Do You Know That There Are 2 Types of Copywriting—B2B & B2C?
(B2B stands for ‘business to business’, while B2C stands for ‘business to customer’)
Copywriting is the art of marketing with words. In the specialized field of copywriting, there exist 2 distinct forms, namely B2C and B2B copywriting, which involve totally different styles of writing.
To most people, the word ‘copywriting’ immediately conjures up images like copywriting services or copywriting courses found on social media, and this class of writing belongs largely to B2C copywriting, i.e. advertising contents (also called commodity texts) written for mass consumers, e.g. Facebook advertisements, landing page ads etc.
Texts Can Be Refined or Unrefined, Never Sacrifice Corporate Image for Sales
Very much like TV shopping, B2C advertising copies heavily promote products and services in terms of benefits, and seduce buyers with the hint of ‘you can only buy it now!’ Advertisers incite impulse purchases among consumers with sweet, persuasive words as well as everything within their power.
The focus of B2C advertising copywriting is to sell goods to individual consumers by stimulating ‘immediate buying’. Some people opine that word power is not important here, and the texts and headlines should be as informal as possible. Therefore, it is construed that the threshold for this type of copywriting is relatively low since literary accomplishment is not required.
(Please note: as a language, vernacular English can be either formal or informal, and does not equal to the latter. Moreover, texts can be written in a refined or unrefined manner, displaying different levels of taste. We do not agree with the idea that word power is not important since it exerts a significant effect on the corporate brand image!)
B2C copywriting involves its own set of tactics and methods, and a well-written text is not that easy to come by. After all, it is impossible to ‘win it all’ with just ‘a set of routines’. ‘The set of routines’ might sell well for a product, but does not guarantee success for the next.
B2B Copywriting Must Be Presentable & Involves Higher Writing Threshold
Genesis Copywriting specializes in B2B copywriting, namely corporate profiles, website texts, business plans, brand stories etc., which are all company-to-company texts.
B2B copywriting requires writing skills in formal English in its most presentable form since there are a great deal of narratives that need delicate penmanship to paint a vivid picture and so on. B2B copywriters must be professionally trained writers who are able to cross this more demanding writing threshold.
Today, when ‘story marketing’ is getting increasingly popular, copywriters have to achieve greater marketing benefits through storytelling. The storyline, the context, the plot, the beginning and the ending etc. all demand solid writing skills that can command the combined art of marketing and storytelling to achieve the most interesting, desirable text.
There is an enormous difference between B2B and B2C copywriting. B2B copywriting does not prioritize ‘immediate action’, because when two companies deal with each other, there are usually a few rounds of negotiation, and reading a corporate profile does not prompt either party to jump into the rash decision of buying a high-risk, high-ticket item immediately.
In a nutshell, B2B and B2C copywriting styles are equally important. Writing an excellent B2C text is hard, and so is writing a good B2B text with a powerful marketing undertone.
Thus, if you want to have a business text that promotes sales, you must commission a copywriter with solid content marketing skills and potent word power, someone who can take good care of both the corporate image as well as the marketing power to lend a substantial boost in sales performance.
Appended below is a list of differences between B2B and B2C:
| B2C | |
|---|---|
| Target customer | individual consumers |
| Single transaction amount | not high |
| Relationship between buyer and seller | loose and transient |
| Interactive mode between both parties | one-way (the seller trying their best to convince the consumer) |
| Copywriting target | general consumers |
| Copywriting objective | to convince the other party to buy (usually a one-time purchase) |
| Copywriting content | to introduce product or service advantages, and the benefits and solutions it offers. |
| Text format | usually a single article, a short and sweet marketing text. |
| Copywriting focus | product or service content, price |
| B2B | |
|---|---|
| Customer size | business enterprises |
| Single transaction amount | enormous |
| Relationship between buyer and seller | close-knit and long-term |
| Interactive mode between both parties | two-way (involving numerous rounds of negotiation) |
| Copywriting target | business owners, managers, Professionals |
| Copywriting objective | to give us top priority, to promote trust and collaboration between two parties |
| Copywriting content | well-organized layout, introduction with high marketing drive, striking corporate and brand images. |
| Text format | a series of short articles with an overall context sequence, taking into account the overall structure of the enterprise. |
| Copywriting focus | the value our goods, expertise, technologies, equipment and services can generate for the other party. |
