In the marketing of industrial goods, it is especially important to pay attention to such a classic promotion technique as a unique selling proposition (USP). For B2B marketing, it is extremely important that the USP concept is carefully prepared. The USP can be, for example, the production of drugs from domestic raw materials using a patented technology, in which the cost is several tens of times lower than the world average. Of course, it is important to ensure appropriate protection of intellectual property. In such cases, other means of marketing influence may be less developed, but the advantage of a globally unique method will clearly prevail.

For technically complex products and solutions in the B2B field, such USP can be, for example, the presence of a center of competence (CC) in a certain area, the ability to test unique equipment, as well as an independent examination, during which the obtained objective data are automatically recorded.

Decision making by a corporate client is characterized by increased requirements for the availability of technical justification. Particularly convincing is the technical justification, supported by calculations, measurements, instrumental expertise, automatically recorded test protocols and other objective data. In the field of information technology, such examinations are carried out in centers of competence in relevant areas, which are quite common in large foreign enterprises. Conducting such objective research (for example, examination of billing systems of telecommunications companies) is already a common practice for Western organizations.

For Russia, such experience has not yet become widespread, but conducting such an examination for large-scale projects (meaning the IT sector) is already possible without traveling abroad, since some Central Committees employ international-level IT experts with experience in implementing relevant projects .

Communications in the B2B market

Communications deserve special attention in B2B marketing. They represent a complex of personal and impersonal communications in relation to the purchasing company. These may include promotions, trade shows, personal selling, direct mail, gifts, etc. The effectiveness of using any of the selected tools depends on how it will be combined with other elements of sales promotion.

The purpose of marketing communication is to move the buying organization from the state of a potential client to the state of a real one.

The development of a marketing communications program within the B2B market consists of six basic elements:

1) setting tasks. As part of the development of this element, it is desirable to conduct two types of analysis: analysis of the company and its products, as well as analysis of the market and customers, that is, analysis of the internal and external environment. Carrying out these types of analysis involves answering a number of questions: What position do the company’s products occupy in the market? What are the firm's strengths and weaknesses relative to its competitors? What is the assessment of this company by buyers in comparison with competing firms? How satisfied are the company's clients? Answers to these questions will reveal the company's problems and help formulate clear objectives for the marketing communications program;

2) determining the target audience. The target audience can be identified at two levels: within the micro and macro segments;

3) determination of the budget. From the point of view of economic theory, a company can continue to increase the costs of marketing communications until the additional income from them becomes equal to the additional costs. However, in practice, determining such a moment is a very difficult task, since it is not easy to determine the relationship between the costs incurred and the reaction and activity of buyers. There are three approaches to determining the size of a given budget: the use of various types of guidelines and rules, the use of general firm practice in a particular industry, and the use of the “goals and objectives” method. The latter involves setting clear goals to achieve a certain measurable result, according to which the expected size of the budget is established;

4) development of a message strategy. Developing a message strategy includes two mandatory stages: preliminary and final development. The first develops a kind of statement about the goals of marketing communications, that is, it contains information about the company, its capabilities, products produced, etc. In addition, it must demonstrate the ability to meet the needs and desires of customers, and also reflect the specific benefits of cooperation with this particular company. The final stage, in turn, creates messages ready for distribution through media channels;

5) selection of media channel. The basis for choosing a media channel is the specifics of the selected target audience;

6) creation of a system for evaluating results, assessing the effectiveness of the communications program.

Communications in the B2B sector solve a whole range of problems at all stages of the transaction and indirectly influence it. To date, there are no known perfect tools to measure what their impact is on the customer's purchasing decision process. The only way to be sure of this is to completely refuse communications. Communications do not solve business problems on their own, but without them you will have a harder time selling and defending your product and company in the event of a crisis in highly competitive markets.

From my experience, I highlight the following tasks that communications in B2B business solve. In reality, there are much more of them - for each business segment and each company, depending on its business model, they can be different.

Marketing support

Over the years of working with my clients, most of which are B2B companies, I have formed an unshakable confidence that PR, marketing and even the sales department do not work on their own, but together, solving the general business problems of the company. The role of the communications department is to support marketing and sales initiatives and projects and help implement them within their competencies.

