Understanding the Difference Between B2B and B2C Marketing for Consulting Psychologists
Former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower is said to be one of the most productive individuals in history, fostering a decisional matrix deemed The Eisenhower Box, made for guiding our everyday choices (Clear, 2015). The four quadrants are composed of items considered (1) important and urgent, which should be done first that day, (2) important, but not urgent, and should be scheduled accordingly, (3) urgent, but not important, and should be delegated if at all possible, and (4) not important and not urgent, which should be eliminated from that day (Clear, 2015).
The Eisenhower Box may be a good way for consulting psychologists to focus their daily efforts on the intricacies inherent with seeking out clients and engaging in B2B marketing. The trick to making the Box work lies in being able to delineate correctly between what is important and what is urgent, where urgency creates the feeling that some reaction is needed that cannot wait, and importance is defined as anything that coincides with our values, goals, and long-term mission (Clear, 2015). Successful B2B marketing creates a focus on attracting decision-makers capable of large-scale investments, which aim to transform the industry and marketplace through long-term engagements that create leverage for the firm over time (Geehan, 2011).
Understanding the differences between B2C and B2B marketing is crucial for any consulting psychology firm to understand, as they require different needs, posited to mainly exist in three realities that all B2B companies should address (Geehan, 2011). The first reality is the stark understanding that B2B business is mostly characterized by a super-Pareto effect where ten to twenty percent of the firm’s top business clients generate eighty to ninety percent of incoming sales (Geehan, 2011).
Highly concentrated revenue streams create an imbalance of power that can have enormous effects on the consulting firm, creating the second reality where B2B sales dictate the involvement of several organizational roles in the client firm, with only a few decision-makers, creating a need to spend more time and resources on finding the optimal level of sales and marketing geared toward these executive stakeholders (Geehan, 2011).
This newfound focus takes the concentration away from the typical B2C end-user emphasis, reframing consulting efforts into the more appropriate, and third, reality that acknowledges the valuable knowledge and expertise found within B2B consumers, taking the focus away from “selling” and placing more prominence in creating solutions that offer clients value (Geehan, 2011).
Espousing these realities means the consultant must take the time to fully understand the requirements, urgencies, needs, and operational environments of the executive customer, making sure to internalize and practice effective B2B marketing (Geehan, 2011) for our consulting services.
What does it take to be an effective B2B marketer as a consulting psychologist? Executive costumers respond well to business value creation and scrutinize B2B relationship offerings, carefully choosing consulting companies perceived as valuable problem solvers, trusted advisors, and true business partners (Geehan, 2011). This means developing skills of interdependency, consistency, innovation, specialization, long-term commitment, unique perspective, and problem solving (Geehan, 2011).
Additionally, there should be marked competencies in the art of communications, relationship building, B2B marketing strategy, enthusiastic executive customer service, client satisfaction, and collaboration (Geehan, 2011). Engagements should not take place until expert knowledge is procured, and constantly maintained, in regard to technological advancements, globalization, competition, and other market externalities, as well as the internal considerations pertaining to the client’s business, industry, and the consultant’s touted niche market (Geehan, 2011).
Arguably, any B2B offerings should begin with the consulting firm’s long-term mission, goals, and value system, which can be a great starting point in helping to make those everyday decisions needed to capture sustainable, predictable, and profitable growth (Geehan, 2011), perhaps through the use of a decisional matrix, such as the Eisenhower Box, in an effort to be as effective and productive in B2B marketing as possible, by clearly defining what is most important and urgent for the consulting firm to pursue.
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References
Clear, J. (2015). How to be more productive and eliminate time wasting activities by using the “Eisenhower Box” [Online blog.]. Retrieved from http://jamesclear.com/eisenhower-box
Geehan, S. (2011). The B2B Executive Playbook: The Ultimate Weapon for Achieving Sustainable, Predictable and Profitable Growth. Cincinnati, Ohio: Clerisy Press.B
