For most marketers, business-to-business (B2B) marketing is boring and can’t be as exciting as socialising. I think most schools still teach B2B in the same old boring way, which is unfortunate.

The traditional B2B marketing can be moved in bits—or bytes, as all things virtual—to the social world as that is where the world—customers and stakeholders included— live. The entire marketing operation can’t migrate to social media but be prepared for disruption, given the behavioural changes brought about by the coronavirus outbreak.

Many B2B customers are okay with discarding the traditional B2B buying of items that are smaller in lots or commercial value such as consumables.

Not every purchase needs to undergo a multiple-level evaluation the traditional way for two reasons: first, buyers are getting social experiences every day as individuals. Second, advances in technology have accelerated transactions towards more transparency and made decision-making more inclusive, leading to fewer “black-box” kind of calculations in transactions.

A progressive B2B customer wants to be engaged and entertained while at it. With the millennials increasingly occupying critical purchase roles, they do not have the patience for tradition or just transactions. They seek transparent, collaborative and open relationships.