We’re All Human: Why B2C Tactics Are the Future For B2B SaaS Marketing Strategies (+ free worksheet)

B2B and B2C companies have a significant commonality that must be recognized when marketing their products and services. What’s that commonality?

They both must remember that they are ultimately marketing to humans.

As B2B businesses recognize and respect the human element behind every purchase decision, they must embrace B2C tactics as an essential contributor to building strong relationships and driving growth. This article will explore why adopting B2C tactics in B2B marketing can be a game-changer for designing an effective B2B saas marketing strategy.

The Shift in B2B Marketing

Traditionally, B2B marketing is characterized by a more rational, data-driven approach. Tactics such as cold calling, trade shows, and content marketing focus on technical specifications and product features. The goal of B2B marketing is to establish credibility and demonstrate expertise to decision-makers within organizations.

However, this traditional approach has limitations. In the world of all things digital, buyers are more informed and have more choices than ever. Therefore, buyers are less likely to be swayed by technical information and instead, they seek personalized experiences that resonate with their needs and values. In addition, the increasing complexity of the B2B buying journey, which looks nothing like its linear ancestor, makes it nearly impossible for a business to rely only on traditional marketing channels.

Why Human-Centered Approaches Matter

The psychology behind human-centered marketing lies in understanding that people are not merely rational decision-makers; they are emotional beings influenced by myriad factors. Focusing on the human element of decision-making inspires B2B marketers to create more engaging and relatable campaigns, which in turn, are more effective.

Human-centered marketing strategies emphasize empathy, storytelling, and personalization. It involves understanding the needs, desires, and pain points of the target audiences on a deeper level. By connecting with customers emotionally, B2B companies can build stronger relationships, foster loyalty, and drive conversions.

Salesforce is a prime example of a B2B saas marketing that successfully leverages a human-centered marketing approach. Through its storytelling campaigns and customer-centric approach, Salesforce positioned itself as a trusted partner for businesses of all sizes. By highlighting the human stories behind its customers’ successes, Salesforce created a strong, practical, but still emotional connection with its audience.

Another notable example is HubSpot, which adopted a content marketing strategy aimed at offering valuable resources and insights to its target audience. Through educational and thought leadership content and by building a community around its brand, HubSpot became a trusted, credible thought leader in the inbound marketing space.

In essence, human-centered marketing is about recognizing that B2B buyers are individuals with emotions, aspirations, and personal motivations. Understanding these factors and creating aligned messaging will result in more effective and impactful B2B marketing campaigns.

Key B2C Tactics to Adopt

For B2B companies that want to successfully reach their customers and adopt B2C marketing tactics for more effective campaigns, here are a few key B2C tactics worth exploring.

Social Proof. Providing social proof builds trust and credibility and can include:

• Customer reviews and testimonials: Reviews and testimonials are essential for showcasing positive feedback from satisfied customers, which can build trust and credibility.
• Social media following and engagement: Highlight a brand’s social media presence and engagement metrics demonstrates the company’s popularity and relevance.
• Awards and certifications: Showcasing awards and certifications earned by the business establishes authority and expertise, especially if the awards are industry or capability-specific.

Personalization. Providing personalized B2B marketing will foster strong connections and can include:

• Tailored content: Create and distribute content that is relevant to specific customer segments or individuals based on their interests, preferences, or behaviors.
• Personalized emails: Distribute targeted emails that contain personalized content (e.g., name, content blocks aligned with interests, etc.), subject lines, and calls to action to give the recipient a sense of connection.
• Product recommendations: Leverage AI and machine learning technologies to recommend related products or services that may be of interest to the user, which is based on their individual customer preferences and purchase history.

Engagement. Encouraging engagement through content can include:

• Interactive content: Content that requires “participation” can include quizzes, polls, surveys, or other formats–all of which encourage user participation and engagement creating an improved user experience and more involved connection.
• Social media contests and giveaways: Launch social media-specific contests or giveaways to generate excitement, increase engagement, and to reach new audiences connected to existing/engaged customers.
• Live streaming: Consider hosting live events or webinars that offer value and will connect the business with its audience in real-time.

Storytelling. Sharing stories about a business and its customers is essential in bringing the product or service to life and includes:

• Brand narratives: Develop a [truthful] compelling brand story that resonates with the target audience and activates the emotions most closely tied to their purchasing decisions.
• Case studies: Share success stories highlighting how the brand’s products or services helped customers address their pain points, conquer their challenges, and achieve their goals.

So are you ready to transform your B2B marketing? Download our comprehensive worksheet and start integrating B2C tactics today.

Download the Worksheet Here

Practical Steps for Integration

While taking time to understand how to translate B2C tactics into effective B2B marketing tactics is essential to understand, it is even more important to ensure these tactics are activated. This can be accomplished by actioning a set of chronological steps, which are listed below.

1. Define the Target Audience:

• Conduct thorough market research to identify approximately three ideal customer personas.
• Take the time to truly understand each persona’s needs, pain points, and preferences.

2. Create a Customer Journey Map:

• Visualize the steps customers take throughout the funnel–from initial awareness to conversion.
• Analyze the journey to identify opportunities and the journey touchpoints where B2C tactics can be applied.

3. Leverage Social Media:

• Establish a strong, strategic social presence on platforms including LinkedIn and Facebook.
• Share valuable content, engage with the audience, and participate in relevant discussions within the social platforms.

4. Use Content Marketing:

• Create high-quality, informative content that resonates with the target audience.
• Consider leveraging effective storytelling, compelling case studies, and interactive content.

5. Implement Email Marketing:

• Compile a segmented email list and activate by sending personalized, targeted campaigns.
• Use automation tools to streamline email marketing efforts.

6. Leverage AI and Data Analytics:

• Use AI-powered tools to analyze customer data and personalize marketing efforts.
• Track key metrics to measure effectiveness of B2C tactics.

To activate B2C marketing tactics into a B2B marketing plan, there are some useful tools and platforms that can help. 

These include:

• HubSpot: A comprehensive marketing automation platform with tools for email marketing, content management, and CRM.
• Salesforce: A CRM platform with features for sales, marketing, and customer service.
• SEMrush: A digital marketing suite with tools for SEO, PPC, and social media marketing.
• Adobe Analytics: A web analytics platform for measuring website traffic and user behavior.

Use this checklist to ensure you are prepared and to make the process as seamless as possible  and get started with the integration:

• Did you define your target audience and their needs?
• Did you create a customer journey map?
• Are you actively using social media to engage with your audience?
• Are you producing high-quality content that resonates with your target audience?
• Are you leveraging email marketing for personalized communication?
• Are you using AI and data analytics to optimize your marketing efforts?

By following these steps and leveraging the right marketing tools and platforms, you can successfully integrate B2C tactics into your B2B marketing strategy and drive significant results.

Final Thoughts

In today’s competitive B2B landscape, marketers cannot rely on only activating traditional marketing tactics. By defining a marketing mix that incorporates human-centered, B2C-inspired strategies, businesses can build stronger relationships with their customers, drive engagement, and achieve long-term success.

By understanding the psychology behind human-centered marketing, leveraging social proof, personalization, engagement, and storytelling, and taking practical steps to integrate these tactics into B2B strategies, a B2B business will be positioned for growth and differentiation.

Remember, the future of B2B marketing lies in recognizing the human element and adapting strategies accordingly. Embracing B2C tactics will create more engaging, personalized, and effective marketing campaigns that drive results.