Study of Challenges in B2B Marketing

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STUDY OF CHALLENGES OF B2B
MARKETING
The report is prepared by
Amay Baheti
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amaybaheti/
{2021-23}

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DECLARTION
I, Mr. Amay Baheti hereby declare that I have personally carried out the work depicted in the
research report entitled-
“STUDY OF CHALLENGES OF B2B MARKETING”
No part of this research project has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma
prior to the date.
Signature
Amay
Date: March 29, 2022
Place- Mumbai, Maharashtra

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Table of Contents
Chapters Page No.
Title I
Declaration II
Acknowledgement III
Table of Contents IV
Executive Summary 1
Chapter 1
Introduction to B2B Marketing
Objectives of the report
Research Methodology
2
3
4
Chapter 2
Literature Review 5
Chapter 3
Analysis and Findings 7
Chapter 4
Conclusions
Recommendations
14
15
Bibliography 16
References 17

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Executive Summary
The purpose of this study was to understand the- To study the challenges in b2b marketing, to
study the importance of personal selling as compared to other channel in b2b, to study the
impact of advertising in b2b marketing.
This report is solely based upon the existing studies, reports on the same topic.
 how B2B is different from B2C. they differ primarily in terms of their audiences and
how they communicate to them. While B2C marketing focuses on quick solutions and
enjoyable content, B2B marketing is more concerned with building relationships and
proving a product's return on investment for a business customer.
 They also differ in terms of sales volume, volume in B2B transactions is much higher
than compared to B2C transactions because B2B is aimed at Business houses where as
B2c is aimed at Single entity i.e. customers or consumers.
India’s total B2B spend grew by 9.4 per cent in Q3 2021 on a year-on-year basis and is forecast
to grow by 10.3 per cent in 2022.

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Chapter 1
1.1) Introduction to B2B Marketing
Business-to-business (B2B), sometimes known as B-to-B, is a type of transaction between
businesses, such as one between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler
and a retailer. Business-to-business transactions are those that take place between
corporations rather than between a firm and an individual customer.
Business-to-business (B2B) marketing refers to the practise of selling a specific product made
by one firm to another. It is also required for any firm that want to provide its services to
other organisations. Businesses that manufacture certain items, such as plastic, steel, or cloth,
or provide varied services, such as project management or search engine optimization,
frequently utilise B2B marketing. There are several B2B marketing tactics that, when
implemented appropriately, may yield outstanding results.
The first stage in B2B marketing is informing other businesses that your company exists and
that you offer a product or service that will benefit them. B2B marketing generates interest in
your brand and nurtures prospects with the objective of turning them into customers, in
addition to generating brand recognition. Ideally, customers will form a valued relationship
with your brand that will last for many years. Because B2B goods and services are typically
more sophisticated (and expensive) than those geared for consumers, building long-term
connections is essential. While someone may not care about relationships if they are looking
for the cheapest t-shirt, picking the proper partner is critical if they are considering a long-
term investment in something like manufacturing equipment.

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1.2) Objectives
1.) To explore differences between B2C & B2B marketing.
2.) To analyse impact of advertising in B2B marketing.
3.) To explore the importance of personal selling in B2B marketing as compared to B2C
marketing.

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1.3) Research Methodology
The study is solely based on the secondary data sources in the form of sources like Marketing
Charts, Drift, CXL, Radix Communications and Fox Agency was used.
The researchers have placed their own observations regarding the same. The methodology of
this study is an in-depth desk research and analysis of the various websites, Research papers &
Journals.
Tools Used:
The main tools used for data presentation are tables and charts.

