Unlock the power of B2P: why people-centric marketing is the future

What is B2P?

It stands for Business to People. We’re all familiar with B2B and B2C, but B2P puts people first not categories, and the results are outstanding.

Imagine a magic lever labelled ‘pull for marketing’. How many businesses continue to instinctively reach for that lever to boost sales, attract talent or raise awareness without a second thought as to whether it’s the right thing to do?

If that’s your default reaction, we’re asking you to think again.

What if you decided today, right here and now, to stop acting as a B2B or B2C business whose message is set on repeat, and start becoming a successful brand?

It begins with setting aside the thinking that’s been ingrained into us all — the rigid, inflexible decision to be either B2B or B2C. This binary approach isn’t just dated, it’s dead — and secretly I believe we all know it. The critical question is, what will you do about it?

If you’re steering an organisation that needs to be rejuvenated, refreshed or redefined in the minds of your audience, the B2P approach will get you the results you need.

Why are traditional B2B and B2C marketing eras outdated, and why has the new B2P (Business to People) era emerged?

The terms B2B and B2C have their origins back in the fifties, when the world was a very different place. The business world was male-dominated, women tended to look after the home. Organisations were hierarchical, and decision making was slow and top-down. It was tough for one business to talk to another business, and sales often happened in person. B2B sales, in particular, had non-existent creativity and low recall.

Digital technology changed everything. Today, we all expect a great experience from brands, and that needs to be consistently great whether you’re selling to a corporate audience or a consumer.

In today’s world, we need to put people first, not assume that someone making a business decision has an entirely different mindset to someone making a decision at the weekend. We are the same person both at work and away from the office. A B2P approach ensures you’re focused on your audience — avoiding the decision making processes that results in the clichés of B2B and B2C.

How does B2P branding and marketing differ from traditional approaches?

A business-to-people approach is about recognising the people who receive the marketing. In the world of B2B branding and marketing, this means acknowledging that businesses aren’t actually buying what you’re trying to sell — people are.

To put it into context, the person approving a £250k organisation software purchase is likely the same person approving her family’s streaming movie rental later that day. She might well do both from the same room in her house. She’s subconsciously comparing both brands on the same device — how they look, how they feel, the voice they speak in and the messages they communicate.

There’s little difference between our work brain and our out-of-office brain. A B2P branding approach ensures you engage with the ‘people’ you are talking to right from the start, for us this starts with developing personas — a really important tool. They make it easier when marketing plans are written as the brand has been created to be right for the audience.

What does ‘humanise’ a brand mean?

Humanising a brand is about making sure your product or service is relatable. Remove the jargon, ensure you are giving every opportunity for connection; empathise with problems and be the solution they are searching for. Really get under the skin of what they are thinking and feeling. Don’t hide your business behind a cycle of endless automated emails.

So many of the community aspects have disappeared in the past 50 years; streaming shows on devices has replaced communal watching; social media has replaced local clubs and societies; trawling TikTok removes the need for conversations with friends, and knowing your neighbours is now becoming rarer and rarer – especially if you live in a city.

By thinking people first you are placing a person and a new community at the heart of your product or service. This can give exponential returns in customer loyalty and referral growth.

What steps are involved in transitioning to a B2P strategy?

It all starts with a robust understanding of the people you are targeting and talking to. Without this, your brand might fail to connect for any of the following reasons:

• it’s too complex,
• it’s unclear who it’s talking to,
• it’s boring or bland,
• It looks the same as everyone else in the sector.

The B2P strategy starts with getting out there and speaking to people, building up personas of your audience, so you have a clear visibility of who you are targeting and why. It sounds obvious, but so many brands don’t do this.

We have a free guide to help you do this, it’ll ensure you’re really connecting with your audience on their level.

What challenges can brands expect when shifting from B2B or B2C to B2P marketing?

The main pitfall is to think that marketing activities for a B2C brand need to be different from B2B. Sure, the channels might be different, but the principles need to remain.

This shift demands an extra layer of diligence. You’ll need to go back to remember who you are talking to; ensuring you are writing, speaking and listening to them. Dig out the personas if you need to and remind yourself of what motivates or concerns them. Always think of their needs.

There was a time when organisations used to put their brand values on walls — your target customer personas need to be just as visible!

What does successful B2P marketing look like, and what benefits can brands expect to see from this approach?

Once a business stops thinking about ‘our message’ first and starts thinking about what its customers’ challenges, things start to change.

For example, let’s imagine Business A’s approach to marketing is “we target scale-up healthcare firms, and therefore we need to send targeted ads listing our product features to those who work at these firms.”

But to get the right impact, Business A needs to recalibrate its thinking from the outset. A better starting point is “we’ve defined the problems Jenny faces, and we know that our product is the solution to those issues. Let’s ensure our marketing talks to her on a personal level, showing that we understand her challenge, and that only we provide a perfect solution.”

What does successful B2P marketing look like, and what benefits can brands expect to see from this approach?

Here are the top 3 principles of a successful B2P brand once you deeply understand your customer;

01

Being comfortable won’t get you anywhere

An effective brand strategy needs to be something your team aspires to be part of and gives a strong sense of differentiation in your customer’s mind. It sometimes needs a pinch of bravery to stand out. Are your brand values driving your organisation in the right direction? If not, why not?

02

On that same theme – we see so many copycat brands

The very point of branding is to stand out. The financial services sector is a sea of blue, for example. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and make sure you are differentiated; otherwise, your brand will add to the confusion.

03

Emotion always beats logic

We humans are complex, and we make most of our decisions subconsciously. To ensure your business is delivering the message it wants to, you need to stop talking about features and start talking about the problems you solve. You need to focus on your customers and talk about what you are doing for them.

To read more, our book is available on Amazon.