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Blog Bling
Jan
23
Differences Between Corporate Buyers and Small Business Buyers
January 23, 2006 | Anita Campbell
Bob Bly, the copywriting guru, notes seven differences between B-to-B buyers and consumer buyers in an article found at his site. And of course, when you are talking about a corporate business buyer, he is right. After all, how can you argue with a guru?
However, the small business buyer is actually a hybrid between the corporate buyer and the consumer.
Some of Bly’s points apply equally to the small business buyer, as to the corporate buyer. But there are some differences with small businesses, too. Let me point out the differences. Bly says:
Bly says, “The business buyer is sophisticated.”
My take: This is one of the points that does not necessarily apply to the small business buyer. It is not that the small business buyer is unsophisticated. It is simply that the small business buyer may not know as much as the seller about the particular product or service. Small businesses do not have legions of specialized staff who know as much about, say, information technology or telecommunications, as the seller’s sales and marketing team. A small business may be buying software or hardware and not have any IT staff – period. Unless the small business buyer is purchasing something that is core to their business or happens to have past expertise in that area, chances are better than even that the small business buyer will have limited or minimal knowledge about the product.
Bly says, “Multiple buying influences.”
My take: Again, this point about B-to-B marketing does not apply neatly to small business buyers. Much of the time, for any significant purchase, you will be dealing directly with the business owner. While the owner may consult with employees in the company – and may be sincerely concerned about their needs and thoughts – that consultation will not carry the same level of power jockeying and potentially conflicting opinions as in the corporate setting.
Bly says, “Business products are more complex.”
My take: Paraphrasing Bly’s point, he says that you need to use more text for the business buyer and you need to be specific. Here again, things are not quite so cut and dried when you are dealing with a small business. Consider the example of selling computer networking. Highly technical language will not have the same meaning to the owner of three hobby stores as it will to a corporate manager with 4 years spent specializing in complex networks. Industry jargon and highly technical terminology tend to backfire in small business sales. They make the small business owner feel powerless and uninformed. Hey, no one is suggesting you use baby talk or speak down to small business owners. But do ditch the jargon.
Read all seven of the differences between B-to-B and consumers. While you are doing that put yourself in the place of the small business owner with 2 or 5 or 20 employees, and imagine how the seven rules apply differently. Read: “The 7 Key Differences Between business-to-business and consumer marketing.”
