B2B Copywriting vs. B2C Copywriting...what's the difference?

Quite often, prospects ask me, "do you have B2B copywriting experience?"

Yes--a ton. In fact, I just wrote a direct mail piece for a website hosting company in Australia. They mailed the letter to a list of growing companies.

For some reason, people believe there's a big difference between consumer advertising and business advertising. Yes, the products are different but, from my perspective as a direct response copywriter, there's only a subtle difference.

But the fundamentals are the same. I'm going to use a copywriting formula like AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action). And I'll go through my preflight checklist to get all the pieces in place before I type a word.

The only difference is tone. Some of my consumer direct response copy is a bit on the 'hit you on the head' level. My B2B copy is a little toned down. That's all. It's a slightly different conversation.

Let's go to the golf world for an example. A golf club wants to get golfers in the door...that's the consumer side. A solid website tells the golfers about the benefits, offers some free stuff so they opt in to a database, and also provides them with the opportunity to book online. Plus testimonials from delighted golfers.

The golf club also wants corporate business...outings, memberships. It's the same...provide a free report about putting together a successful outing...testimonials from happy outings organizers and corporate members...benefits...call to action. Maybe a video and Linkedin page.

But the fundamental strategies are the same. The tactics change slightly. In B2B you may have to nurture leads.

It's the same with marketing to the affluent. For some reason, even experienced marketers believe that marketing to the wealthy differs from marketing to the rest of us! No difference. The wealthy simply have a slightly different set of problems.

I've generated results in B2C and B2B. My approach is always the same. The tone of the copy changes slightly but that's it, really.

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I'm a direct response copywriter based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I specialize in providing copy and content for the direct marketing environment. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here.