I was in an interesting conversation yesterday with a friend who is an adjuct marketing instructor at a local university. He was lamenting the fact that many of his senior-level students did not know the distinctions between B2B marketing (or that such an animal has ever been spotted in the wild) and B2C, or the "creative side" of marketing. That got me to thinking. I guess I've been on both sides of the fence, and I don't know when I first learned that there was such a thing as B2B, but with parents as business owners, and having been a business owner at a young age, I imagine it was at a very early age that I experienced B2B.

Coincidentally, someone on one of the AMA listservs recently asked:

what do you think are the primary advantages/disadvantages in working in the B2B compared to B2C marketing field/arena?

Hmmm... What are the advantages/disadvantages? I guess I never thought of the dichotomy between B2B & B2C as potentially disadvantageous.

I think as a young marketer, just getting out of school, we see all of the commercials and popular consumer marketing and advertising and think "oh, this is what marketing must be like. I want to do that stuff." However, marketing is so much more, and I would argue that the opportunity, if you call it that, lies in specialization in a deeper niche in either sector.

For example. You can say that you're a B2C marketer, but what do you market? Paper, candy, consumer electronics, new products, old brands... If you take a cursory survey of some of the "director of marketing" job listings out there, you'll start to see that specialization in one area or another can really help you in the long run (at least, that's my experience...albeit in B2B)

Personally, I find B2B much more exciting. More specifically, I like the idea of 'thought leadership' in marketing (as an academician at heart who loves writing, speaking and all that stuff, this is a good fit for me). However, there was a response on the listserv that sums it up best. Bottom line, go after what you love. The opportunities will present themselves, or you'll make them happen!

Your decision on where to focus should rest on what you enjoy. Buying has both rational and emotional elements associated with it, but in the business world there is more focus on the rational element and buying is more controlled and structured. So there is probably less room, and I know there is less tolerance, for what I would call-off-the wall, highly creative advertising and messaging. Workers are busy and they prefer to know the facts and benefits of your product or service without having to do allot of work to figure them out. This, of course, is a generalization, because there are some industries that are fashion-oriented and have more appreciation for design and creative messaging and targeting. But I think your own interests in messaging, positioning and creativity should help drive your decision.

[UPDATE] Bob Bly (famed copywriter) just had a post and a bunch of great comments related to this topic.