I would classify 70% of my work with B2B companies in the area of ​​“product communications,” which is based on comprehensive assistance to marketing in promoting products on the B2B market. All possible PR tools, digital communications, event communications, standard and non-standard solutions are used here.

Consumer education

If a company produces a complex product, and in most cases this is what happens in B2B markets, then there is a need to explain to customers exactly how it will help solve their business problems. As a rule, this is not a quick process, and it cannot be done without proper communication.

Basically, work within this area is based on interaction with industry and business publications, on the preparation and distribution of content in various forms - texts, infographics, videos and more.

Market formation

If the product is new, unfamiliar and incomprehensible to consumers, and there is no formed market, then selling it is even more difficult. Here, too, communications are needed, within the framework of which the company will actually form the market and demand for its product. The role of communication is to explain to consumers why they need this product, how to use it, what benefits it provides, why it was created in the first place and why they should purchase it.

Value component of the product

In recent years, in the PR world it is generally accepted that B2B and B2C communications are fading into the background, giving way to P2P communications (People to People), because ultimately the decision to purchase a product is still made by a person. This is partly true, but there are exceptions, especially when it comes to expensive equipment or equipment and component materials, the quality and features of which determine the safety of the final product for the production of which this equipment and components are purchased.

However, there are indeed goods and services in the B2B market, the demand for which is influenced by the emotional component - the values ​​of the product that evoke positive emotions in the buyer, influence his perception of the product, and, as a result, affect the purchase decision. The value component of a product, both in B2C and B2B, is formed by communications.

Stimulating demand

No matter how strange it may sound at first glance, communications can have a serious impact on stimulating demand for a product among end consumers in the B2B2C chain. As evidence, I will give examples of several cases, without naming companies or names.

One of my clients produces paper towels and liquid soap that are purchased by shopping malls, business centers, hotels, restaurants, airports, etc. In order for a company's sales to grow, it is important for it that visitors (end users of the product) of all these places use its products more often. Today, according to various studies, from 20 to 40% of people do not wash their hands with soap or do not wash them at all after visiting the toilet in public places. Therefore, the company implements many educational projects in the field of hygiene and health. We see a similar story in the B2C sector - with toothpastes, shampoos, washing powders, etc. Add more to clean better! Works? Works. True, in B2C this is more the merit of advertising.

The second case concerns a company that produces food packaging. Buyers of packaging are companies producing dairy products, juices, etc. The habit of buying products in eco-packaging was invented not by environmentalists or consumers, but by companies producing this very packaging in order to add value to their B2B product and, as a result, maintain and increase sales. After all, food manufacturers buy what will be in demand by the end consumers of their product.

There are many similar cases that can be cited. But none of them were implemented without well-thought-out communication.

Building a reputation

Of course, it is not marketing or sales that are responsible for a company’s reputation, but any careless step by any company employee can ruin it. Selling a product to an unknown company or a company with a dubious reputation is extremely difficult, no matter what tricks the marketing and sales department resort to. Therefore, the communications department pays great attention to building the company’s reputation. “Corporate communications” is a separate area that is developing in parallel with “product communications”.

But it is “product communications” that are responsible for building the reputation of a product or brand, the task of which is to tell consumers why the product is good and what distinguishes it from other similar products - premium quality, reliability, durability, etc.

Product perception in certain segments in B2B is especially important. For example, it is important for hotels and restaurants to impress guests, so they purchase products that are considered “premium”. For construction companies constructing luxury housing, the reputation of the product as “durable” and “quality” is important. For manufacturers of children's products, the reputation of an “environmentally friendly” product is important. Forming the correct perception of a product, even a B2B product, and broadcasting its best qualities is what communications do.

Business protection and crisis prevention

When the management of a B2B company claims that they don’t need any PR, and their sales department does an excellent job without a communications department, a quote from one of the greats immediately comes to mind: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

It's truly great when a company sells and makes money without any difficulties. But talking about stability these days is at least stupid - you can fall from Olympus much faster than you ascended it. You don’t even need to give unnecessary examples - reading these lines, probably everyone remembers well-known examples.

