Understanding Your Customer's Customer

In the colourful and competitive world of marketing, we often find ourselves focused solely on our clients, their briefs, and their needs. But what if we dared to consider more - the ultimate end-user - the customer of our customer?

Mark Ritson, in his insightful article on this topic, writes “the difference between disparate B2C challenges is no less than their difference from equally distinct B2B sectors,” highlighting the universality of core marketing principles and their rightful place across B2B and B2C sectors. What sets great B2B marketing apart is understanding and connecting with the end-consumer, and this is where that blend of B2C comes in.

Thinking Like A Detective

Imagine you’re a detective at a creative agency and your client comes to you with a detailed, precise and carefully constructed brief. This is just the tip of the iceberg - your real mission, should you accept, is to dig deeper. Uncover the layers that lie below the waterline: who is the end consumer, and what are their needs, experiences and pain points?

For instance, our campaign for AQUACEL® Extra™ could’ve focused only on product features and benefits. Instead, we put a spotlight on patient-centric stories and emphasised their experiences, as well as the real benefits for healthcare professionals. We crafted a narrative that connected more deeply with the audience and backed it up with real statistics around the outcomes. The result: enhanced engagement, stronger brand loyalty, and better outcomes for our customer and their customer.

Painting The Bigger Picture: Artistry, Not Just Marketing 

Marketing isn’t just pushing products, it’s about painting a picture of what the product or service actually stands for and how it helps to enrich the experience or lives of the end-user. We set about bringing this approach to our experience with Trivium Packaging, redesigning their website and bringing their infinitely recyclable metal packaging to life through lifestyle photography, elevating the design of the global website above the more ‘corporate’ and traditional peer set. Our work resulted in a 66% increase in user sessions, earned multiple design awards, and helped them showcase the potential of their product in a more creative and engaging way. 

Affirming Our Role 

In the world of B2B marketing, you certainly can get bogged down in technical details and data. But it’s important to remember that everyone appreciates a good story, a connection, and a pleasant experience. Incorporating a B2C mindset in B2B marketing - such as visual storytelling and emotional connection - can make a buying journey that little bit more memorable. 

So, let’s be detectives, or artists - but most of all, let’s think beyond the brief and consider the end-consumer. Whether it’s selling wound care products or recyclable metal packaging, creating the human connection is what truly counts, and doing this will allow us to create campaigns that are more effective, more meaningful and more memorable.   

If you’d like to chat about your B2B marketing, get in touch.