B2C marketing tactics can enhance B2B advertising

Dan Binns, account director at Epsilon International, has considered how the tactics and creativity used in consumer marketing campaigns can be adopted for business-to-business (B2B) advertising.

B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing are not as different as many might think, so why is it that so many B2B marketers choose to focus on making their e-mail campaigns information-heavy instead of more visually compelling?
While corporate marketers take a different approach than their consumer counterparts to the e-mail channel, this should not limit their creative tactics.

Consumer marketing is conventionally more sophisticated in its approach, but this is rather a reflection of the services and products being sold.

The canny B2B marketer will cherry-pick and adapt consumer tactics that best translate to their own campaigns.

Within the wider marketing mix, technologies such as e-mail, increasingly regarded as more 'traditional', have proven their mettle as effective communication channels.

As platforms converge, it is important to remember that brands of all persuasions need to communicate with customers in a way that is most appropriate to them, which, of course, may differ according to whether a brand is B2B or B2C.

Relevancy is what resonates - quality over quantity.

In e-mail, preference centres have long enabled subscribers to confirm their interests and requirements.

In a similar way, an engaging subject line, personalised greetings, as well as more compelling text and visual content will ensure an e-mail stands out and ultimately increase open rates.

However, e-mail continues to evolve and innovate.

In recognition of the shifting media landscape, it is now possible to integrate mobile and social networks with e-mail campaigns, meaning there is a lot of room for B2B marketers to continue to optimise their use of a proven technology.

In these times of economic doubt, getting closer to customers is of prime importance.

The reason e-mail remains popular and has stood the test of time is because it consistently delivers high levels of return-on-investment.

As budget-holders increasingly scrutinise every marketing pound spent, marketers are well advised to stick to more trackable media efforts, but need to recognise that giving customers what they want, when they want and in the manner they prefer will help to optimise their chosen method of B2B communication.

If this means using B2C tactics throughout, then so be it.

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