A well-built communication system is something that can protect a business or even save a company from collapse if something goes wrong. A defective product that goes on sale, a failure in production or supply, an increase in taxes and customs duties, a production accident, restrictions imposed on the company’s business by regulatory authorities - there are a great many risks and scenarios for the development of events. Without a PR department and an established communications system, including anti-crisis communications, the company's management will not be able to provide an adequate response to the events that have occurred and an operational set of measures to solve the problem.

Any crisis situation affects sales of the company's products. If the problem is not significant and is not directly related to the product, perhaps in some cases sales managers can talk to customers and reassure them. But if the problem is related to the product - its production, quality, supply, etc. - communication cannot be avoided.

Employer branding in B2B

One day we were contacted by the HR department of one of our clients, whose B2B brand we have been involved in product communications for several years. The HR department was faced with the task of promoting the employer brand, which became more and more difficult to solve on its own every year. “You have to run as fast as you can just to stay in place, and to get somewhere you have to run at least twice as fast!” – this is roughly how the problem faced by the HR department was formulated before us.

And as Tatyana Ananyeva (Apostrophe-Media company), moderator of a round table on the topic of employer brand promotion, rightly noted at the B2B Communication Forum held in June this year, no matter how great HR specialists are, they do not have all the necessary competencies in the field communications, allowing them to single-handedly promote the employer brand in the external environment.

Promoting an employer brand is another task that cannot be solved without communications.

Instead of output

According to all the canons of such manifesto texts, there should be a conclusion about how important communications are for B2B companies. But readers of our online magazine who are engaged in B2B communications and B2B marketing definitely do not need anything like that.

Therefore, instead of making a conclusion, I will only say that on the pages of the B2B Journal we will together look for solutions to the problems that we constantly face while working in a difficult B2B business, where it is not always obvious how, on what basis and at what point decisions are made. purchasing decisions, how to evaluate the contribution of communications specialists to the overall result and whether this should be done at all, how the behavior of buyers of B2B products is changing in the era of smartphones and social networks and whether it is changing.

Find answers to these and other questions in the B2B Journal, as well as at our annual conferences “PR in the B2B sector” and B2B Communication Forum.

We are always open to any forms of cooperation, your suggestions, ideas, recommendations and criticism. For any questions write: .

Subscribe to our Telegram channel and stay up to date with the latest B2B communications news!

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

Similar documents

The concept of communication and marketing communications. Target audience and methods of working with it. Assessing the effectiveness of marketing communications when working with the target audience. Characteristics of Forum Media Group. Branch of Forum Media Group on the Russian market.

thesis, added 12/19/2013


The main goal of Public relations is to establish contact with the public. Four important characteristics of a mass audience. Awareness of the problem and limitations, the level of involvement of the active audience in the problem situation. Criteria for typology of the public.

course work, added 03/12/2011


Transformation of the traditional communication model in a virtual environment. Needs of potential consumers. Characteristics of the target audience, perception of information. How the site supports or limits the reaction of the target audience.

test, added 05/23/2013


Essence, concept, role, types, tasks, basic principles, types and channels of advertising distribution. Stages of organizing an advertising company. Connection of a product or service with the target audience. Development of an advertising company using the example of the magazine "Theater Stage".

abstract, added 05/21/2013


The essence of advertising campaigns as a type of communication with the target audience. Marketing activities aimed at stimulating sales and increasing consumer loyalty. Organization and implementation of a low-budget advertising campaign for YuzhUralAvto LLC.

course work, added 01/12/2015


Justification of the need to improve the competitiveness of trade organizations in order to increase competitiveness in the market and achieve maximum results in the communication process between the trade organization and its target audience.

thesis, added 07/05/2012


Examples of naming - creating an original name for a product, service or company, allowing them to be easily recognized and highlighting their advantages. Checking the future name of a company or product for euphony and researching its perception by the target audience.

practical work, added 04/08/2009

There are many definitions of B2B (business-to-business). In Russian, various translations of this term are used: “company for company”, “business for business”, etc. In contrast to the B2C segment (business-to-customers, “business for the consumer”), where the purchase decision plays a significant role The personal emotions of a particular person play a role; in the B2B market, the buyer’s choice is mainly based on rational considerations.

