Business marketing is an advertising practice of businesses or individuals. It enables them to sell their products or services to organizations or other businesses which resell them, make use of them in their existing products or services and use them as a resource for their projects. For any business, it is an important way to advertise and increase profit as well. However, if not undertaken in the right manner, it can have adverse impacts on the business. Hence, various techniques and methods are used in business marketing to reach out to the maximum number of people and create business opportunities.
Business marketing involves creating an overall marketing mix or campaign which should be tailored to the business needs and goals. An effective marketing mix should be determined as per the current market position and quality of products and services offered by the firm. A good marketing mix will enable a firm to gain market share which will eventually help it to establish its foothold in the industry. In other words, it should be able to create the right niche and position itself at the right place or corner.
The core activity of business marketing is direct marketing or advertising through mass media. This includes newspaper advertising, television advertising, radio advertising, and other forms of advertisement. However, the most preferred form of marketing is online marketing. Businesses use the internet for marketing their products and services directly to consumers, without going through the hands of any middlemen such as advertising agencies or marketing consultants. Business marketing strategies for online marketing mainly include:
o Industrial Marketing. This is the most common type of business marketing and it enables small firms to gain a toehold in the highly competitive market. It is also widely used by large firms and organizations to promote their products and services world wide through various medium. An industrial marketing association helps the small and medium sized enterprises in managing their own marketing campaigns in a cost effective manner. This is the major source of business marketing research and analysis.
o Consumer Direct Marketing. This is another form of direct marketing campaign which is conducted through the consumer. This mainly utilizes the consumer’s buying habits for creating an impact on the company’s products and services. A major advantage of this form of campaign is that it reaches the target market instantly without affecting the sales of the product or service.
o Distribution Channels. Marketing communications are normally limited to either physical media or electronic media. Physical distribution channels include advertising in newspapers, magazines, directories, fliers, pamphlets and the like. Electronic distribution channels include the Internet, emails, SMS, chat and VOIP.
To sum up, there are four Ps that a business marketer should keep in mind while marketing: (a) Personalization, (b) Product Discovery, (c) Sales Measurement and (d) Customer Retention. It is important for businesses to develop their own unique marketing mix for each individual product or service. A complete marketing mix should first consider the type of product or service offered, its defining characteristics and relevant past experiences of the target audience. After this, the four Ps have to be properly balanced to come up with a highly effective marketing communication that is capable of capturing the interest and loyalty of the consumer.
A business marketing generally involves shorter message distribution channels. For instance, television advertisements are generally shown during program breaks. Radio announcements are aimed at new potential consumers while newspapers are intended for more broad reach. Online marketing can be more targeted and has shorter distribution channels. Businesses should therefore develop a strong plan for consumer marketing so that the business can achieve its marketing objectives in the shortest time possible.