What is a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) business?
- Consumer Packaged Goods, include major employers like Unilever, Nestle Purina, PepsiCo, and Hershey.
- Durable Goods, include employers like Ford Motor Company and Whirlpool.
- Hi-Tech Durable Goods include electronics (Apple iPhone), computers (Dell), and related electronic equipment.
- Retail Services, such as Target, Lowe’s, Macy’s, or Amazon.
B-to-C industries are characterized by the sale of goods to individual consumers. The sales cycle is typically shorter, and brand is king. Typically, a substantial proportion of marketing expenditures are on brand-building efforts with consumers.
There is a tremendous amount of data available on consumers and their patterns of interaction with the brand, so decisions become very data driven.
Brand Management
The brand manager is the quarterback of the consumer goods world. They have the highest level of marketing responsibility for a specific brand (i.e., Healthy Choice), and are responsible for all matters relevant to their product(s): marketing strategy, product development, pricing, promotions, sales, quality control, and production. They must be able to influence people at important levels across the organization.
Product Management
Product Managers are the product champion within the consumer goods firm. They are responsible for the product’s success through its entire lifecycle, measured overall by P&L and specifically by sales revenues, market share, and profit margins. The primary focus is on new product development and a great deal of time and effort is spent on bridging the engineering-oriented teams and the business-oriented teams to translate customer needs into engineering specifications and vice-versa.
The best product managers can think strategically and anticipate future customer needs, possess a technical aptitude to effectively communicate and influence engineers, and project-manage multiple efforts in new product development, product maintenance, and marketing.
Merchandising Management
In the retail space, Merchandising Managers serve a similar role to the Brand Managers of the CPG world. They are responsible for the success (P&L) of a given category of product within the retail space. They develop and execute the right product, marketing, and vendor strategies to achieve the categories’ growth objectives, while working with internal retail teams, internal and external marketing agencies, and vendor product/brand managers to achieve goals. The rise of e-commerce has created demand for this position in the online retail space.
Category Management
The Category Manager is responsible for managing multiple product categories as business units and customizing them, on a store-by-store basis, to satisfy shopper needs (Nielsen definition). The Category Manager will work collaboratively with the retail client for exchange of information and joint business building, recommend sales growth strategies that will include new product introductions, pricing, and promotional activities. It is a position that requires strong leadership, negotiation, and influence skills.
Marketing Analytics
The Marketing Analytics Manager is responsible for gathering all relevant information about the consumer: how they consume, how they make decisions, buying attributes, buying benefits (functional, social, emotional), unmet needs, and responses to marketing efforts. This is done through a combination of analytical data research and qualitative psychologically based research. The Consumer Insights Manager may also conduct the research and analysis. They work to both advice and provide services to the product, brand, and merchandising managers.
Pricing and Forecasting
Marketers responsible for pricing and/or forecasting are responsible for developing pricing strategies. They determine what pricing structure and level should be set, under what timeframe, and within what integrated promotional efforts to optimize profits. Forecasting specialists will predict future sales levels dependent on a given mix of marketing decisions. This is typically a highly analytical role, using data points to identify relationships between marketing variables, consumer insights, and product attributes.
Marketing Communications & Promotions – Digital & Traditional
Promotional marketing functions can support a variety of efforts to reach and persuade consumers, from traditional advertising and public relations to digital marketing, social marketing, relationship marketing, and causal marketing. This position recommends appropriate strategies to the Brand, Product, and Merchandising Managers, set objectives, and measure outcomes. They typically work with a wide variety of internal and external constituencies from engineers to advertising and promotional agencies.