B-to-B Marketing & Communications

Face-to-Face, interaction and emotion

Marketing: face-to-face
The combination of knowledge, creativity and networking
is becoming increasingly essential and is providing the
desired advantage in the ICT-business.
Companies that understand this are winners.

Company growth can be realised by carefully-considered
marketing. After all, marketing is all about anticipating a
need, solving problems, meeting the client's requirement
and preparing for future growth.
It also involves the client's client.
The external challenges begin with listening, asking the
right questions and then brainstorming with the client.
Then comes advice, planning and organisation.

At the tip of the iceberg, the right means of communication
is a solid and broad foundation.
The impact of this is that a company is positively perceived,
understood and gets the desired result.
But the eventual goal in business-to-business is to have a
face-to-face dialogue with a prospect.

Communication: interaction and emotion
The discipline of external communication has - in business markets -
since the sixties developed from information and advice to
communication.
As a result of new communication techniques,
we can introduce the new concept of interaction, derived from
interactive communication.

What does an entrepreneur want to achieve? Branding a name?
Positive reactions from the market?
A high shortlist position? A better relationship with clients?
The objectives determine the communication strategy and policy!
The empathy, creativity, knowledge and experience of a
communication adviser should guarantee innovative solutions
with demonstrable results.
Communication should ask in advance what needs to be achieved
with a target group regarding level of knowledge, attitude and
conduct.
We need to realise that advertising is often unnecessary.
After all, one does not ask to be constantly disturbed.
Information overload makes people want to retain a manageable
space and cling to simple decision models.

The internet reverses information flow. Receivers rather than senders
are the power holders.
They determine what information is relevant to them or their company.
Medium and large companies have a group of decision-makers,
consisting of officials who - depending on their role - in one way or
the other, have a vote in an investment.
Each decision-maker judges on the basis of their position,
function or specialty.
It is obvious that Management looks at what a specific investment
means to the company and the Buyer (Purchasing Department),
in turn, will look at the price and quality.
The Financial Manager's role in the final decision is becoming
increasingly important.
However, as a target group, in marketing communication, they are
- like influencers - often forgotten.

In business communication, more and more consumer-oriented
techniques that exploit emotion will be used.
From now on, what is important is to make combinations that will
have a surprising and efficient effect on specific target groups
through interactive communication concepts.
Concepts where emotion fulfils an important role.

Index