Do B2B Marketers Sell to Companies or People?

I would have said “people.” But Terry Jukes, CEO of B2B Direct Marketing Intelligence, a direct response consulting firm, disagrees.

“In B2B, a customer is a site first and a person second,” says Jukes. Reason: turnover rate of company personnel is greater than 25% a year. Also, notes Jukes, “Central purchasing erodes value of person tracking.”

Terry gives three suggestions for generating more B2B sales:
1. At customer sites with 250 or more employees, do periodic mailings to update your contact list within the company.

2. Real buyers often hide in larger sites. But there are ways to find them: warranty cards, product evaluation questionnaires (offer a bonus gift for completion), e-mail order and shipping confirmation, and birthday recognition programs.

3. Create a preferred supplier relationship that can withstand the turnover in people at a customer site by telling them they are a “loyal buyer” and rewarding them for it.

For instance, you can offer a loyal customer discount based on longevity (number of years they have been buying from you), frequency (number of orders per year), or dollar amount (total amount of money spent).

Source: Merit Direct Coop