B2B vs B2C Content Marketing: Key Strategies for Healthcare Industry Success

When trying to form a strategy for your healthcare company’s marketing content, it’s essential to understand the B2B vs B2C content marketing dynamics. Your approach to engaging customers will vary depending on whether your target audience is other businesses (B2B) or direct consumers (B2C). This blog post will explore the key differences in B2B vs B2C content marketing strategies and offer insights on tailoring your content effectively.

B2B vs B2C Content Marketing: Understanding the Difference

Understanding whether your company operates in a B2B or B2C framework is the first step in developing a successful B2B or B2C content marketing strategy.

B2B

B2B, or Business-to-Business, means you are a business selling products or services to other businesses. You market your advertising and content to other businesses and corporations. A computer software company selling a charting system to hospitals or clinics or a digital marketing agency making content for healthcare companies are both business-to-business examples. In B2B marketing, the sales process is often longer than in B2C because the sale has to go through the chain of command at a company up to the decision-makers at the top of the ladder. Businesses tend to make more investments but can take longer to decide to buy a product or service. The nature of B2B content marketing requires a focus on data-driven, authoritative content.

B2C

B2C, or Business-to-Consumer, means you are a business selling directly to a consumer buying your product or service. In B2C content marketing, the strategy is more about emotional appeal and meeting immediate needs. B2C content focuses on targeting average buyers and consumers like you and me. An e-commerce store selling badge holders directly to a consumer on Etsy is an example of a B2C business. The average consumer is motivated by emotion and seeks goods or services to meet an immediate need. The B2C sales process is usually shorter than that of B2B sales. The consumer will likely buy the product or service within hours or days of becoming aware of it instead of following weeks or months of thought and deliberation.

Some companies operate in both B2B and B2C realms, requiring a versatile approach in their B2B vs B2C content marketing strategies. Amazon is an example of a company that does both. They have a sizable direct-to-consumer component and a business side selling directly to businesses.

Now that we’ve determined which kind of healthcare business you’re in, let’s look at the benefits of tailoring your marketing strategy to your intended audience.

Benefits of Having an Effective Content Strategy

A well-planned content strategy, whether for B2B or B2C content marketing, brings numerous benefits. Since the audiences are different and each customer has their own motivations, it makes sense that the content strategy would be unique to be effective. B2B consumers want authoritative, performance-based content, whereas B2C customers want something to appeal to their emotions. With either buyer, if you can show your customer that you’re trustworthy and your product is valuable, they will keep returning for more.

A successful content strategy can lead to a significant return on investments or performance, so it is essential to know the critical differences in approach between B2B and B2C marketing. According to Neil Patel, a marketing expert, you’ll want a basic roadmap or blueprint to get your audience from point A (the content) to point B (the sale). The plan is flexible based on changing needs, but having a plan in place will help you succeed and keep sight of your goals. You’ll start your roadmap to success by identifying your audience and their needs. You’ll establish brand authority and make human, personal connections leading to brand loyalty and trust.

Key Elements of a Successful Content Strategy

Creating successful content strategies in both B2B and B2C content marketing involves several key elements:

Buyer Personas

B2B and B2C brands use buyer personas, where they market to a fictional “ideal client or customer” that their research shows as the ideal buyer. Buyer personas for B2B are likely to value things like ROI (return on investment), data, case studies, and outcomes from your product. B2C buyer personas can be numerous and include a range of people who can benefit from their product. Once you identify your specific audience, you can nail down a content strategy that meets their needs. For example, if a B2C company found that most of their orders were from Instagram and women, they could customize their content to include this strategy.

Thought Leadership

B2B brands focus on something called “thought leadership.” According to HubSpot, having thought leadership means you are the trusted source in your marketplace. You are the one that has the knowledge and experience, and this gives your brand authority. You want to be the brand the consumers recognize as the leader in your field. B2C can also benefit from establishing thought leadership and brand authority, but it is a strategy used more heavily by B2B companies. Promote your content across several platforms and ensure it is useful and valuable to your targeted customer. You can research your competitors, find their strengths and weaknesses, and then target your content to what makes your business unique.

Evoking Emotion and Storytelling

For B2C content, emotion is vital. The customer has a need or want, and you want to make them see you can fill it. They believe buying your product or service will feel good. B2B companies can appeal to emotions and storytelling through reviews and case studies. Telling a story about how a product has changed someone’s life will appeal to an individual consumer looking to meet a need. Most B2B buyers seek numbers and data to back up the story.

Relationship Building

Both B2B and B2C businesses are people selling to people. B2B businesses tend to have a longer, more in-depth relationship with their customer because of the time spent on the sales process. B2C businesses also want to have great relationships and customer service. You want to improve the life of this patient or client and keep them coming back for more. The goal of these relationships in both businesses is customer loyalty.

Navigating the B2B vs B2C content marketing landscape can be challenging. We hope you better understand how to tailor your marketing and content strategy to your business and the customers you are trying to reach. Join us at Write RN for more information on content strategies, SEO, and all things healthcare content related!

References

Patel, N. (n.d.). How to Create a B2B Content Strategy. https://neilpatel.com/blog/b2b-content-strategy/ 

Siu, E. (2021, June 11). We Break Down B2B vs. B2C Marketing. HubSpot. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/b2b-b2c-content-marketing