B2B Marketing Challenges and

Actions
MET Institute July 25, 2010
Ujjwal Phadnis

Who is the customer ?

Fewer buyers than Consumer market
Larger buyers , high buyer concentration ratio
Closer supplier customer relationship
Geographically concentrated buyers
Derived demand from consumer markets
Professional
influencers

purchasing

Several

buying

What buying decisions do B2B

Customers make?
New business
- Setting up a new office, plant , new product
launch
Straight re-purchase
Pricing , product technology up gradation
Modified re-purchase
- to modify product specifications , pricing etc.

Who participates in the B2B

customer buying process?
All individuals who share common goals and
risks from the decision
Engineering personnel , greatest influencers on
technology
Purchaser , pricing decisions
Approvers , Overall responsibility

What are the major influences on

B2B Customers?
B2B marketers should concentrate
economic benefits to buyers

on strong

Economic environment
Organization structure and decision makers
- Trained materials managers
National accounts
Long-term contracts
- Performance evaluation
- Individual factors influencing decisions

How do B2B Customers make

their decisions?
Problem recognition
Product specifications , opportunity for cost
reduction
Vendor search , proposal screening
Vendor selection
Performance review

Marketing focus guides effective

utilization of the resources
Focus area : Marketing , Effective marketing
tools
Event management
Sponsorships
Marketing communications
Direct marketing viz. direct mailers, seminars

Marketing
control
,
implementation
evaluation
Return on Investment measurement

Basis of segmenting in B2B

marketing
Demographic
- Industry sector wise
Company size
Location , geography focus
Operating variables
Technology
User status , heavy, medium or light users
Service capability , many services or few

Basis of segmenting in B2B

marketing
Purchasing approach
Engineering dominated, technology focus
Existing relationships
Purchase criteria , price ? Quality? or service?
Situational factors
Specific application focus
Order size
Personal characteristics
Values
Loyalty to buyers

Basis of segmenting in B2B

marketing
Wipro Lighting
Institutional
Residential
Government
(B2B)
(B2C)
(B2B)
- Large accounts - retail
- Medium
- large accounts - builders
- Small enterprises - office / industry

Leadership Lessons in B2B

Marketing from Dell Computers
Founded on a simple premise

To deliver high performance computer

systems directly to the end-user
Consistently grown 2 to
competition and industry

times

that

of

Dell Computers stock went up 90000 percent

in the last decade
Sells over 35 million US $
per day over www.dell.com

worth of systems

Lessons from Dell : Learn , direct

from the source
Know your customers history , as well as your offer
Develop products ONLY from the customers point of
view
Know your customers pulse beat for beat
Real answers come when he buys a second time.
Always think bottom line , both for yourself and your
customers

Business development is the key to

deliver results based on their deep
understanding of the customer
Focus areas : Business to- business (B2B) Sales
Role as a business development manager
relationship management
negotiations skills
key account management
Presentation and communication skills
understanding customer expectations
Sales team leadership
Point of contact for Technology team

Sales manager is the leader to their

customer and the authority in the
line of communication, therefore has
a significant impact on operations
Focus areas : Business to- Business (B2B) ,
Institutional Sales
Role as a sales manager
Presentation skills
sales team leadership

training
of
sales
force
/
channel
representatives
Relationship management
negotiation skills
local promotions

Effective marketing is the key

driver to business leadership

Focus area : Marketing , Effective marketing

tools
Advertising
media planning
Marketing Research
Web based marketing
Public Relations
Event management
Sponsorships
Marketing communications
Direct marketing viz. direct mailers, seminars

How are typical B2B marketing

budgets spent
Space trade, technical , journals ( 21 %)
Direct mail leaflets, brochures, catalogues
( 24 %)
Shows trade shows,
conferences ( 11 %)

industrial

events,

Promotions sales promotions ( 24 %)

Public Relations - Print , Electronic ( 20% )

Role of corporate advertising in

B2B marketing
Corporate advertising can build a companys
reputation
Sales people play major role in advertising the
company
Company reputations are important
complexity increases
Industries
Airlines, Capital
Software contracts, Consulting .

when

Equipment,

Intel inside advertising an

industrial product leadership
Intel micro-processors
widely advertised as an important asset inside
the computer
corporate
branding
leadership position
Electronic
media
technology industry

to

strengthen

advertising

unique

its

to

Created brand image on a High technology

platform

Use of Brand Ambassador in B2B

Marketing
Accenture Performance Delivered
Tiger
Woods
as
brand
ambassador
..used extensively till 2009
- Unique way of building Brand in IT business
Marketing
- Use of Brand Ambassador

IT Services Brand building

- Print media used extensively for corporate
adverts
- Event sponsorship

Event sponsorship Effective

Tool in B2B Marketing
Suzlon

programming

Green

Mahindra Satyam

technology

related

FIFA World Cup 2010

South Africa

Tata Consultancy Services The Mumbai

Marathon

Use of Internet in B2B Marketing

Internet challenge

A huge asset

in B2B Marketing

Creates
seamless connectivity
customers
Allows Direct customer interaction

with

Marketing Research in B2B

Marketing
Predominantly Quantitative research
Provides Data for decision making
Guides market segmentation
Creates a blue print for action
Guides in developing a sales pipeline for

action
Continuous exercise in opening new sector
opportunities

Impact of Public Relations in B2B

Marketing
PR Activity benefits
Media Both Electronic & Print
Interviews with top management
Technical Articles in business and relevant
sector magazines
Cost effective process in brand building
Communicating your SUCCESS to potential
customers

What
we
call
beginnings

results

are