do, and not much time to do it in – which is most likely why APIS also found that 80% of marketers were also using automation software and that 77% of them were converting more leads than those who did not.
To improve your lead generation for your business, you need to be:
Without a focused lead generation and lead management strategy, your business cannot perform at optimal levels of efficiency, and you may be inadvertently losing sales through unmonitored or unchecked opportunities.
Business-to-business customers have different wants and needs than Consumer customers – they do share some similarities, such as wanting the best value and pricing options, but the differences between the leads mean the same approach cannot be used for both.
Business customers are generally looking for a product or service for their business, either to augment their own offerings or to allow easier internal operations.
Some of the main needs for B2B customers are:
Business customers are often interested not only in the immediate sale, but also building relationships and creating future opportunities to do business – and long-term value is an essential element to consider when creating lead content.
By understanding what your business customers are doing or offering, you can determine a lead generation structure and strategic approach to addressing their wants and needs, and positioning yourself as the company who can provide them with what they need.
Individual customers are less likely to order in scale and may not purchase as often as businesses – but they also have flexibility in the type of product or service they want, less restrictions in their purchasing abilities, and a wider audience to spread word-of-mouth recommendation to.
Some of the main wants and needs a B2C customer wants addressed include:
Consumers care about the sale and the product, and the immediate impact on them – they may not be looking for repeat purchases (although you do want to encourage this), so attracting leads with a strong sense of time (“you need this now!”) is often a practical approach.
Getting your leads and sorting them into priority order is essential if you want to ensure you are making the most of your opportunities and are converting as many leads to sales as possible.
Technology, such as Customer Relationship Management software, AI for business automation, lead management tools, and bespoke applications can aid businesses in reducing time wastage, human errors, and allow for business budgeting to be allocated more effectively.
B2B and B2C lead generation tools can also:
Some of the improvements that the right tools can bring into the B2B side of your sales funnel may also include:
When utilising the right tools for your B2C customers, you could also benefit from:
Having the right tools for the job is vital for your B2B and B2C sales strategies, and will make lead generation, management, and monitoring far easier than trying to handle it all manually.
TEB Apps is empowering businesses all over the world to streamline their sales processes, align their teams and boost sales with its advanced automation technology. TEB Apps is an automation and CRM software that is proven to boost sales, maximise conversions and scale businesses. Key features of TEB include:
Request a call today, and our experts will show you first hand how TEB Apps can help your business boost sales, maximise growth and reach its full potential.
