When you first contemplate a career in marketing, two of the considerations you’re initially faced with are:
- Products or Services?
- Consumer or Business-to-Business (B2B)?
This article explores the intricacies of B2B services marketing and sheds light on what makes this relatively young discipline an exciting career choice.
Business-to-business (B2B) marketing has been practiced in various forms throughout history but it really only gained formal recognition as a distinct profession in the mid-20th century.
The emergence of B2B marketing as a recognised discipline can be attributed to several factors including industrialisation, technological advancements (telephone, facsimile, internet), and the thinking of pioneers such as Theodore Levitt (who taught us to focus on benefits rather than features), Neil Borden (father of the ‘4 Ps’), and Philip Kotler (co-author of a seminal text on marketing theory, strategy, and practice).
Services marketing took a little longer to get noticed. It wasn’t until the 1980s and 1990s, when service-based economies gained prominence, that services were recognised as having unique characteristics and challenges compared to tangible products. The need to understand how to market services in light of these characteristics resulted late in the 20th century in services marketing receiving focused attention as a separate field of study.
Now, of course, B2B and services marketing have also morphed so let’s examine why B2B services marketing is in a league of its own.
B2B Services Marketing
Business-to-business (B2B) marketing is distinctly different to consumer marketing. In B2B, the:
- sales cycle is longer
- many buyers and influencers are well educated and well informed
- barriers to switching are high which means so, too, are the stakes.
Similarly, services marketing is unlike product marketing. Services have unique characteristics in that they’re:
- intangible – they have no physical nature
- often inseparable insofar as services are produced and consumed simultaneously
- perishable – once you’ve used a service it can’t be re-sold.
The Long Sales Cycle
Patience is a virtue in B2B services marketing as it typically involves a prolonged sales cycle. Compared to consumer (B2C) purchases, which can often be fast and impulsive, B2B decisions involve thorough evaluation, lengthy negotiations, and formal procurement processes. Service providers must navigate this extended sales cycle by adding value throughout the buyer’s journey – establishing and nurturing relationships, demonstrating credibility and alignment of values, and educating and informing at each stage of the process so as to maintain momentum and remain top-of-mind.
The Many Buyers and Influencers
One fundamental aspect that sets B2B services marketing apart is the intricate web of decision-makers. In B2B transactions, multiple stakeholders—from executives to subject matter experts to procurement professionals—collaborate to evaluate, negotiate, and ultimately select a service provider. The complexity of the decision-making process necessitates service providers have a deep understanding of buyer behaviour. Each buyer or influencer will have their own motivations, priorities and pain points. The challenge for service providers lies in effectively crafting and communicating value propositions that resonate with each decision-making stakeholder.
High Stakes and Barriers to Switching
For business and government entities, the purchase of services is fraught with risk. The financial risk is obvious, given the contracts are large, lucrative, and long-term. But there’s also risk relating to quality, resourcing, service delivery, compliance, governance, conflicts, data security… When selling the intangible, how can service providers present physical evidence to mitigate these, and other, perceived risks?
In B2B services marketing, physical evidence can take many forms. It’s the location and quality of the provider’s premises; the model, age and presentation of their company cars (or bikes or scooters); the way their people present and conduct themselves; and how it appears online. Services businesses can also provide physical evidence of their expertise, achievements, and client service through such things as tombstone advertisements, awards, certifications, and industry rankings or league tables.
Intangible, Inseparable, and Perishable
When marketing and selling something which is intangible, inseparable, and perishable, brand reputation, word-of-mouth referrals, and industry specialisation hold significant weight.
A strong and untarnished brand provides high level confidence in the stability and strength of the service provider.
Satisfied clients become credible advocates. Leveraging positive client experiences through case studies, testimonials, and online reviews (all further examples of physical evidence) can significantly influence buyer behaviour.
And because B2B services marketing frequently takes place within highly specialised industries, each with its unique jargon, regulations, and nuances, demonstrating deep industry expertise and understanding provides assurance and creates a point of difference in competitive environments.
B2B Services Marketing is complicated.
As you can see, the combination of all of these factors places B2B services marketing is in a league of its own. It’s complicated.
Still, while B2B services marketing may be a complex endeavour, it presents tremendous opportunities, both for the businesses that sell to other organisations and for the marketing professionals who are able to skilfully navigate its intricacies.
