Target A Business Market Segment to Improve B2B Marketing | Marketing

By LindaP.Morton
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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.

Do you know what firmographics are and how to use them to select the best business market segment for your target market?

Firmographics are facts about a businesses that help to group them into target markets, but do you know what firmographics to use in determining your best business market segment?

This article covers three broad categories of firmographics that provide numerous ways that you can select a specific business market segment to target. These include:

Using Organizational Firmographics To Select a Business Market Segment

Select a Business Market Segment by Financial Firmographics

Select a Business Market Segment by 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 of the business can help you determine the number and type of people that will be involved in purchasing decisions. If the organization is large, you will probably have to deal with one or more employees, who are assigned purchasing decisions. If the organization is small, you are more likely to deal with the owner, who makes all purchasing decisions. Select the size that best meets your selling preferences and your ability to serve customers well.

Age of the business can help you determine the types of products and services needed and the best way to market to the businesses. For instance, young businesses require more of a consultant approach to marketing because they don't always know what is on the market or exactly what they need. Older businesses usually know exactly what they need, but often meeting their needs requires customizing features to meet their needs.

Location also helps to select the best business market segment because their needs, business cultures, economic influences, regulations and tax laws all differ by location.

You can use organizational firmographics to select a business market segment with good profit potential. Then you can target that business market.

Selecting a Business Market Segment With Financial Firmographics

A business market segment also differs by sales volume, profits and market share. These financial firmographics can help a you to determine the businesses most likely to buy your products.

For example, if you sell a machine that automates packaging products, it's more likely that businesses with large sales volume will purchase your machine than will smaller ones, whose small sales volume makes human packaging less expensive.

Selecting the best business market segment for your B2B business also entails distinguishing businesses by ownership factors. What and how much of its facilities and equipment a business owns, leases or rents reveals much financial information including the business's financial stability and debt.

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

Industry provides another business market segment to help you determine your best target market. For example, businesses in information industries differ considerably from those in manufacturing and those in service industries. These differences make some businesses better potential customers than others and influence how, when, and why they will buy certain products.

Other industry specific firmographics provide different business market segments that influence the types of products they need and the kinds of customers they are. Consider the following:

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.

A consultant is a business market segment in the information industry, but the consultant's business is very different from a major book publisher. Consultants' incomes are limited by how much they can charge for their time. Book publishers' incomes are limited only by the number of books they can publish and sell.

So knowing industrial firmographics of businesses, helps you to select those with industry characteristics that make them good potential customers.

Conclusions

Selecting the best business market segments from these industrial, financial and organizational firmographics will enable you to comprise a profile of your best and most lucrative target market.

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.

Knowing which business market segment has proved the most profitable in the past and targeting those customers with products and marketing designed specifically for them, can improve sales and profitability for any B2B business.

About the Author

You can get more information to improve your B2B business by getting Linda Morton's free report Marketing Your Small Business. You can also get her free report on Market Segments.

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