BEFORE OUR EYES
What's The Difference?
Business-to-business is a situation where one business makes a commercial transaction with another. The individuals making decisions on behalf of their business are still people. For that reason, many of the fundamentals in B2C relationship-building exist in B2B.
Therefore, to help build strong relationships, remember the following.
- Drive Brand Awareness
“Today, brands need to win the hearts and minds of their customer and brand differentiation is much more than features and functions." April Crichlow, software provider SAP
- Be Easy To Buy From - remember that today's executives has embraced digital tools and services at much higher rates than other generations.
- Leverage Emotion - B2B is not necessarily about making potential buyers laugh or cry. In this space, it is more about showing empathy, that you understand the buyer’s challenges, and that you’re able to help solve their problems.
The Next Generation
It's often difficult to grasp what young people care about. What do they value? Do they value Elon Musk's first ever tweet and invest in it via digital nft more than a bottle of a vintage Bordeaux wine?
As crazy as that seems, their values have changed at a much faster pace than any previous generation. Here are some findings on what they care about from strategic brand consultancy, Hall & Partners *
- Environmental concerns: protecting the environment and working together towards a more sustainable future
- Living for the now: more younger consumers are less interested in planning ahead in what they see as an unpredictable future. Half are more focused on the simple pleasures in life and see excess as unnecessary overindulgence.
- Authentic activism: All generations expect companies to be consistent about the issues they campaign for and will hold them to account if they fail. And brands that campaign on an issue that really matters and create a difference in the world will be rewarded with loyalty.
- Safety first: There will be more cautious living and attention given to reducing risk in daily life. Brands will need to satisfy a changed desire within consumers for removing risk and feeling protected.
“The future is being shaped before our eyes, sparked not just by a global COVID-19 health crisis, but by political dislocation, economic and environmental disruption and urgent demands for greater justice and equality” Vanella Jackson, Global CEO of Hall & Partners.
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