Many people say that you have to take risks in order to achieve something special in life. As much as I believe in this statement, it apparently didn’t work out for me. I spent almost 20 months outside of my professional comfort zone and decided to opt for an opportunity that had a different job description.
That’s why I quit my job and eventually joined ExportHub to reenter the profession of a B2B marketing specialist.
With this new job, I was responsible for content creation and reaching out to the world telling them about the benefits of signing up at ExportHub, a B2B portal where all buyers meet sellers.
Why I came back to B2B marketing? Here’s my story!
How it started off
To be honest, I, ve worked as a B2B marketing expert throughout my life. I basically started off as a freelancer and dealt with many global clients. However, my last job that I joined was related to B2C marketing.
Though it sounds quite similar to B2B, B2C marketing is a whole new book that I’d have to master to become successful. At first, I was hesitant when I was approached for this position. The primary reason was that I knew it would be challenging for me to forget my B2B tricks and learn B2C ones. However, after many sleepless nights, I finally decided to take this job as an opportunity to enhance my skills and learn something new.
Indeed, I had a great time working for this organization. I met many smart and talented individuals and learned a lot of new things about digital marketing of consumer goods. In addition, I was lucky enough to have a manager who was eager to help me learn everything there is to B2C marketing.
Unfortunately, regardless of all the hard work I put into this job, I wasn’t able to adjust and adapt to this new environment. I felt utterly lost and helpless in trying to achieve my targets. Everyone welcomed me, but it just didn’t feel like home.
Whoever has worked with me or saw my work, they know that I, ve never held back in going an extra mile. Quality of work was essential to me. However, regardless of the pat on the back from my manager and moral support of my colleges I still couldn’t pull off the work that highlighted my level of expertise.
And believe this, that’s not me!
When you go through a phase like this when you smile just for the sake of not revealing how emotionally destroyed you are, you only have two options. First, you can bare the circumstances and continue making your life miserable, or you can face the truth and figure a way to get out of this horrible life.
Eventually, I choose option two. It took me around a week, as I took a casual leave to relax. Instead of going out with my girls, I spent time with my folks and taught what I should do next. That’s when I started job hunting again for a place in a B2B oriented organization. And before you know it I even got my application accepted. After serving my contract which was expected to finish off within a month, I joined ExportHub. And guess what? My performance eventually started going the other way as I proved to the organization my years of experience in this field.
B2C and B2B Marketing: Two Completely Different Worlds
I’m pretty sure after going through my story, one question that must have crossed your minds is, Are B2C and B2B marketing so different?
To be precise, yes, and no!
B2B and B2C marketing techniques are similar because in both ways you need to study your customer’s behavior, requirements, and demands. In both, you need to plan out adequate marketing strategies for your target markets. Basically, you can use the same skills to handle both fields, and I’ve seen many people working in both models.
However, if you hear from someone that these marketing funnels are entirely same, it’s nonsense.
B2B Marketing
In B2B, you can’t expect instant results. Purchase of such products takes months and years of relationship and trust building. B2B marketers focus on maintaining a good relationship with their customers. Potential customers usually demand a lot of information about your products which derives the need for content marketing to play a vital role. In order to become a successful B2B marketer, you need to have all the knowledge you can garner related to your products, and exceptional communication skills to remain in touch with your clients.
B2C Marketing
On the other hand, B2C marketing revolves more around a day-to-day marketing approach. Marketers need to focus on product launches, price promotions, and advertising frequently in order to generate the desired results. You can utilize content marketing for B2C as well. However, this time you need to produce content that is engaging and attracts the user to either reach out to you or merely convert.
However, the product also plays a significant role in your approach. In order for you to sell a product, first, you need to develop an interest in it. That also includes every bit of information there is to know regarding the good or service.
The Final Verdict
Wondering how I’m doing right now? Well, I’ve managed to help my organization get many new and good clients who love working with us. As an expert in building trust and relationships with other companies, I’m back on track with getting all ‘excellent job’ emails I missed while working as a B2C marketer.
My advice to you is, do what you enjoy more. If you’re doing a job that’s making your life miserable, walk out and look for another opportunity. When you enjoy your work, you’ll simply prove to perform better than ever.
Author Bio:
Beatrice McGraw is a digital marketing expert who works for ExportHub – A B2B Marketplace. She just loves to share her knowledge with the world in the form of blogs, videos and various other types of content. In her free time, she is an active gamer and a techwiz who adores researching innovative solutions that emerge in the digital world. Follow her on twitter @McgrawBeatrice.
