Why A Career In B2B Marketing Could Be More Fulfilling Than B2C
1. The sales cycle is longer but the pay-off is bigger
The sales cycle for a business purchase is usually something that takes many months, and for that reason marketing has a larger stake in the sales process. In that time, marketers have more access to a business or market’s key triggers, motivations, buying processes, elimination criteria and decision making systems. Relationships are nurtured over a longer length of time and in that time strategy can take many different forms: events, content marketing, thought leadership, case studies and testimonials, PR and communication strategies, networking… the list goes on. The variety in B2B marketing is huge.
2. A B2B purchase is based on a much more emotional response
Most of the time, a B2B purchase is not something to be taken lightly. The decision making process has been drawn out for half a year and the potential pitfalls have gone back and forth between Senior Directors and Finance for months. The decision is one of great magnitude.
A business purchaser’s commitment is so much greater and therefore as a B2B marketer, your job is to understand the complexities of a much more attentive market.
3. Forget what you’ve heard: there is plenty of room for creativity in B2B marketing
Take True Agency’s award-winning ‘The Elephant In The Room’ campaign for multinational software company Micro Focus. The campaign is based around helping organisations protect sensitive corporate data in a changing technological landscape. The campaign was marketed across 8 different languages and included 54 assets including video, press and online advertising, direct mail, Eloqua marketing automations and a 24ft life-size elephant sculpture named Kiruba being installed in the Micro Focus HQ.
Forget Buster The Boxer making you feel all jovial about the inevitably stressful Christmas shopping period because True’s trampolining elephant became Micro Focus’s most viewed video ever and won Best Use of Creative at the Grand Prix awards.
4. An opportunity to work with more complex and sophisticated products
Many marketers in the B2B space are marketing more complex and intangible products or services. A consumer buys a drink because they are thirsty, but a business may not even realise they have a need for something in the first place. This is challenging because B2B marketing often requires materials and strategies that communicate the benefits of the service in an accessible and engaging way that differentiates them from the competition.
5. More attractive salaries
A career in B2B marketing is an elusive career path and the current market in B2B is very candidate-driven. That means there are more jobs out there in B2B than there are strong candidates. Many professionals looking to move into a new role achieve at least 2 or 3 offers from different companies, meaning that there is ample opportunity for candidates to negotiate higher salaries. Similarly, an uplift in sales for a B2B product can mean a great deal for a business where AOV is upward of £10K, meaning bonuses can be more appealing in a B2B company.
