They say opposites attract. But why is that? Is it because there are so many things that are different about the polar opposites that to find some sort of communality it is the things that do complement each other that come to the foreground? Sometimes it is these complementary factors that enhance each other. In Chinese philosophy, the yin and the yang are considered opposing, in their individual qualities and nature. However, they cannot exist separately, they are interdependent. In fact, these opposing energies together can spark creativity and light.

But what does B2B and B2C mean in light of our business world? 

For years we have treated B2B and B2C as very different audiences, they were essentially polar opposites. Marketeers wouldn’t dare imagine contacting an individual in a business context unless it was through proper channels and with the use of corporate language. There was a line. A delineation between two worlds.

Yet at the end of the day, we are all people. We all go home at night to friends, to family, to pets. We joke, we laugh, we cry and we react. That is because at the heart of it we are all humans. We use the same technology for research whether for business or personal use. Our social media channels are merging, how many times have we recently seen on LinkedIn more human-based and individual stories vs corporate content. So maybe there are communalities and that if we find them, they can complement each other harmoniously.

Can B2B and B2C work together?

However, this idea of merging is not something revolutionary and new. Marketeers moved to the notion of B2i (business to Individual) a few years back, yet the event world seems to be a little behind. Whether that is because of the nature of the products that are being sold or down to archaic structures, but a shift is needed, and it is needed now.

The pandemic accelerated the adoption of digitalisation across both B2B and B2C industries. This was infamously quoted by Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella as experiencing;

“two years’ of digital transformation in two months”.

The challenge now is how to continually harmonise digital interactions to provide a seamless B2i service, communication, and engagement. And with emerging automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, the waters are only going to muddy even more as people strive for personalised interactions based on their own needs whether business or personal. 

This is a shift that has been driven by customers. In McKinsey & Company’s Global B2B Pulse report, B2B customers want omnichannel all the time, with more channels, more convenience, and more personalised experiences.

So instead of marketing to a business or consumer, let’s create bespoke experiences for individuals. In fact according to Forbes, the term individualisation is perhaps a more appropriate term,

“treating [people] as individuals versus part of a larger group in a company’s database”.

Does B2B still exist in events and experiential?

From an events and experiential perspective this does not mean the end of B2B trade shows or exhibitions but what this does mean is a shift in the content, storytelling and having a more personalised approach, treating sales targets as humans. According to Gartner;

“in the next five years, sales leaders who fail to create rich, immersive digital experiences risk alienating customers and losing business as a result.”

And in order to target the individual let’s take the best of both worlds and merge. From B2C we will take personalisation, preferences, and entertainment and merge this with B2B methods of informative content, relationship-building, and sales. Then voila, we have a new and exciting way to interact with customers that meet them not only on their business and intellectual level but also on their human and personal side. Thus, creating a balance; creating a yin-yang.  

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Photo by Alex Padurariu on Unsplash