Five pointers to remember when copywriting for B2B clients
It's a lot different versus writing for B2C brands!
I remember the first time I was briefed about writing for a B2B (business to business) brand. The team onboarding me was very careful to emphasize that I was writing not for end-users, that these products weren’t available via my local mall.
It was…
Different. Challenging. But not impossible!
If you’re struggling with writing for B2B clients, or want to take a stab at landing B2B brands, today’s article is perfect for you.
Keep these in mind when writing for B2B clients
1. Put yourself in the shoes of decision-makers in a business.
You’re not Mrs. Tan who has to buy sneakers for her school-aged son. And you’re not Steve who needs an affordable yet filling lunch.
You’re Mrs. Santos, the head of the Admin department, who has to decide on a new air conditioner that’ll last years and won’t need to be maintained all the time, but fits the office budget and the specs of your conference room.
You’re Darwin, the head of purchasing at a hardware store who’s restocking on supplies. You’ll need to be sure that these PVC pipes will be useful to your market of contractors, plumbers, maybe even some repair-savvy homeowners. You’ll also need to train your staff to know how to sell these items.
You’re Ms. Lee, the CEO doing the final sign-off on what construction company will build the new branch. You have to be careful with your profits and investors’ money, but you also can’t cut corners to sacrifice the safety of the team and customers who will use the new branch.
2. The channels you’ll market in may be a bit different when writing for B2B.
As with any other brand, you’ll need to select your channels based on where your market is - when they’re in decision-making mode as part of a business. Not as an end-consumer.
This can mean Facebook, possibly Instagram, yes. But LinkedIn is the #1 business-oriented social media platform.
Setting up a blog on the client’s website will help with SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This will also establish the client as an authority in your niche, whether that’s construction, appliances, or SaaS (Software as a Service). If your client does conventions and sales calls, you might be asked to help them improve their sales kits / sales decks and brochures.
Email newsletters are great for long-form content that’s educational or meant for those at the consideration phase. You will usually need to build a list to make the most out of this, either via previous client lists or by offering a lead magnet, like a downloadable white paper.
Targeted ads on platforms like YouTube, Reddit, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) can help you (and them) find leads specific to your niche.
3. What’s “boring” to you means a lifetime of work to your clients, their target market, and even end-users!
Back when I was a young(er) copywriter, my lead at the time joked that I would probably find the B2B brand “boring” because of how technical it was.
But you know what? I felt (and still feel) that even if writing for a B2B brand can be a bit more stiff versus B2C, it’s still important! And after I got to meet some of the clients (it was a family-owned business), I realized how much work went into putting those products out there and making sure they worked properly.
Just like with B2C brands, your B2B clients are proud of the work they do. It doesn’t serve anyone - least of all yourself - to get into the mindset that a brand is “boring” or “less important” just because it’s a bit different that what you “usually” see in advertising.
4. Dive deep into the technicalities, answer the question, “what’s in it for me?”, and go back to talking human-to-human.
Not gonna sugarcoat here - working on B2B brands can get very technical, maybe even more technical than when you’re selling the same brand’s B2C line! So ask for all the product catalogues, brochures, and online listings the client has, review them, and take notes.
What benefits does Feature X bring to the table? What’s in it for the target market (Head of Purchasing)? What’s in it for the end-user (Contractor)? Or maybe even the end-end-user (Homeowner)? Does it mean value for money, trust, and peace of mind?
What projects has this company worked on in the past? What was notable about those projects - the scale, the scope, the innovation used? What’s in it for a future client? Does it mean this company is great for clients who want to innovate and try something new to outshine their competition?
When you bring it back to their human needs, it’ll be easier for you to tell stories about how these products or services can help your target market.
5. Be willing to learn.
Ultimately, a B2B client, like any other client, is an opportunity to learn about the craft of copywriting, the bigger world of advertising, and a chance to learn about other people and industries. What’s in it for you? Another feather in your cap and something new to add to your portfolio.
If you aren’t willing to learn, really, the other four tips won’t make any sense! Haha.
I hope these tips help you with writing for your B2B clients!
As writers, we’re helping our clients communicate technical knowledge and guiding procurement heads, COO, and CEOs in making important decisions that will impact the lives of end-users. And I think that’s pretty cool, don’t you?
Looking for more samples to guide you in writing for B2B clients? Feel free to check out my portfolio.