Do you do marketing for B2B companies? Well, the time has come to rethink your strategy with a new paradigm: B4B or "business for business". The world has changed a lot since the term "B2B" was coined in the 90s, and marketers have to adapt to all these changes. At the time, the B2B concept was very useful to describe companies that sell products or services to others, and distinguish them from those that go directly to the consumer. But the relationship between the two parties has changed, and expectations now go far beyond a one-way sale.
If you want to know what this B4B thing is and how to take your marketing to the next level, keep reading! Do you want to know the TOP 50 marketing strategies to launch your product ? Click here and download our free ebook (2022 updated edition). From B2B to B4B generating value in companies The individual email list move from B2B to B4B As I'm sure you already know, the term B2B means "business to business" , that is, from company to company. This concept became popular in the late 1990s and was used to explain the business relationship between two companies. Over time, it became so popular that it began to be used for any aspect of the relationship between companies: B2B sales, B2B marketing, B2B buyer, B2B market... Even more complex derivatives of this term became popular, such as B2B2C or even B2B2G (here the "G" stands for "government"). However, over the years, a problem has arisen: the preposition "to" (a) has fallen short to describe the relationship between companies. And it is that "to" refers to a one-way transaction, in which one company offers products and services to another based on its own business objectives and the buying party does not have much to say.
In the digital age, it makes sense to start rethinking this model. The companies that have been most successful in recent years, such as Uber, AirBnB, Etsy or KickStarter, create value through a different paradigm, based on networks, collaboration, community, social purpose and openness. Instead of offering services and products TO their buyers, they focus on offering products and services TO answer their needs. And this is how B4B or "business for business" came about . This apparently insignificant change, from "to" to "for", actually hides a change in the way of considering the why of a company. B2B conceived buyers as passive entities; On the other hand, in B4B, companies move within a community and seek to contribute to the ecosystem, with a vocation of service towards their clients. In short, the B4B model is more empathetic, more intentional and closer to the customer. The definitive test: are you a B2B or B4B company? At this point, you may be wondering where your company is and what you can do to definitively evolve to a B4B model . This Mag Rajasekaran test can help you find out, so I recommend that you take some time to reflect on these questions.