As a result of increased competition, the Russian B2B market has long gone beyond the boundaries that were limited to the production of products and services of adequate quality. Now products must not only be of high quality, but also satisfy the needs of a particular market as much as possible, which is confirmed by classical marketing theories. The goal of marketing, according to Kotler's concept, is to most fully satisfy the needs of customers in the most beneficial way for the supplier.

Thus, to achieve this goal in the most general sense, it is necessary that the following basic requirements are met as a result of the procurement:

• - the supplier’s product (service) must meet the characteristics declared by the client;
• - the supplier (performer) must deliver (provide a service) on the terms specified in the agreement with the client.

Communications in the B2B market are not limited to considering only the relationships between selling and buying firms, they also include relationships between competing companies, relationships with banks, government agencies and all other actors in the industrial market. This determines the fact that relationships between industrial market actors, or communications, become the main element of analysis in industrial marketing, and the establishment and development of relationships is the main goal of an industrial actor [Industrial marketing: theory and practice O.U. Yuldasheva].

The specifics of communication in the B2B sphere are influenced by such factors as the features of the purchase decision-making process and the differences between the business market and the consumer market.

Thus, one of the key distinguishing features, according to S. Minett, is that “the development of products in the industrial market is stimulated by technical progress, while the driving force for the development and improvement of products in the consumer market is changes in fashion trends. Therefore, given the presence of such different market incentives corresponding to different markets, groups of potential and existing consumers perceive the product differently and behave differently towards it."

Moreover, differences in communication in the business and consumer markets are manifested both in content and methods.

The content of communications in the business market should be purely rational and pragmatic. This is explained by the fact that marketing in the B2B market involves providing consumers with objective and rather complex information. A business message is intended to convey information aimed at people (specialists) who are trying to find a product to satisfy a specific and well-defined production need, guided by a specific specification.

Industrial marketing communications are “a set of personal and impersonal communications aimed at the industrial buyer.” The choice of communication channels in the business market, as in any other, involves the distribution of allocated funds between the main marketing communications tools: advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling and direct marketing. The effectiveness of each of these tools depends on how well it is combined with other promotion tools. Each of them "plays a specific role in the customer education task, the purpose of which is to take the potential customer from a state where he knows nothing about the company and its product, and to take him through all stages of the purchasing decision-making process until the purchase itself."

F. Kotler concludes that B2B companies usually prioritize in the following order: (1) personal selling, (2) sales promotion, (3) advertising, (4) public relations (Fig. 1.2.).

Figure 1.2 Relative costs of marketing communications in the business market

Consequently, for business markets, the main promotion tools are personal selling and direct marketing, and the supporting tools are all other marketing communications tools, including advertising. At the same time, it is important to effectively combine all elements with each other, so the concept of integrated marketing communications for business markets is also relevant.

An integrated approach to developing a marketing communications strategy, as already noted, is based on the recognition of the fact that different communication tools have different advantages and are combined and complementary in certain ways. When developing a communication strategy, it is important to consider all aspects of these relationships in order to select the most effective set of promotion tools.

Advantages and disadvantages of various marketing communications tools from a business market perspective:

Table 1.2 - Advantages and disadvantages of marketing communications tools

F. Kotler, speaking about the effectiveness of promotion costs, notes that it is largely determined by the buyer’s degree of readiness to purchase the product. In Fig. 2.4. displays the relative cost effectiveness of the main promotion tools. Thus, “at the awareness stage, advertising and publicity play the most important role. The buyer becomes familiar with the product mainly through advertising and personal selling. The buyer’s persuasion is mainly influenced by personal selling. The purchase is made for the most part during personal selling or under the influence of events sales promotion. The likelihood of repeat order is largely determined by personal selling and sales promotion, as well as reminder advertising."

Figure 1.2. Cost effectiveness of various MI tools at various stages of readiness to purchase.

“Business for business” (“B2B”)(English) "Business to business"- Russian "business to business", abbreviated as “bi tu bi”) is a term that defines the type of information and economic interaction, classified according to the type of interacting entities, in this case these are legal entities that work not for the final ordinary consumer, but for the same companies, that is to another business. In Western countries, the term “B2B” often refers to any activity of some companies to provide other manufacturing companies with accompanying services, additional equipment, as well as goods intended for the production of other goods (production means), goods for professional use, etc. This field of activity is focused on obtaining benefits (profits) from the provision of services or the sale of goods, where the “objects” are services or goods, and the “subjects” are organizations interacting in the market field. Organizations and (or) individual entrepreneurs act here as “seller” and “buyer” of services or goods.

