The boundaries between B2B and B2C are blurring — and have been for some time now.
As a result, the B2B2C (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer) model is increasingly popular among French and international companies.
This model involves selling goods and services to third-party businesses, which then resell them to the general public. Ipso facto, it is necessary to reorient your marketing strategy when moving from B2B to B2B2C.
So one question arises: how can you help your clients sell your products in B2B2C?
Hire a professional copywriter via Redacteur.com to get SEO-optimized articles with high added value.
Why are B2B companies turning to B2B2C?
The B2B2C companies are connected to their end customers and the intermediary players who help them make profits.
This way, they can learn more about their customers’ preferences and interests, while selling more than before thanks to their resellers.
So, switching to B2B2C means be more responsive to changes in consumers' tastes ! Therefore, companies operating in B2B2C can, for example:
- offer discounts on popular products;
- suggest a page that might interest a customer via social media;
- improve your brand image by being closer to your audience, etc.
In short, B2B2C lets you fully personalize your offering.
Why is it worthwhile to deploy a B2B2C strategy?
The B2B2C commerce model It offers many advantages to companies looking to grow sales of their products online or in physical stores. Let us tell you about its challenges!
Develop your company's brand awareness and image
Whether you've just launched your business or it has already been around for several years, implement a B2B2C strategy it is an effective way to raise awareness of your business, grow your customer base, and increase your revenue. Indeed, the more visible your products are, the more likely you are to make sales — it's mathematical.
By using an intermediary distribution network, you can sell your products via web platforms or physical stores that already have a regular customer base and some brand recognition. The customers of these distributors will more easily discover your products, learn about your brand, and you will be able to grow your customer portfolio.
To simplify your customer relationships
When your products are sold by resellers, their customer service handles any issues related to shipping your products (delivery delays, billing errors…)
For you, this means less stress, a significant reduction in your workload, and fewer resources to mobilize for your business.
Moreover, most distribution networks, such as e-commerce platforms or marketplaces, often have a well-established delivery process. You can therefore benefit from the quality and responsiveness of their customer service — your customers will be pleased.
To collect specific data and continually improve your offering
Setting up a B2B2C strategy can also be a real competitive advantage for you because you will have the opportunity to collect data about your products as well as your customers.
Most e-commerce distribution platforms like Amazon, Etsy or Rakuten provide their professional clients with a dashboard so they can track orders and analyze the data collected by the platform. This data is valuable to you because it will let you know whether your product is liked and which target audiences are buying your products.
Once this data has been collected, you will need to analyze it to draw conclusions (is my product too expensive? Is there a real place for my product in the market?) All the conclusions you draw will allow you to refine and improve your offer.
Our advice for implementing a relevant B2B2C strategy
Define who your target customers are
Even before you start developing your product, the question you must ask yourself is: who is it for? What need does it meet? Indeed, it is crucial to clearly define who will buy your product. One mistake many entrepreneurs make when starting out is to begin with their idea rather than their target customers when developing their product. It is essential to focus on future buyers to sell your products, choose the right distribution channels, and succeed with a B2B2C strategy.
Know your customers' habits well and focus on their needs
Once you have clearly defined your personas, our advice is to study their habits and purchasing behaviors carefully. Do your future customers usually shop online or prefer physical stores? Do they scroll through Instagram feeds or spend time on Facebook? These questions will help you shape your offer and choose the distribution and communication channels best suited to your product.
The goal is to show your targets that your product exists and that they can buy it. The strategy to implement is to sell your products where your targets are used to shopping. If you know their consumption habits and the web platform they use regularly, you're all set!
Work with resellers that match the products you sell
If you decide to collaborate with reseller platforms as part of your B2B2C strategy, we encourage you to identify resellers that align with the product you sell. Most reseller platforms specialize in a particular sector. For example, if you sell handmade or artisanal creations, the platform to favor in this sector is Etsy. If you sell high-tech products, you can turn to platforms such as Boulanger or Darty.
The more you position yourself on specialized and relevant platforms or stores for the product you sell, the more likely your targets are to discover and buy your products.
5 tips for selling in B2B2C using content marketing
Implement a B2B2C marketing strategy is not necessarily obvious but is nonetheless necessary when you want to increase your revenue.
Indeed, for the end consumer, interacting with the brand rather than with resellers feels much more natural. Take Apple as an example.
Even though this American giant sells its products through the reseller channel retailers like Fnac or Cdiscount, customers buy Apple products for its reputation and values.
