Meaningful complexity: what B2B can teach B2C

Emily Vernon at Reckitt argues that complex B2B brands have much to teach their simpler B2C siblings

 

B2C has upstaged its B2B sibling for years. After all, the history of marketing is closely tied with consumer brands. But now, B2B brands are having a moment. Last year they took centre stage for the first time at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity – the premier annual event in the marketing industry. Some went as far as to say it marked the start of ‘the B2B century’.

 

But this move into the spotlight shouldn’t come as a surprise. As the B2B Institute points out, B2B is half of the global economy: for example, 50% of the UK FTSE 350 firms are purely B2B, as are nearly 40% of all businesses in Great Britain.

 

Consumer brands, meanwhile, are facing a relentlessly changing audience. People are becoming experts. They want to use their money in smarter ways. They demand more of their brands, from faster deliveries and more convenient ways of shopping to post-purchase services and greater value.

 

B2B audiences have always had to be discerning and detail-oriented, due to the volume and complexity they deal with. Consumer brands are now also facing an increasingly discerning and demanding audience.

 

In fact, B2Cs should look to B2Bs occasionally for key lessons on how to evolve.

 

Service-led through scale

B2B brands are more complex than their consumer siblings. Within B2B, there are more decision makers. Brands need to cater for more audiences, more industries and their specific problems – all while conveying trust and credibility.

 

Their customers make decisions at scale; the stakes and accountability are higher. Areas of focus – such as waste or recycling – are amplified manyfold simply due to the number of products brands are dealing with.

 

Such complexity and scale mean that B2B brands are laser focused on service.

 

While consumer brands are increasingly starting to move towards a more service-led approach, business-facing brands have been doing so for a while. Customers within B2B have always expected guidance on how to use products, what to use them with, how to get the best out of them. There are so many more variables, so the service must be in place. The price and inconvenience of getting this wrong at such scale is just too high.

 

When it comes to service, the key lesson consumer brands can take from this is a focus on specificity. The complexity of B2B’s audiences and customer journeys means there is an emphasis on guidance to properly implement a solution.

 

From GE Healthcare launching a design system to streamline their user experience, to BakerPedia sharing huge educational resources for baking businesses, B2Bs know how to engage a specific audience that might need reassurance through clear guidance and education.

 

Striving for simplicity

Coupled with that specificity is a level of simplicity. B2Bs are very good at making what they offer simple and understandable.

 

In hygiene, for example, no customer wants to become a chemical expert to choose, use and apply a product correctly – or to explain it to its numerous end users. There are so many levels of customer, that you don’t want to rely on the children’s game of ‘telephone’ to make sure a product is used in the most efficient way.

 

In B2B, therefore, brands need to provide that information upfront, making sure messaging, information and instructions are simple and clear along every part of the journey. Autodesk, for example, is a software company with specialised B2B programmes, from design to manufacturing. Its messaging is tailored to different users and industries. This helps clarify its offering for specific use cases and demonstrates immediate value.

 

This simplicity of message and overall communication is a key takeaway for B2C brands as they look to connect with people that are increasingly expert and demand a more tailored experience.

 

Credibility through curation

Another area in which consumer brands can learn from their business counterparts is portfolio and range. To provide the right service for a large business – whether hotel, stadium or conference – you are always weaving solutions together. There is a lot of curation and figuring out how different products or brands can work as part of a greater system.

 

When trying to curate in this way, you need to make sure that the whole looks credible. This was a core focus when we launched the Reckitt-Essity partnership last year. Each brand has a lot to offer, so we had to find the right combination of products, messaging and assets to tell our partnership’s narrative. It was an exercise in stripping back, simplifying and bringing to the fore what was relevant to a given audience.

 

Microsoft 365 is another prime example – even those of us that sometimes grumble about it must admit that the software suite is an exemplar of complementary products and services that work together as a whole.

 

Consumer brands often struggle with cross-selling and getting their audiences to buy into a range, or system. It can be useful to consider how you would curate your brand or experience for a laser-focused audience or situation versus a broad persona.

 

Empathy and function coexist

This leads to another key learning around empathy. Brands need to demonstrate that they have empathy with what is going on in the world, not only provide a functional solution. People increasingly want their brands to be more culturally relevant and chime with them on purpose and values. 

 

B2Bs are experts in broadening their outlook and identifying the true value they can offer their customer. This is done by casting their eye further afield and considering cultural relevance. 

 

Adobe is a prime example of this. On the one hand it supports commerce on a wide scale with optimised features. On the other, it also focuses on different niches, such as empowering the creative industry and individual creative talent. 

 

Or at a different scale, take Caterpillar, the iconic construction equipment manufacturer. With its ‘Help our customers build a better, more sustainable world’ purpose, it speaks to large-scale engineering clients but also helps to improve people’s lives around the world. It works alongside its dealers and customers to build community infrastructure.  

 

Finding a niche, or understanding how you can serve multiple niches, is how your brand can fulfil people’s needs in a meaningful way. This is what all brands today should strive for. 

 

Learning from across the B2B-B2C divide is a good place to get started, if consumer brands want to retain their share of the limelight in the future.

 

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Emily Vernon is Consultant in B2B Solutions at Reckitt

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com