Having worked across brands in the B2B, B2C and D2C space, I’ve always found it an interesting divide. One could go as far to say a little old-fashioned, particularly when it comes to communications, engaging with your audience and your brand’s approach.

B2B Products blowing up B2C

Whist working on the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer during the mid-2000’s, it became very clear that this was a non-consumer product. Excluding the rich and famous (yes we did put a few in very large mansion houses with a lot of extra power added) this was to be a high-end ‘B2B’ product.  It was designed for high-traffic restroom environments. We wanted it to be specified into the very latest leading-edge LEED buildings that were shooting up in the major cities globally. In the most forward-thinking hospitals. In the cleanest food manufacturing facilities, yet the first thing we did was to develop a consumer marketing strategy.

Consumer evangelism

And you are probably wondering why? We knew the single biggest way to get facility managers to specify an $800+ hand dryer was to have consumers and real people ask for it. For the CEO or chairman to ask for it.  Because all products need a consumer pull, because all decision-makers are consumers, because users are consumers. The power of the consumer want can sometimes help to tip the business influencer by giving them evidence that people really want this.

We used this evidence as part of the sales pitch and it worked. It was quite revolutionary and undoubtedly helped Dyson gain traction in a brand-new product category, which they hadn’t really played in before.

Do we need a label?

I can’t help but think that this black and white, draconian split, is holding brands back. We are currently working with a really interesting and growing talent solutions brand in Greenville, South Carolina, that offer a range of services from recruitment and executive search, to HR support and developing talent. In the recruitment sector, you often have two audiences, client and candidate and yet in this example, these audiences (and their roles) are interchangeable. Clients become candidates; candidates become clients. It’s a virtuous circle for those that get it right.

It makes absolute sense to treat all audiences as consumers first and to develop your product offer, tone and even social content on this basis. It’s what we do day in and day out at Bodhi and Co. We are always looking at ways to stand-out and create evangelism. RIP old fashioned marketing, here comes D2ALL – dani@wearebodhiandco.com