There is also an interesting definition of the B2B market - as an environment where “supply chains and value chains” are created. In this environment, profit-related interests are taken into account.” This implies the essence of the market in question: “The essence of the B2B market is that it works... for companies in various fields and industries (public, private, commercial and non-profit), as well as individuals buying for business purposes.”

Interesting considerations about the difference between the B2B market and the B2C market by type of acquisition are given by O.I. Blaichman:

• * purchasing decisions are most often made collectively;
• * preliminary research of prices and suppliers is carried out;
• * competitive tenders are often held;
• * in almost all cases negotiations take place, and many others

differences.

B2B communications in a broad marketing sense can be understood as communications necessary to promote a commercial offer, the content of which is the means of production, as well as accompanying goods and services that directly or indirectly serve the production process at one or another stage of the product life cycle. The concept of B2B communications usually broadly includes all means of direct (ATL) and indirect (BTL) market stimulation. The goal of B2B communications is “to establish partnerships, find reliable suppliers for your own production, buyers of raw materials or finished products - equipment and devices or various services.” B2B communication tools, that is, channels and media, unlike B2C tools, are fundamentally aimed exclusively at professionals working in a certain field or industry. And they are consumed “solely for the purpose of obtaining information necessary for work.” Conventionally, B2B communication tools can be divided into B2B media (print publications, websites, portals, electronic media, business TV, radio broadcasts and channels), B2B events (industry and cross-industry exhibitions, fairs, conferences, round tables, master classes, presentations , work shops, etc.) and other means. According to the classics of foreign marketing F. Kotler and V. Pferch, “the main communication tools in the sector of industrial goods and services are personal selling, direct marketing, PR, specialized press, sponsorship, trade shows and exhibitions, advertising, sales promotion and e-marketing "

There are also more complex and detailed classifications of B2B communication tools. For example, O.N. Kravchenko proposes the following scheme, focusing on the integrated nature of the channels:

• *targeted marketing events: conferences, forums, summits, round tables, business breakfasts, webinars, etc.;
• *direct - marketing activities: postal and electronic mailings, telemarketing;
• *media marketing: advertising and press releases in targeted print media, on Internet portals;
• *Internet marketing and advertising on the Internet telecommunications network;
• * personal contacts.

The general requirement for B2B communication tools calls for the use of rational argumentation. This is justified by the fact that both the subject of the market offer (a product or service that has an industrial purpose) and its consumer (the person making the decision to purchase a product or service for business use) exist in the sphere of business relations and the production process, far from emotionality and imagery inherent in the B2C sphere. Thus, on the one hand, the B2B buyer and consumer is initially more critical, distrustful and focused on objective information. On the other hand, he is inclined to trust the data received from B2B communications if he is sure that they do not misinform him. B2B channels and media thereby fundamentally stand out to them from the entire flow of information available to them: “The vast majority of managers believe that B2B publications and sites are more informative and reliable sources than mass publications. At the same time, information obtained through the use of b2b-media is often the main part of current information, as well as information about trends in the industry.” It is especially worth noting personal B2B contacts both as a channel and as a communication format. Various marketing and PR sources emphasize that they are extremely important for the domestic market:

“Personal relationships, of course, play a special role in Russian business.

Attitudes towards a company are usually formed from relationships with the manager.

A good manager can be a plus in cooperation with a distributor, and a bad one can be the main reason for refusing to work. Thus, company managers play two roles: they form the image of the company through the transmission of its rational characteristics.” The importance of B2B communication tools is that they are one of the most important resources for managers, influencing them in the process of making management decisions, especially purchasing decisions. For example, it is believed that “due to the synergistic effect, B2B media influence buyers at all phases of the purchasing process:

• * First thoughts about purchasing: websites, sales managers, B2B magazines.
• * Offer research: websites, sales managers, B2B magazines.
• *Narrow your choices: sales managers, websites, B2B magazines.
• * Final decision making: sales managers, websites,

B2B magazines and exhibitions.

