If you’ve been part of our community for any length of time, you probably know how important we think it is to build trust.
It’s no secret that people make their purchase decisions emotionally. Successful marketers everywhere are capitalizing on that by leveraging storytelling, videos, and images to elicit emotion and build connections.
But — people are still trying to categorize their efforts and tactics into two main categories, B2B and B2C. Reality isn’t so black and white.
There’s been a slow change coming that we think can’t get here fast enough — marketing to humans. Marketing shouldn’t be about choosing between B2B or B2C. It should be about building connections with humans.
Let’s take a look at why and how adopting that mindset shift will grow your business.
What is B2B, B2C, and H2H?
Put simply —
- B2B = Business-to-Business
- B2C = Business-to-Consumer
- H2H = Human-to-Human
However, it’s more complicated than that. When companies choose to label themselves as a B2B or a B2C company, they define who they are in a limited capacity.
For example:
- B2B — If their primary goal is to sell to a business, they start bypassing specific channels such as Instagram or Pinterest to reach their audience because those are “consumer-oriented” social networks.
- B2C — If their primary goal is to sell to consumers, they may consider bypassing channels such as LinkedIn because it’s where business professionals hang out.
But what if your audience is on one of the channels that you're ignoring because you put yourself in a box? What if you are missing out on a segment of your Market without even realizing it?
Which Companies Should Switch to H2H?
The answer to this question is straightforward — every company should switch to H2H.
I know it's rare for a marketing agency to tell you that any technique will guarantee results. But this isn't a technique. H2H marketing is a mindset shift that every company needs to adopt to succeed with its marketing strategies.
This is true for one very simple reason — humans are the ones who decide to purchase your products or services.
Even if you're selling to a multimillion-dollar organization with offices around the globe, ultimately, a single human or a small group of humans will decide to sign the contract and mail the check.
Marketers continuously talk about the importance of crafting messages that resonate with your target audience. If your messaging is focused entirely on business benefits, business mindset, or general consumer purchasing behaviors, then you are going to miss out on a connection opportunity.
It's time to start thinking about the human beings behind the decisions — the people that need to know you exist and will want to know about the products and services you deliver. You need to think about what makes them tick. What makes them decide to pull the trigger and purchase from you?
How Does H2H Marketing Help Generate Sales?
When you focus on marketing to humans and putting their needs, desires, and fears at the forefront of your marketing strategy, you can build messaging that does indeed resonate with your target audience.
Instead of seeing a corporate entity or faceless consumer, you see a human being that you can speak and relate to.
This idea is not a new concept. Marketers have been encouraging businesses to visualize their target audience using tools like buyer personas or customer avatars for years.
However, most of the time, those personas live as documents that are long forgotten and rarely used. When you shift to human-to-human marketing, your team can start getting on board with the idea of selling to real people — people with thoughts, feelings, concerns, and ideas.
How Do I Get Started with H2H?
There are a few things that you need to consider to get started with human-to-human marketing. Buyer personas are a great first step, but you need to take it further.
You need to consider the entire buying journey that your target market goes through, from the moment they first become aware that you exist to becoming a raving fan and every step in between.
It's essential for every member of your team — marketing, sales, and customer service — to fully understand what is going on for your customers along the way.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself that can help:
- What is the solution that my customers are currently using instead of ours? You may be competing with nothing. The customer may not have a solution for their current problem, and they may choose to do nothing instead of working with you.
- What are the fears that prevent someone from moving forward with a purchase decision? It's essential to think about what you can do along the way to overcome those fears and build trust.
- How urgent is a solution for my customer? You need to think about how pressing a need this is for them and how quickly they will seek a resolution.
- What else is going on in their life that could impact the decision? It might be possible that they are seeking a promotion, have family life dramas, are newly employed and scared of making recommendations, or a variety of other concerns.
- Where are they getting stuck along the way? After someone becomes aware of you, they go through a few different steps before they're ready to consider a purchase. You need to think about where they are getting stalled in that journey and how you can help move them along.
- How will they benefit from purchasing from me? Think about how their life will change or get better once they decide to work with you or buy from you.
This isn't an easy shift to make in your business. It's going to involve a lot of deep thought, research, and talking to your customers and team.
Thankfully, it isn't a shift that you have to make on your own. We specialize in helping businesses like yours discover innovative new ways to grow by building trust with their target audience.
You have two options to move your business forward from here:
- Ask Our Experts — If you're ready, book a consultation with our experts and let's talk about how we can help you transition your team, break down barriers, and connect with your target audience in ways you never have before.
- Learn More About Creating a Digital Marketing Strategy — Discover the 9 ingredients of a successful digital marketing strategy to help achieve your business goals and objectives.
Don’t wait. Take action to embrace H2H marketing before your competitors beat you to it.
