Target A Business Market Segment to Improve B2B Marketing
Selecting the best business market segment for your B2B business doesn't have to be a statistical nightmare. It's really as simple as discovering a few characteristics that distinguish businesses from one another and using those characteristics to select business with characteristics that make them good potential business customers.
Business characteristics are called firmographics, and they provide the same type of factual information about businesses that demographics do about consumers.
Knowing which firmographic facts identify and define businesses most likley to buy your B2B products and services, helps to select your best target market.
Three categories of firmographics help B2B businesses determine a business market segment to target. These include:
Selecting a Business Market Segment With Organizational Firmographics
Select a Business Market Segment by Financial Firmographics
Selecting a Business Market Segment With Industrial Firmographics
Using Organizational Firmographics To Select a Business Market Segment
One organizational firmographic is size. It enable you tochoose a business market segment according to number of employees, number of branches, plants, or stores, and number of locations.
Size distinguishes businesses in several ways. Number of employees can help you determine whether the business owner or an employee is in charge of purchasing. Number of plants, branches or stores can mean that each makes individual purchasing decisions. Thus, knowing size helps to determine how many people and the type of people B2B business owners have to contact and build relationships with.
Each business market segment also differs by company age. Young businesses need different types of products and services than more established businesses. They usually have limited resources and less cash flow so they need vendors who will guide them in making good purchase decisions rather than just selling to them. By providing this service to new businesses, you can turn them into loyal customers.
Buinesses differ by location because people and business cultures vary by regions. Furthermore, regulations, tax laws and economic factors distinguish business by location.
You can use organizational firmographics to select a business market segment with good profit potential. Then you can target that business market.
Using Financial Firmographics To Select a Business Market Segment
Selecting a business market segment based on financial firmographics enables you to consider how much volume a potential business customer will purchase and how able it is to pay for those purchases.
For example, if you provide a personnel service, it's more likely that medium size businesses will use your service. Small businesses have such few employees that the owner or bookkeeper can handle personnel services, and large businesses have so many employees that they need an in-house personnel department.
Ownership factors can also help you select the business market segment for your target market. You need to know whether the business leases or owns its office, plants, stores, warehouses, and equipment. By monitoring the relationship of ownership factors, you can determine relationships between these factors and the businesses needs and purchases.
Selecting the business market segment with financial firmographics that match you B2B business products and services can help you to target businesses most likely to become customers.
Using Industrial Firmographics To Select a Business Market Segment
Industrial firmographics provide another way to distinguish the best business market segment to target. Businesses differ in many ways according to the industries they operate within. Each industry has different standards, regulations, expectations, inspections, etc. that require different products and services. Determining which industry has the most need and desire for what you sell goes a long way to selecting your target market.
The following example illustrates how industrial firmographics influence what businesses need and want and what kinds of customers they will be.
A manufacturing business market segment that uses high-tech equipment in its production differs considerably from a manufacturer who uses only low-tech production. They purchase completely different equipment and supplies, use different processes, and have different facility needs.
A business that produces high-end items for the luxury market will use different components than one that produces in mass for discount stores. The former will spend more for quality components and buy add-ons to upgrade features.
Also consider the information industry. Books publishers and consultants are both in the information industry, but what they sell and what they earn differs considerably. Consultants sell their time and their knowledge. Their income is limited by what they can charge per hour. Publishers sell products - books, and their incomes are limited only by the number of books they can sell at a profitable price.
Thus, if you know how industrial firmographics affect businesses' needs for what you sell, you can select a business market segment that provides new, and potentially long-term repeat, customers.
In Conslusion
B2B business owners can improve their marketing with organizational, financial and industrial firmographics.
B2B business owners can enhance their business market segment decisions by keeping good records on which segments have been the best customers for their business and within their industries. Then they can target those best customers.
You will increase your changes of selecting a profitable target market for your B2B business if you use records and research to make business market segment selections.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
About the Author
You can get more information to improve your B2B business by getting Linda Morton's free report Marketing Your Small Business. For more information about market segments, get her free report on Market Segmentation.
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by: LindaP.Morton
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