H2H marketing - what is it, and how can you succeed at it? 

H2H marketing or human-to-human marketing is a much talked about topic these days. Few sources provide a simple explanation of what it’s all about. Many websites mention influencer marketing, for example, marketing by bloggers, but H2H marketing is not just about individual “bloggers” or well-known people. 

H2H marketing is about listening to the other party and keeping the marketing message simple. Rather than just highlighting technical features or hyping your company, keep the other person in mind and design your message in a way that interests them, and H2H marketing will succeed.

Using H2H marketing for B2B marketing

Marketing designed for other people is the essence of human-to-human marketing. Whether it’s a business target group or a message to consumers, you should always target the message to the specific individual you are trying to reach with your message. 

In B2B advertising, this means exact targeting because today, you can reach the person you want even by job title, mobile phone number, or email. It is even possible to target one individual at a time. 

So in B2B marketing, you know precisely who your message is going to, and your company’s H2H marketing can therefore be about targeting that one person, even if there are tens of thousands of these carefully selected individuals. 

Design your message specifically for them and don’t just list your company’s product features or give a company presentation. The customer is only interested in the benefits they receive.

Using H2H marketing for B2B marketing

B2C marketing has used H2H marketing extensively for quite some time now, and it’s refreshing to see creative and entertaining advertising in corporate marketing communications these days. H2H marketing is all about focusing on the end customer, and if you succeed in this, you will ensure that they remember your company and your brand when it comes time to buy your industry’s services. 

Market share competition is becoming more fierce, so most businesses are interested in some form of digital marketing. Approximately six in ten marketers will actively engage in search engine optimization (SEO) in 2021, and eight in ten say their demand-generation budget will remain the same or grow. The data also indicates that competition is getting tougher every year.

It is no longer enough to highlight the features of your own service or product in advertising. Still, it is important to take the lessons of H2H marketing into account in all your company’s communications and think about what your B2C customers want to hear.

An Example of H2H marketing

Let Dominos Pizza be an example of H2H marketing that did not highlight the company’s products or other benefits. Dominos Pizza said their pizza was awful before they made changes to their product. This led to an international campaign that eventually increased the company’s sales by 15%, overtaking Pizza Hut to become the largest pizzeria in the world.

How should you start marketing H2H?

The best way to start H2H marketing is through in-house efforts and perhaps market research. Market research doesn’t have to be heavy and expensive - you can even do it internally with a relatively low-budget social media campaign. 

You can directly ask your customers for feedback on your service and potential customers what they would like to hear when considering buying service in your industry. 

Customer interaction is the best method for H2H marketing, and this is where the end-user surveys and sweepstakes on social media are helpful. The Kubla team believes that it is good to keep constant contact with customers on social media as well, regardless of whether you buy surveys from a third party. 

We don’t know of a single case where even a lightly planned H2H marketing campaign has turned against the company. Customers may react either positively or negatively to your messages. Still, all this feedback is valuable and can be turned to the company’s advantage on social platforms by listening and addressing the issue in a way that others will notice. This way you can also boost your company’s brand value on social media channels.

Want suggestions on how to do this for your specific product or service? Contact us NOW!

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