Insights — Channel Creation & New Revenue Streams — 3 min read
How Can My Consumer Business Start Selling to Companies?
Moving from B2C to B2B is more than just increasing order sizes; it is a shift from emotional transactions to rational business decisions. Success depends on adapting your service and sales process to meet corporate needs.
In short
To start selling to companies, a consumer business must identify how its existing offering solves a specific business problem, then build a sales process capable of navigating longer lead times and multi-stakeholder decision-making. Success requires shifting from transactional digital marketing to relationship-driven outreach, often necessitating a dedicated B2B sales role or agency to manage the complex procurement requirements and longer sales cycles of the corporate world.
Expanding from B2C into B2B can provide your business with larger contracts, more predictable revenue, and increased market stability. However, the B2B market operates on a different set of rules than the consumer market.
B2B buyers are looking for value, reliability, and ease of doing business. If you approach them with a B2C mindset, you will find it difficult to close meaningful contracts.
The mindset shift: From emotion to utility
In B2C, consumers often buy based on brand, emotion, or immediate need. In B2B, the buyer is often spending someone else's money and must justify the purchase based on ROI, efficiency, or risk mitigation. Your marketing and sales materials must shift from 'aspirational' to 'utilitarian'.
Commercial reasoning: The B2B sales cycle
B2B sales cycles are significantly longer. You may wait six to twelve months for a contract to be signed. This creates a cash flow challenge that B2C businesses are not always prepared for. You must have the capacity and the capital to support these longer lead times without jeopardising your consumer operations.
Validate before you build
Before building a dedicated B2B division, test your proposition. Reach out to three potential corporate clients and offer a pilot project. Use their feedback to refine your service and pricing. If you cannot secure even a small-scale commitment, your B2B model may need significant adjustment.
When NOT to do this
Do not move into B2B if your business is struggling to maintain quality in its consumer channel. B2B clients demand high levels of reliability and service. If you cannot deliver, a single failure can lead to significant reputational damage and legal liability.
Could your business support another route to revenue?
Evans Channel Creation identifies, validates and builds additional revenue channels from capabilities a business already has — B2B to D2C, D2C to B2B, product to service, recurring revenue or partners — and says so plainly when a channel should not be built. Programme from £1,995 + VAT per month over six months.
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