10 years into running Altrincham HQ I’ve worked with a lot of businesses, learnt a lot of lessons and grown as an individual
The great thing about working with thousands of individuals each year is I get to see the successes and struggles of both B2C and B2B
From the outside B2B is often seen as B2C’s less interesting cousin – but there are so many great B2B businesses thriving that B2C could learn from
And whilst there are many support groups out there “helping” the high street, why not take lessons from someone actually running a business rather than on a salary
Here are 4 Business Lessons B2C Businesses Can Learn From B2B
1. Take Location Out Of The Equation
I know you spent months thinking of the right location for your shop, restaurant or bar – but I want you to ignore that
A Great location makes businesses complacent
You only have to look at the huge amount of businesses that have failed in prime locations with thousands of people passing them each day to realise that location isn’t everything
B2B businesses are often home based, office based in the edge of town, on 2nd floor locations away from eye level and have no signage to direct people into their business. They’ve taken location out of the equation in terms of awareness and therefore they never ever get complacent about the power of networking and marketing to grow their business
Ask yourself if we were in the worst location in the world how would we get people to hear about us?
2. If You Don’t Market You Die
Now I’m not saying all B2B businesses realise “If You Don’t Market You Die” – but the majority do
Someone in B2B rarely sets up in business and says “I’ll see how word of mouth goes for 6 months” in the same way B2C businesses think word of mouth is this magic bullet
They jump on LinkedIn and let their thousands of contacts know they’re open for business
They network at least once a week until everyone in the area knows their name
They go knocking on doors and introduce themselves
There’s a market or die mentality to a lot of B2B businesses
They realise word of mouth comes after marketing, not before
Ask yourself have you done enough marketing in the past month?
3. Networking Matters
Your network is your networth
And by networking I don’t mean knocking on next door for a moan about how quiet it is today or how the local council are messing up the town with parking problems. I mean proactively networking to get your business name known in the local community
I’m always impressed when I see a bar owner or a high street business come to a networking meeting to meet other local businesses, but the biggest mistake high street businesses make with networking is they turn up just once and expect the 50 businesses attending to buy from them within the week
With networking it’s about turning up time and time and time again
With networking it’s about supporting other businesses attending
With networking it’s about relationships not hard sales
4. A Strong Personal Brand Helps
Gary Vaynerchuk recently posted on LinkedIn
“Let’s not get confused by semantics – “personal brand” is just another word for your reputation. And your reputation in perpetuity is the foundation of your career.”
Companies have a reputation
And individuals have a reputation
So many B2C businesses are focused on showing off their products that they forget to put a human face to the business
The next generation are starting to understand the important of a personal brand / reputation as companies like mine are speaking to thousands of people
You and your staff are your greatest asset – never forget that!!!
NEED HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?
Chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation
We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you
Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services
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We can do this
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Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
