holiday marketing
B2B brands might feel a little neglected during the holidays. While B2C brands rush around, woo customers, and put up tinsel, B2B brands often get on with the same routines, feeling a little less than festive.
The good news is that B2B companies don’t have to stay out in the cold. You can elevate and expand your holiday presence and connect with your audience during the holidays. How? By using some B2C strategies.
B2B products and services can be underwhelming. Selling materials, supplies, parts, fabrics, etc., can seem less exciting than selling the final product. But without B2B suppliers, B2C business isn’t possible. So, it’s time to make your offerings equally exciting to clients.
How to use B2C holiday marketing tactics as a B2B business
Since every company is unique, it’s beneficial to consider the strategies others have tried and whether similar or different tactics might be needed for your approach. We’ve called on three B2C marketing experts to tell us what they’ve learned.
1. Create a message that resonates with your client’s needs: Adrian Si, director of marketing strategy at ASV
The key to successful marketing for B2B companies is about cutting through the noise and creating a message that resonates with clients’ seasonal needs, says Adrian Si, director of marketing strategy at ASV.
Si suggests playing into the seasonality and focusing on industries with year-end activations. For instance, clients in the finance sector will be gearing up for year-end tax opportunities, those in the apparel industry will require support with winter clothing launches, and pharmaceutical clients will be focused on selling vaccines. Just like a B2C company would identify and deliver on their consumers’ holiday needs, B2B suppliers can identify and offer assistance to help companies meet their holiday business goals. Be proactive and reach your clients with the right messaging before the holiday chaos ensues.
Si also adds that the end of the year is a perfect time to support companies with holiday demand and help them prepare for the upcoming year. “On the product side, messaging could focus on purchasing to stock up in preparation to hit the ground running next year,” Si says. “For services, messaging could be around upgrading your facility (physical or digital) during a typically slow time of the year to minimize disruptions to your operations.”
2. Get relational: Michael Robin, vice president of marketing at Significo
Oftentimes, B2C brand marketing is more transactional and less about personal, multitouchpoint marketing. Yes, B2B clients expect specific information and business-oriented value. But they also need a personal approach. How could you merge B2B-inspired messaging with professional, informative language to build relationships this holiday season?
Michael Robin, vice president of marketing at Significo, recommends focusing on personalization and storytelling in order to cut through the holiday marketing noise. “For B2B marketing leaders contemplating the adoption of B2C holiday marketing tactics, here’s a concise roadmap: Deeply understand the unique needs and expectations of your B2B audience during the festive season,” Robin says. “You need to ensure your brand’s identity remains steadfast amidst B2C-inspired endeavors, balancing transactional and relationship-building elements.”
B2B marketing leaders can leverage B2C tactics by infusing emotional appeal into their messaging by embracing visual storytelling and actively engaging on social media. Robin suggests prioritizing the most personal and human tactics, such as influencer marketing, interactive content, and responding thoughtfully to customer feedback, to cultivate deeper relationships with your clients.
3. Lean into simplicity: Kate DiLeo, founder of The Brand Trifecta
Kate DiLeo, founder of The Brand Trifecta, believes the simpler, the better. The holiday season brings an onslaught of campaigns and content that can easily overwhelm buyers. DiLeo thinks that B2C brands shine during the holiday season by leaning into the simplicity of their messages. B2B brands can’t afford to utilize paragraph-style content on their websites. Instead, they must adopt the B2C marketing tactic of precise, highly tactical website messaging.
Now is the time for B2B brands to skip the complex narratives and speak quickly to the value they deliver. More often than not, potential clients know what they need and are looking to make a decision quickly. So, don’t waste time having them fill out a form or schedule a call.
“They need to cut the fat from their message and get to the bottom line with three key messaging points that will compel users to take action and reach out,” DiLeo says. “This includes a tagline that speaks to what they do, a value proposition statement that directly touches on how they solve their buyers’ deepest heart pain, and a set of three to five differentiators that hone in on the ways their brand is different and better than the competition.”
Consider taking a page out of B2C’s catalog this holiday season. You don’t have to wear antlers or take up baking; you can do the holidays in your own unique way while helping your customers to relax, have fun, and take action.