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Chapter 2
Literature Review
According to (Lilien, 2016) another challenge is the complexity and heterogeneity in the
problem domain. The number of people involved in B2B buying is higher than B2C. while in
B2C, generally the consumer decides. The B2C domain tends to be more standardized with
product attributes well defined, while B2B is usually more heterogeneous as to customer size
and performance needs.
According to Jobber (2007) there are 7 factors which have influence on the success of building
brands B2B Brand building is a complex process that includes advertisement, website,
brochures, and trade show booths in order to deliver consistent image of company’s product or
service. It is essential for the entire organization to understand the importance of branding in
B2B context and also able to articulate a consistent branding message.
According to (Harrison et al., 2006). One of the major issues in B2B marketing is that B2B
markets have a more complex decision-making unit as compared to B2C markets, Industrial
markets are different from consumer markets not only because of its products but also in terms
of purchase decision making process. In purchasing matrix high risk products such as materials
and plant machinery are normally purchased by top-management; and middle & lower level
managements are responsible in buying low risk products such as office insurance and
stationary. The Figure 1 shows the purchasing decision matrix of industrial products.
According to Ford (1998) Business-to-business marketing is about meeting the requirements
of other businesses. Since 1990s, many B2B related models and theories have been developed
and evaluated but still there are various criticisms of work in this field have arisen. Researcher
identifies two major reasons of concerning issues in B2B marketing; (1) lack of defining
significant problems associated with validation of B2B terms and methodology; (2)

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organizational internal and external operations are not linked with each other, so, there is a lack
of investigation in finding out, what is happening in the business environment and how the
relationships are changing.

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Chapter 3
Analysis and Findings
B2B and B2C marketing differ primarily in terms of their audiences and how they
communicate to them. While B2C marketing focuses on quick solutions and enjoyable
content, B2B marketing is more concerned with building relationships and proving a
product's return on investment for a business customer.
Potential sales volume:
B2C campaigns have the potential to reach everybody who is interested in a product, even if
they are not the target buyer. For example, a product aimed at children may appeal to the
household's decision-maker by also targeting them in order to persuade them to buy
something.
While B2C firms may cast a broad net and yet anticipate a great ROI on their ads, B2B
brands do not have that luxury. That's because the items in B2B marketing are intended for
companies, and there are normally considerably fewer businesses than people in any
demographic.
While specificity is important for both, B2B marketing must narrow down their target
demographic even more by industry, business size, anticipated revenue, and other factors.
Average budget per customer:
There is a significant difference between an individual's budget and that of a company. While
paying five figures on a piece of equipment may be out of reach for the average person, it is
almost certainly already factored into a company's budget and, as you might expect,
marketing a $5 item is very different from marketing a $50,000 one.

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Indian businesses reported three times faster growth in their spending than the expectations
from its comparable peers from other nations. India’s total B2B spend grew by 9.4 per cent in
Q3 2021 on a year-on-year basis and is forecast to grow by 10.3 per cent in 2022.
(Source: India Business Spend Indicator (IBSI) report, launched by American Express.)

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Business-to-business advertising contains all marketing activities aimed towards other
businesses rather than individual customers. B2B, advertising occurs between organisations
that are often situated in the middle of the supply chain for any product or service that does
B2B advertising may entail the marketing of items such as everyday office supplies,
particular parts used in another company's product, or services mainly aimed at companies
such as human resources consulting etc.
Methods of Advertising under B2B
1. Pay per click
2. Paid search advertising
3. Search engine optimization
4. Social media marketing
5. Conversion rate optimization
(Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/b2b-marketing)

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 Through In-depth secondary research I also found out that Primary reason why B2B
brands choose to advertise is to increase their Brand Awareness.
(Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/b2b-marketing)
 Another most important reason was to increase their overall brand engagement with
their buyers i.e. another business.
 Advertising about the product, for example intel does it very cleverly.
 Lead generation is important for any growing business; it helps us find potential
customers for our product.

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Why B2B Advertising Important?
Most prospects do not approach a vendor until they are 60–80% sure of the way through their
buying and information-gathering journey. Before contacting you, today's B2B customers will
have a clear concept of what they're looking for. Needless to say, a smack-them-on-the-head
kind of communication is harmful. Instead, such customers would rather interact with you.
Before people will buy from you, you must first educate them and build their trust.

