DTC for B2B – Why B2B Businesses Need to Act Like D2C Brands
The new generation of direct to consumer (DTC) brands offer business to business (B2B) and startups a blueprint for success. While the audiences may be different, the approach can be the same. DTC brands show that forging connections with customers through content is the route to building a strong business.
Sharing best practice within organisations and industries is commonplace. Now it’s time for B2B to embrace the DTC model. Implemented well, the DTC approach for B2B marketing can deliver brand building by enhancing reputation and market positioning. This comes along with lead generation, through driving engagement with prospects.
Every business wants to be in position where they have a direct ongoing relationship with their existing customers, plus prospects, employees and investors. So how can B2B steal some of that DTC swagger?
Breaking Down the DTC Approach
DTC brands market differently from old school consumer brands, with several key characteristics:
· They’ve cut out the marketing middlemen, connecting directly with their market and customers.
· They‘re totally focused on data and customer relationship management
· They’re on a mission with a clear purpose
· They have a performance-driven approach to marketing
· They use content marketing and branded content strategies to tell their story
· Stories are told across different platforms and in different formats, from editorial to video, powered by digital and social
Building a Community Through Content
Content is core to how DTC brands operate. They don’t just want to sell products to customers; they want to build a community through content. They articulate their vision and express it this way. And it inspires a passion and loyalty in customers akin to fandom, as they share the content.
The behaviour of DTC customers has far more impact than advertising ever can, as they become brand advocates alongside buying products. This is what makes DTC businesses the rock stars of the 21stcentury business world, creating disruptive, sexy brands that gain a cult-like status.
Knowing Your Customers and Your Purpose
The content DTC brands produce is founded on an understanding of their customers, along with an understanding of their own purpose in serving them. Whether they’re digital, social, or mobile businesses, this is a unifying theme. DTC brands are culturally driven with a purpose greater than just making money or selling products. It’s a key element in how they build direct sales and customer relationships.
Every B2B business can do this. Whether a global enterprise or a bootstrapped startup, each business founder started with a strong vision and mission. That could be to develop a product or service that delights customers, and makes their world more efficient, less expensive, or more lucrative etc. It could also extend to creating a better workplace and looking after employees.
Know your audience to avoid marketing to the wrong crowd.