* Post-purchase review: sales managers, websites, B2B magazines.” Practitioners argue that in any case, when choosing any marketing activity, you should be guided by the strategic direction of the company's development. The idea of ​​the functions of B2B communications in order to give them a systematic character is best associated with the named tools and their purpose in work.

So, among the functions of B2B communications we can name:

• 1) informational: informing about various commercial offers in the B2B sphere - goods, services, solutions, new products, upgrades, etc.;
• 2) advertising: direct promotion and stimulation in the form of calls for purchase and use;
• 3) indirect promotion and non-commercial sales stimulation: Public Relations, image, image positioning, image enhancement, differentiation from competitors, formation and maintenance of loyalty;
• 4) search: searching for new clients, customers and consumers, as well as partners;
• 5) communication: communication between specialists on professional topics, consulting, advanced training of specialists (in principle, this is done for the image of the enterprise and brand, to increase the company’s publicity capital and the value capital of the brand).

In general, both theorists and practitioners emphasize the primary focus of B2B communications on the image of the company and its brands operating in the industrial consumption market. The fact is that, unlike the B2C market, where the greatest effectiveness in the marketing mix comes from direct advertising as a tool that best influences the retail buyer, in the B2B format the key selling tool is the brand image: “... Promotion of services in the B2B sphere consists in a set of measures aimed at creating a positive image of the company, which when making decisions... plays a key role.”

Based on the foregoing, we can draw a conclusion about the main features of B2B communications, which reveal their essence and how they differ from B2C communications. In this regard, the following can be noted:

• 1) The first feature of B2B communications comes from the nature of competition in the B2B market: we are talking about competition not for an individual in the role of the final consumer, but for a legal entity. This means that in the B2B sector the average purchase price is much higher. This also means that “business representatives are assessing possible risks and potential partners much more closely. And the degree of trust in information here is somewhat lower.”
• 2) The main feature of the “B2B (business-to-business) as opposed to B2C (business-to-customer) sphere is that the buyer’s choice is mainly based on rational considerations” .
• 2) B2B communications initially have a qualitatively higher level of targeting, that is, the target orientation towards the person or persons making purchasing decisions, in other words, in the B2B area, the requirements for the targeting of messages, channels and media are much higher than in the B2C area .
• 3) High barriers to information perception: strong critical filters, a serious degree of mistrust, the requirement for the availability of verification of information data, strict criteria for selecting information.
• 4) Requirements for transparency, efficiency, specificity of information.
• 5) The sphere of B2B communications is quite conservative, innovations appear and become established in it with difficulty. This is connected both with the rational basis for the argumentation of messages and forms of information, and with the mentality of middle and senior managers of enterprises, at whom, in fact, B2B communications are aimed.
• 6) Another extremely remarkable feature of B2B communications is that they largely reproduce the features and character of the B2B market itself, which today operates on a very large scale online, that is, on the Internet.

This means that the most important part of B2B communications occurs virtually, through websites, multifunctional information portals, electronic trading platforms, online stores, exchanges, auctions, etc. “The introduction of electronic methods of doing business is determined by production needs,” says V. Kutukov . - Here everything is decided by the economic benefit from the use of new technologies. Most large and medium-sized Russian enterprises have already realized the convenience they receive when using the Internet to conduct business.

Currently, more than a quarter of Russian companies are implementing or have already implemented corporate information systems.” However, according to the same source, in terms of e-commerce development, we are today at the same level of development as, for example, the United States was 17-20 years ago. It is worth highlighting the most pressing problems of B2B communications in Russia. Based on the literature studied, it seems possible to reduce their diversity to several key positions.

• 1) The massive shift of B2B to the online format, accessible, mobile, cheap, has made the obvious disadvantages of traditional, offline communications in comparison with virtual ones even more contrasting: hassle in organizing, serious labor and time costs, high cost, local nature, targeted, limited influence.
• 2) Widespread virtual communications have not yet gained a high degree of trust, since they do not provide the effect of personal communication and personal responsibility.
• 3) Both online and offline channels, media and B2B communication tools, operating separately, do not produce serious results.

The identification and analysis of these problems forces B2B marketing practitioners to use an integrated approach to organizing their selling communications, develop synthetic tools and look for new forms of positioning, promotion and stimulation, combining ATL and BTL technologies.