Head vs. Heart: B2B & B2C Communication Strategies

One thing that helps me the most in copywriting is knowing sales. It wasn’t until about 15 years into doing both B2B and B2C sales that I realized there was a method I was intuitively using to communicate with customers. Innately, I think most sales people get the difference but it became clear to me when I was training another sales person. In order to get them to understand what I was talking about I said focus on their head or their heart (we were selling B2B and B2C products).

Simply put-when selling to another business, you highlight how your product or service elevates their bottom line. In selling to the end consumer you appeal to their heart. Seems simple, right?

Well, yes and no. Let’s dive in.

Head sale

You are always speaking to a real human being that puts their pants on one leg at time-just like you! But they also have a job to do. They not only have to resonate with the idea of working with your company, but it also has to make financial and logistical sense. Your challenge when crafting your message to a B2B customer is to show them this:

• CAN I TRUST YOU: My company has a stellar reputation in the industry with (x) amount of years in business and over (#) of clients served. (conversely if you are new organization, you would ask, ‘how can I EARN your trust?’)

• ARE YOU ON TIME: My company is impeccable at meeting deadlines.

• WHY SHOULD I BUY YOUR PRODUCT: My product solves your problem better than any others in the industry, here’s why!

• VALUE-My product over delivers in value (notice I didn’t say less expensive…let’s not race to the bottom).

So, while you want to be personable, you also want to make sure to address these things. Maybe not all in one communication, but you can mix and match depending on what your customer values the most. Guaranteed, these are the 4 pillars of their concerns. We want to knock down those objections before you even get on the phone with them!

Heart Sale

Direct to consumer sales (retail, subscriptions, courses, coaching, etc) is a little trickier. An end consumer doesn’t have a metric or a company guideline that directs their spending. They may have a budget for your category of product, but they are a wild card when it comes to closing. You have to nail your value added proposition with these folks, and fast. You only have a few chances to get someone’s attention. Honestly, you are competing with approximately 10,000 other advertisements that are seen in a day. You need to stand out, so how do you do that?

• I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT: My product/service addresses your area of concern and helps you solve it.

• DESSERT BEFORE DINNER: My product/service is a special treat, go ahead, indulge yourself! You deserve to feel good.

• VALUE: My product/service over delivers value.

• IT’S EASY: My product/service makes your busy life much easier.

Do you see how the goals are different? Can you see how your product or service based business can use these pillars of concern to start converting customers?

Now you know a little bit more about how to get inside the mind of your customer, whaddya say you take a copywriter out for coffee? Kidding. I bet we’re in different time zones, but my phone is always handy if you need help, or you can email me too!

Cheers!

Andrea