{"id":13037,"date":"2017-08-28T22:20:54","date_gmt":"2017-08-28T22:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/directiveconsulting.com\/uk\/?p=13037"},"modified":"2026-03-03T17:44:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T22:44:51","slug":"b2b-marketing-basics-understanding-audience-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/directiveconsulting.com\/uk\/blog\/b2b-marketing-basics-understanding-audience-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"B2B Marketing Basics: Understanding Your Audience (Part 2!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Effective B2B marketing is kind of like the third date.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve gone out twice before, each time carefully gathering and storing information given by the other person. Where they are from. The last place they went on vacation. Their favorite show on Netflix.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, if you\u2019ve done your job right, on the third date you casually bust out a reference from the second episode of season three of the favorite show. The person across the table swoons. <\/span><\/p>\n

Date four secured.<\/span><\/p>\n

B2B marketing basics are all about understanding your audience, but in this case, it\u2019s about more than just one person. It means learning about and getting your message across to an entire team. <\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got multiple audience segments to consider, all of which play a critical role in the buying process. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t start by identifying and defining those segments, you could waste countless hours (and dollars) sending the wrong message to the wrong people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Typically, B2B buying involves roughly<\/span> 3-5 different departments<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But this can also vary by company type and industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Generating demand<\/span><\/a> for your B2B service or products requires knowing how these different departments work together to decide on purchases, and who the individual personas are that influence those decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The best way to do this is by researching the firmographics of your target market and building personas for each of your audience segments.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are firmographics, you ask? <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive in. <\/span><\/p>\n

Step 1: Use Firmographics to Define Your Audience<\/b><\/h2>\n

In the B2C world, demographics hold the biggest weight when it comes to defining a key audience. Age, gender, location, race, and so on all play a role in creating a buyer\u2019s persona.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the B2B world, on the other hand,<\/span> firmographics<\/span><\/a> are king.<\/span><\/p>\n

Firmographics are customer profiles that define attributes of a prospective business. These attributes might involve annual company revenue, acquisition cost, purchase size, sales cycles, and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Firmographics give you a better picture of your audience, allowing you to create highly targeted sales and marketing strategies based on their wants and needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

A firmographic profile can be pretty robust, often including: <\/span><\/p>\n