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(Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com)
What Is Personal selling?
 Personal selling is the practice of establishing and sustaining client relationships in
order to sell items or services. Face-to-face encounters are typically used, and other
methods such as telemarketing or email can also be helpful.
 personal selling allows a direct and personalized interaction between the company
and potential customers.

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 It is important because it allows businesses to build relationships with potential
customers, understand their specific needs, and tailor their products or services to
meet those needs.
Salesforce goes to the customers:
Salesforce goes to the customer by two ways
 In Person sales calls (Outbound)
 Contact by mail or telemarketing (Inbound)
In Personal Sales Calls or Outbound Sales:
In this method sales force directly goes to the customer and built relationships by
actually meeting them face to face.
Contact by Mail or Telemarketing or Inbound:
In this method sales force contact to the new, existing or former customers by
telemarketing. It is cheaper than direct selling. Inbound refers to when customers
contact with the company to resolve their issues and problems related to company
and products.
Business to Business selling or B2B selling:
Producers and wholesaler mostly sell their products to other businesses which are
also known as business to business (B2B) selling. B2B selling also refers to the
making sales to major or corporate clients but some producer and wholesaler
directly sell their products to consumers by any means.
 In B2B there are many decision makers and they usually follow a long process of
approvals while in B2C there is usually one decision maker.
 In B2B the amount of sales is very high compared to B2C, because in B2B another
business is buying the product to complete or to complement their own product.

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Chapter 4
Conclusions of the Study
 Through In-depth desk research of the topic “Study of Challenges in B2B Marketing”,
I found out that (1) how B2B is different from B2C. they differ primarily in terms of
their audiences and how they communicate to them. While B2C marketing focuses on
quick solutions and enjoyable content, B2B marketing is more concerned with building
relationships and proving a product's return on investment for a business customer.
 They also differ in terms of sales volume, volume in B2B transactions is much higher
than compared to B2C transactions because B2B is aimed at Business houses where as
B2c is aimed at Single entity i.e. customers or consumers.
 India’s total B2B spend grew by 9.4 per cent in Q3 2021 on a year-on-year basis and is
forecast to grow by 10.3 per cent in 2022.
 (2) Advertising puts a great impact on B2B marketing, Marketer’s primary goal is to
increase their brand awareness, engagement, advertising their products & lead
generation.
 (3) Personal selling is being done in both B2B & B2C.
 Through in person sales or it can also be done through telemarketing, email marketing.

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Recommendations
1. Generating profitable leads: Today, the top marketing objective for B2B marketers of
the new decade is converting leads into customers. Technology might have played a
vital role in increasing communication and enhancing the overall approaching
experience. But even that could not nail the number one step of gaining a client. As
much you can find potential clients through online forums, it is not easy to have them
convinced for doing business with you. Therefore, even if it is one of the most talked-
about challenges, generating profitable leads through any and every possible means is
extremely necessary to get started.
2. In B2C, one of the greatest challenge for marketer’s is lack of brand awareness in B2C
marketing. So to overcome this marketer should focus more on quality and service as
it will create a positive image in mind of customer which in turn would result in word
of mouth marketing. Which will improve brand awareness.
3. As advertising doesn’t pull customers in B2B so to overcome that ads should be backed
by data so that businesses who buy after research can have trust in the brand.
4. Personal selling should be continued in both.

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Bibliography
1. https://www.ictsd.org/impact-of-advertising-in-b2b-marketing-project/
2. https://ninjaoutreach.com/what-is-personal-selling/
3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285946088_Survey_research_in_B2B_mark
eting_Current_challenges_and_emerging_opportunities
4. https://www.marketingcharts.com/customer-centric/datadriven-117333

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References
Website Articles
 What is Personal Selling? BY: David Schneider
 What Are B2B Marketers’ Most Critical Challenges Right Now? BY:
Marketingcharts.com
Research Paper
 Effect of B2B advertising on firm’s market value: CSR as a strategic complement.
By - Shuojia Gu

Study of Challenges in B2B Marketing

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