B2B vs B2C BI tactics

Posted: April 2007 C: Business Intelligence Posted by: K. Panayotakis

Since B2B marketing ((business to business) is a very different activity to B2C (business to customer) marketing, it is expected that the information needs and the business intelligence tactics, also differ substantially.

Different Customer segments are offered different product portfolios via different channels, often handled by different Business Units.

B2B is usually run by Account Managers while B2C is run via Shops & Call centers. Moreover, the web channel is changing the interaction landscape radically.

The B2B marketing activity:

needs to understand the complex buying process of the business customer
supports complex sales – the sales funnel is built up of more stages involving more interactions
is based on well prepared contacts, while B2C telemarketing is usually based on limited customer behavioral info.
requires the development of complex Business Customers profiles: industry structure, subsidiaries, sites, firmographics, various business roles influencing the buying process (technical buyer, business buyer, CFO, procurement manager, CEO etc)
requires multimodal lead generation (events, PR, referrals, online mktg) and involves complex lead qualification (business need, budget available, authority to buy of the contact persons, procurement decision timeframe)
requires the development of a value proposition developed to fit BC’s specific needs – message adapted by role

Common principles or techniques apply. Behavioral and demographic segmentation applies in both cases with the behavioral being the more powerful one. The RFM frame applies in both cases.

A solid Customer information architecture is a must in both cases.

Customer value rankings (CLV) is also a common approach.