In short, their brand image is appealing. So much so that the resellers would never miss the chance to display Apple products on their shelves. So, here are 5 useful tips to create a B2B2C marketing strategy as solid as Apple's !
1. Pamper your customers
In theera of digital marketing, brands B2B2C must focus on the customer experience. It must be consistent for both consumers and resellers.
By offering an excellent customer experience, you build customer loyalty, whether they purchase for personal or professional use. However, you must ensure that the information provided is:
- Easy to access : your customers must be able to easily access what they are looking for;
- Relevant : clear (understandable), engaging, and concise;
- Consistent : make sure your customers receive the same message across all channels;
- Sources of business : getting information and making a payment should be one and the same.
2. Map the customer journey
To succeed in B2B2C, it is essential to understand precisely how customers make their purchases.
Thus, you should determine several points:
- How the consumer makes a purchase (where, when, how, why);
- The retailer's influence on the consumer's decision;
- The retailer's highlighting and/or recommendation of your product.
Once you have this information, you can use it to improve your relationship with the reseller in question.
For example, by sharing valuable information about your customers with them that could help them understand how to improve their go-to-market strategy.
3. Be present on social media
Social media focuses on maintaining good relationships with your customers.
Consequently, they aim to retain them and to popularize your brand. Although social media do not directly generate sales for B2B2C companies, their value lies in the interest they create in the buyer for a brand over time.
Social media are a flexible tool that supports concrete metrics, such as sales or customer retention. They aim to:
- Strengthen brand awareness and a brand's visibility;
- Share content, ideas and new offers;
- Become a thought leader within a given industry;
- Improve organic search rankings, for example through links;
- Attract new prospective customers when it is combined with content offers, such as white papers, fact sheets or other items;
- Gather insights on B2B2C customers through surveys ;
- Educate buyers and help them better understand the factors that play a role in their purchase decisions ;
- Assist, reassure and retain customers through instant conversations on Facebook, for example.
4. Move all your customers online
If your team has just set up a digital marketing strategy, make sure to communicate early and often with your customers.
Offer simple signup forms and buttons to request samples and catalogs! Also, provide a chat widget at the bottom right of your site so visitors can contact you if needed.
Whatever way you introduce digital tools, anticipate your customers' questions and concerns. But above all, emphasize the benefits of this new feature.
So that customers can use the platform effectively, create:
- FAQs;
- Practical guides;
- White papers;
5. Optimize your online store and start a blog
A blog dedicated to your business is at the heart of most content strategies. It will allow you to reach new customers, be visible on Google, strengthen your credibility and encourage readers to take action/purchase. Today, 77% of internet users regularly read blogsIt would be a shame to miss out!
In addition to starting a blog, it’s crucial to optimize your web pages for SEO. This represents a real gain for your B2C2B strategy!
For example, your online shop should be able to suggest related items on the product page. If you sell technical products or items often linked to others (car parts, electronic products, etc.), consumers and businesses will appreciate being guided to those products.
Besides supporting your customers, cross-selling is also an important sales tool. Your online store will help make your sales process more convincing to your customers!
What should you prioritize to help your clients sell your products in B2B2C?
A polished brand image
To stand out in an increasingly competitive world, it’s important to work on your brand image — in other words, how your company is perceived by consumers. Building a strong brand image gives your business a personality and makes it both recognizable and memorable.
Taking care of your brand image is an effective way to differentiate yourself from competitors and to ensure consumers see your products as the solution that exactly matches their wants and needs.
Anticipate market needs
Any company that wants to grow over the long term must constantly study market evolution through continuous monitoring.
Indeed, consumption trends and buying behaviors are constantly changing. Faced with this ongoing evolution, it’s essential to understand these new behaviors to continue meeting consumers’ needs as best as possible. In this respect, you must monitor consumer behavior to detect future trends and adapt your products to them.
B2B2C and e-commerce: key takeaways!
You get the idea: the good customer experience is essential to the success of the B2B2C model.
After all, if company A delivers a poor experience to the consumer, company B suffers. The reverse is also true. Moreover, if company A does not treat company B as a key player of its sales process, it may lose access to company B's consumers.
It is therefore not surprising that the messages of many B2B2C companies are focused on the customer experience.
To do things right, various digital marketing solutions are available to you:
- Build and know your persona inside out;
- Hire a community manager;
- Create webinars ;
- Migrate all your clients online;
- Create a blog and optimize your store.
Our tip
Are you particularly interested in solution No. 5? So, hire a professional copywriter via Rédacteur.com to get SEO-optimized articles.
