Hi Steve,

The basic process will remain the same. There are two things that will change when moving from B2B to B2C:

1. ABM (Account Based Marketing, which should only be a data point) is not relevant for B2C.
2. Content for B2C is typically more engaging, fun. Marketing to an airline is serious business while marketing to an individual you can include a company/product-centric crossword puzzle.

However, persona-based marketing is very real. You can lump certain businesses AND individuals together in a single campaign based on persona. The “journey” to purchase for a business or individual rarely varies within a person’s with clear purchase paths (typically good forms, simple product organization and data capture.)

Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions. I’ve set up systems both in marketing and sales automation that simultaneously ran B2B and B2C campaigns. I’m probably the only person who knows about the true purpose since I invented the first to market tool in this space.

We (as consumers) shop online for many reasons - convenience, cost, ease of access. The main reason I choose a store over online is the customer service. The sales rep is the driving force behind successful B2B. They must be personable and accessible. The cost can even be a bit higher through B2B - So Long As the customer feels they are getting value for their money.
I was extremely successful as a B2B rep for HoneyBaked Ham - a pricey food that my customers cheerfully paid for, Because I was the face of the company. Not trying to brag, just saying the importance of a good sales rep can't be stressed enough! I've often shopped online because I figure - if I'm gonna get ignored in a store, i may as well go totally impersonal.
I went as far as keeping a log with details about my customers - everything from their favorite side dishes, to the name of their dog!

Good topic. We are seeing a raft of B2C companies trying to expand their B2B presence (e.g., see an article from 4 years ago on Airbnb's foray into B2B -- https://gigaom.com/2014/07/28/airbnb-goes-b2b-targeting-business-travelers-with-new-site-listings/). We are also seeing B2B companies coming up with platforms that look and act more like B2C platforms (e.g., Zoro, which is owned by WW Grainger -- https://www.zoro.com/). I recently interviewed 40+ senior B2B marketing execs and most of the interviewees believe that B2B organizations need to be prepared for digital-first customers, even if the resulting customer journey is a hybrid one. Happy to talk further about our findings. The research was completed as part of our refresh of a Kellogg (Northwestern University) Executive Education program on Business Marketing (which I co-lead).

The convergence of B2B and B2C buying platforms... I am not sure that I understand the question.

We sell B2B direct or through VARs/partners. We have also created a "store" like Salesforce or ServiceNow and others, where you can download our tools for free or purchase our technology partner's applications (we also get a fair share of the sale here). We partnered with Staples too. In that we built a microsite off of the Staples page that looks and feels exactly like a Staples page. We pay Staples royalties per our contract. I hope this helps?