The secret to B2B marketing is that there is no secret

Over the course of my career in marketing and advertising, I have worked on both B2C brands and B2B  brands. Yet, one thing that has always astonished me is how most agencies treat B2B marketing and advertising. It's as if because one company is trying to sell something to another company, that the same "rules" of B2C advertising no longer apply.

Open the pages of any industry magazine or other B2B publication. Almost every ad seems to be packed with every possible bit of information on whatever widget they are trying to sell. Bullet points abound and gigantic hero shots of the product take center stage. And almost every single one of them are excruciatingly dull and unimaginative.

But guess what? There really is no B2B. Everything is B2C. Everyone from the purchasing manager to the CEO is a consumer. So, isn't it about time we all started treating them as such?

Here are my four things to remember when developing an advertising or marketing campaign for a B2B client.

1. B2B is no different from B2C
Stop treating each like completely separate disciplines. They are not. The same techniques that Coca-Cola can use to make people buy their product can work for B2B companies as well. Check out this great video from Corning. It's clean, simple and engaging, even for people outside the target audience.

2. Companies don't buy products
Companies don't buy products from each other. The people that work for those companies buy products. And guess what? Those people are also consumers. There is no secret switch they activate when they look at a B2B advertisement. They are the same people and respond in the same way.  

3. Social media DOES work for B2B
In fact, you could argue that social media fits the B2B model better than the B2C model. After all, the B2B model is more about relationship selling than consumer products. And what better way to establish and maintain a relationship with your customers than with social media—an entire genre of communication that was specifically created to help build and manage relationships.

4. Don't use MBA speak
Yes, you may be selling to C-Level executives. But that does not mean they speak a different language. You may want to impress them by throwing in terms like "maximizing synergies," but don't. Because it is my firm belief that no one really knows what these terms mean. Yet, no one will admit this for fear that they will be found out. Mind you, it's only a theory.

So, why not communicate in a language we all understand? Instead of saying that your product is for people who "develop cognitive matrixes outside the norm of conventional society", you could say it's for people who "Think Different." (And did you notice that this is grammatically incorrect also? Yet, somehow it was successful.) . Use simple, brief sentences with words everyone will understand. And if you don't need words to communicate your product's benefit, don't use them. Here's a classic example of this taken to the extreme: What if Microsoft designed the iPod package?

What do you think? Is there a huge difference between B2B and B2C? 

Kevin Duffy is the Creative Director for The Duffy Agency's Boston office.