Expert: How to develop a B2B2C strategy

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Kristina: We’re hearing more and more about the importance of CX – are you seeing more brands actually improve their digital experience at this time, though?

Greg Harbinson, Group Strategy Director, Centerline Digital: Absolutely. CX has become one of the top focus areas of our b2b clients. The quest to create better CX is driving our clients to pursue everything — from more customer-centric digital marketing campaigns to website redesigns to reevaluating their tech stack. 

Kristina: What is the B2B2C trend all about?

Greg: The whole idea behind B2B2C is to connect B2B offerings to the benefits they create for the end users. In the end, the B2B2C model is essentially companies trying to be better partners to those they are marketing to. It’s speaking their language to show them they aren’t just selling a product/service, but the ability to create better, more human experiences for their customers. It’s an evolution of the promise to deliver bottom-line results. Whereas companies used to say that their solutions drive business results, they’re now saying they can help them create better CX, which is the result they’re interested in. 

Kristina: Is this a good thing for brands and marketers?

Greg: Absolutely. This model gives brands the ability to connect their offerings to a real-world value that their customers’ customers will understand. It helps brands be more focused on the end result, which is incredibly helpful and often ignored when brands are developing and organizing their offerings. 

Kristina: How does B2B2C influence CX?

Greg: B2B2C and CX are tightly intertwined. The core message in the B2B2C approach focuses on how a B2B company’s product helps their customers create better CX for the end users. It takes us to a point where we aren’t just selling a product anymore – we’re also selling better CX as a result of that product.

Kristina: What goes into a good B2B2C strategy?

Greg: Behavioral research, foundational messaging and content planning. You need to map out who you’re trying to reach, what they care about and how they behave. Then you can create messaging and content that targets their needs at specific points in their journeys. That’s how you build the relationships that lead to brand preference and adoption.

Kristina: How can marketers and brands ensure they have a good handle on what B2B2C is and how their businesses are doing with it?

Greg: Reading and talking to experts are the best ways to sharpen your understanding and build a framework for the B2B2C approach. To evaluate how you’re doing, we benchmark and monitor performance. We look at early predictors of success, like content engagement and inquiries, as well as more valuable success metrics, like opportunities opened/closed, cost per acquisition and customer lifetime value.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kristina Knight-1
Kristina Knight, Journalist , BA
Content Writer & Editor
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Kristina Knight is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience writing on varied topics. Kristina’s focus for the past 10 years has been the small business, online marketing, and banking sectors, however, she keeps things interesting by writing about her experiences as an adoptive mom, parenting, and education issues. Kristina’s work has appeared with BizReport.com, NBC News, Soaps.com, DisasterNewsNetwork, and many more publications.