Some marketing experts today believe that a distinction between B2B and B2C is no longer appropriate. Instead, talk about B2H, "Business to Humans. Because in the end, we always want to sell to people.
Even though this is a relevant perspective from our point of view, it falls a bit short. Unlike the end consumer, a person involved in a B2B purchase decision is usually constrained by a corset of requirements. She must justify, argue, convince why her choice is the best one for the company. However, this is not because it is a B2B decision, but rather because of the nature of the purchase decision:
While most people can buy a new type of yogurt on impulse without any problems, they would not do the same with a car. This is because they would have to justify such an impulse purchase much better to their partner and environment - and in most cases seek support or confirmation beforehand.
The purchase of a car, even if it may become less contemporary in the next few years, is a good example of an extensive purchase decision. Due to the relatively high financial value of a vehicle as well as its individual significance, buyers are highly involved cognitively and emotionally. Many relevant B2B decisions work in the same way, because they are also extensive purchase decisions. Therefore, this example is very well suited to illustrate B2B processes.
Let's say my old vehicle is getting on in years and it's foreseeable that I'll have to look for a replacement in the next few months. Now the need is great, because the number of alternatives available is extensive - both in terms of make and model or type of vehicle. Do I need an SUV or a family van? Or will a smaller vehicle do because we will be traveling by train in the future? Drivetrain and equipment are also a confusing field. To get a rough handle on this issue, many car buyers instinctively imitate the procedure that also prevails in many companies: they draw up a catalog of requirements (What does our car absolutely have to be able to do? What would be nice? What features can we do without?) and a short list (brands and/or models that are basically worth considering).
Both tools are of course related - if my favorite brand doesn't offer a 7-seater, I'll have to look elsewhere. But in many cases, the brand shortlist draws attention to features and models.
And, you may ask, is that the same in B2B business? After all, companies don't have a favorite brand and take a much more rational approach to creating a catalog of requirements than "I'd like a big sunroof." That's true, of course - yet in the Boston Consulting Group's 2021 Brand Marketing Maturity Survey, 99 percent of marketing decision-makers from B2B companies surveyed felt that a vendor's brand plays an important role in the decision-making process. Search engine marketing - the supreme discipline of now marketing, i.e., that part of the marketing mix that is directed at addressees who are in a concrete buying process - can no longer adequately satisfy users' information needs through information overload alone: Two out of three search queries on Google now do not result in the desired click, Gartner reports in survey from 2020. And even where the need for information is effortlessly satisfied, this does not always happen to the benefit of the buyer. Are you in doubt about this statement? Then try buying a fan or milk frother on Amazon. More information is not always better.
In this context, the brand is regaining its former strength by fulfilling its traditional function: creating familiarity and providing orientation in an overwhelming range of products. The same study also shows that "brand" is once again at the top of the agenda for 28 percent of all top marketing decision-makers.
Brand awareness and preference, however, is determined by emotional resonance. The memory of a brand or the vaguely positive association that can tip the scales in an extensive buying decision about a place on the shortlist is determined by the relevance and resonance that a brand can generate in the target group. The idea of aligning one's marketing with the B2H philosophy is therefore not wrong for B2B marketers - but of course in many cases, especially with technical or complex offerings, the link is missing. And that's where storytelling comes in.
