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In my previous article I wrote about Unique Search terms and how they can help your advert, in this article I am going to write about another powerful feature that many Business to Business Directories offer:

Banners

When you go on to a Business Directory and start searching for companies, you may come across an animated Banner above the list of companies when you type in a product or service you are looking for. These are called banners; companies with adverts can purchase a banner and a set of unique terms that attach to the banner. It is essentially an animated flash file; the designers will take images and text from your own website and incorporate it into the Banner.

Once you have purchased one you will be asked to pick some terms (the amount depends on what you have agreed with the directory), these terms will belong to you for the duration of your contract and no one else will be able to purchase them.

Say you pick Mezzanine Flooring…Whenever some one goes to the directory and types ‘Mezzanine Flooring’ you banner will flash up at the top of the page above all of the companies that offer that product, this encourages people to click on your listing instead of others.

Whilst it does not have the power of the ‘Search Terms’ to get you world wide coverage, it is still a very effective method of drawing extra traffic into your advert and will increase the potential leads you receive.

Business Cards are typically small cards (that fit into the palm) and are used to hold business related company or individual information. A business card normally holds name, company/ profession or service name, contact info that includes addresses, telephone and fax numbers, email IDs and website URL. They are exchanged when people are introduced to one another. They serve to transmit information and act as a memory aid when persons want to remember or contact the business or individual. In earlier days, business cards have been sporting black colour font on a plain white background. But today’s business cards might have multiple colors and visuals to grab attention.

Typically they are printed out on card stocks with standard sizes. There are country-wise and locality based norms that determine card sizes in general. The weight of a card too is determined by the above parameters.

Cards earlier used to have only one or two colours; but now with the advent of digital and batch printing in full swing, printing with all colors has become a cost effective option. There are different kinds of finishes that can be given including polished and matte laminates. Business cards can have a UV gloss coating for a glossy finish. A three dimensional effect can be imparted on the printed matter. The cards can be printed using typical printing machines or with digital copiers or digital presses. These cards software is available in plenty which can be used to produce business cards en-masse either at a printer’s or even at home. The tools provided with this kind of software include design, layout tools and text editors.

They also come in other formats like CD ROMs.

Business to Business is also referred to as B2B; It is a term that describes commerce transactions that are solely between business and not consumers. An example of this would be a transaction between a wholesaler and a manufacturer or a retailer and a wholesaler. There are two other contrasting terms, B2G (Business to Government) and B2C (Business to Consumer).

As a comparison between B2B and B2C the actually volume of sales is much higher in Business to Business, the main reason for this is business transactions in a typical supply chain tend to involve raw materials or sub components and a consumer transaction tends to be one item (the end product). An example of this would be a car manufacturer… the business transactions would involve the sale of all of the parts, where as the consumer transaction would be the finished product (one single transaction, the car itself).

The term B2B was coined originally to describe electronic communications between enterprises or businesses in order to distinguish it from consumer communication.

This was eventually picked up and used in marketing and now it is used all over the world to describe services and products used by enterprises.

However even though most marketing and sales people work in Business to Business a lot of trade publications and professional institutions focus a lot more on the Business to Consumer side.

If you are looking for these services there are a lot of companies out there that offer them, be sure to look around and find the company that best suits your needs.

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In the advertising world there are two main categories, you could say advertising is split in 2 the two different types are Business to Consumer and Business to Business. In this article I will write a bit about both types and some of the companies that offer these services:

Business to Consumer

This side of advertising is for companies that wish to offer their products or services to the general public and not necessarily to other businesses. A good example of this is general high street shops, they all offer products that anyone off the street can come in and purchase. In an advertising sense here are some companies that offer advertising for Business to Consumer:

Yell.com - This is one of the larger companies offering this service, they offer advertising for pretty much any industry sector. You will be able to find services like Plumbers, Food Restaurants and Takeaways, Toy Shops etc.
Plumber Marketing - This one specialises in plumbers, if you are looking for plumbers this would be a very good place to go.

Business to Business

This differs because of the target audience. This is much more specialised and is aimed for companies to advertise their products or services that are for other companies to use or buy. If you offer something that is designed for use by other companies this is the advertising that you should look in to. Here are some companies that offer Business to Business Advertising:

Businessmagnet Ltd - One of the leading directories available
Applegate - Well known and been around for some time
Kellysearch - Probably the longest running, however becoming dated and not used so much

There are a lot of other companies offering both services, feel free to look around.

The concept of business-to-business is quite ubiquitous in todays business world. It pertains to the commercial transactions between businesses. The transactions between a manufacturer and a wholesaler or between a wholesaler and a retailer are instances of business-to-business (B2B) commerce. A typical supply chain is characterized by a large number of B2B transactions in comparison to any other type of commercial transaction in the same supply chain. Going by the example of an automobile manufacturer that makes multiple B2B transactions, it procures tires, glass for windshields and other bits and pieces for its vehicles. B2B has been evolving and currently is being used in a new context as well. Many businesses are now using it for communication and collaboration and are referred to as B2B communication.

Originally, the term business-to-business was used to describe the communications between enterprises so as to differentiate it from the communications between enterprises or businesses and consumers. In the current scenario, B2B is also used in marketing to describe products and services put into use by enterprises. B2B marketing strategies have assumed great significance because they are instrumental in its overall success. B2B branding, pricing, promotion, campaigning are some of the aspects of marketing strategies. Experts are of the view that B2B shares the largest part of all marketing while its market value far exceeds that of the consumer market.

According to the expert analysts, there are three factors which are driving the phenomenal growth of B2B marketing. The first is the revolution of technology which is constantly evolving thereby spawning newer products and services. Next is the entrepreneurial revolution. The companies are engaged in a cut-throat competition where the business adage is change or perish. Unexplored markets are being tapped aggressively while new uses of existing products are being found by way of innovation to maintain their competitive edge. The third revolution is taking place within B2B marketing itself. Traditional theories and assumptions are being challenged while conventional work processes are being replaced by new models and concepts. Building relationships with consumers a well as different forms of partnerships are the new defining mantra of marketing.