B-to-B and B-to-C, key areas to look out for in the next few years.

I have been reading some very interesting articles on Business-to-Business (b-to-b) and Business-to-Consumer (b-to-c), with various views of the future, and I would like to put my perspective on this. First, ROI, accountability and integration have never been more imperative, with the Internet leading the way driving discrete measurability from search marketing, banner ads and e-mail marketing. Integration of b-to-b/c marketing initiatives across the business functions of Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and Information Technology will be essential in the measurement of ROI for b-to-b/c marketers.  For the travel, food and beverage industries this places a very different strain on integration, as these industries have either been slow adopters of b-to-b/c initiatives, and thus communications and measurability across business functions has not been a strong point, or they were reactive adopters and went into the b-to-b/c marketplace willy-nilly embracing intermediaries, eCommerce, booking engines, and market basket type processes only to fall hard from a lack of internal integration and control to handle the changes, thus leaving a bad b-to-b/c experience hanging over their head. The new direction, for companies with a strong b-to-b/c presence, is the position of marketing operations director; created to place more accountability on an organization, and to improve efficiency of marketing across the organization.

“The Internet is Information”, continues to be the mantra for b-to-b/c marketers driven by on-line consumers who control what they read, how they find information, and when they read it, with the important point being in control of information. The control of information, in some cases, leaves the buyer knowing more about a product then the seller. What this will mean is that in the future we will need to deliver information that is creative and well-designed, and it will need to be more applicable to the specific stage of the decision process. Technologies such as behavior targeting are being developed to provide support for targeting your message.

Lastly, we will not only need to look at new ways to target our message, but more importantly we will need to target our key prospects. Again, technology will lead the way to meshing transactional data, personal data, and marketing data, which will be analyzed using innovative and insightful data models.  The challenge to present your message to the right prospect will become more-and-more important as the overload of information continues to expand and new channels for delivery grow. Segmenting and profiling current and new customers will continue to take center stage for b-to-b/c marketers. Delivery of the message will need to be over the preferred channel/media of the customer.

Technology, planning and being savvy regarding the message, the customer and accountability will be the driving forces behind companies that take the lead in b-to-b/c marketing.       

For additional information on B2B, B2C and other services please read Luxury Experience Company site (www.l-e-company.com).

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