Why Marketing for an Excavator is Nothing Like Marketing for an Energy Drink

Applying B2C (Business-to-Consumer) tactics to a B2B (Business-to-Business) challenge is like hiring a plumber to fix your car. The tools are wrong, the process is wrong, and the results will be disappointing. At Mansfield Marketing, we focus on the B2B Marketing world, and that distinction is at the heart of everything we do.

The B2C World: Fast, Wide, and Emotional

Let's first look at the B2C company selling an energy drink.

• Customer Base: The potential customer is anyone who is thirsty, tired, or just likes the taste. The market is vast, measured in millions of individuals.
• Sales Process: The sales cycle is seconds long. It’s an impulse buy at a convenience store or a quick click in an online cart. The decision is low-risk, emotional, and driven by brand, flavor, and packaging.
• Marketing Strategy: The goal is mass-market brand awareness. Marketing focuses on lifestyle, image, and emotion. Success is built on social media influencers, flashy Super Bowl ads, and broad advertising campaigns designed to make the brand seem cool and ubiquitous.

The B2B World: Niche, Rational, and Relational

Now, let's look at the B2B company selling a heavy equipment excavator.

• Customer Base: The customer is not an individual, but a committee. It includes an engineer (who cares about specs), a procurement manager (who cares about cost), and a CEO (who cares about ROI). The market is highly niche—only construction firms, public works departments, and industrial companies will ever buy.
• Sales Process: The sales cycle is long, often lasting 6-18 months. The decision is high-risk, expensive, and purely rational. It requires multiple meetings, detailed proposals, and a deep level of trust built between the salesperson and the client.
• Marketing Strategy: The goal is qualified lead generation and sales enablement. Marketing focuses on expertise, trust, and ROI. Success is built on technical white papers, detailed case studies, and targeted outreach on platforms like LinkedIn. The marketing team's job is to create sales collateral that empowers the salesperson to close the deal.

We Started with Sales First

This distinction is personal for me. My name is Doug Mansfield, and I'm the founder of Mansfield Marketing. Unlike many agency founders, I didn't start my career in advertising. I started in commercial construction sales years before I ever started this company.

This background is our key differentiator. I started Mansfield Marketing with sales in mind, and our marketing services were designed from the very beginning to achieve one primary goal: support and achieve sales goals. We recognized long ago that for our clients to succeed, their sales teams needed to succeed.

This brings me to an analogy I use all the time. Nobody hires a plumber because they want to buy "plumbing." They hire a plumber because their hot water heater stopped working, and they have a specific, urgent problem they need solved, they need hot water.

The same is true for marketing. Business owners don't hire a marketing company because they want "marketing"; they hire a marketing company for the benefits that service is supposed to deliver. They expect a solution to a problem, whether it's a lack of leads, a weak brand, or stagnant sales.

For two decades, we have helped numerous B2B and industrial clients—from machine shops and oil and gas contractors to specialized B2B service providers—achieve their sales and marketing goals.

A Proven Strategy for Solving Problems

This deep experience led us to develop our proprietary FADA® Marketing Framework. We created it because a good marketing company shows up prepared with a proven strategy, not one they invent as they go. FADA® provides a structured plan that gives purpose to every marketing service we offer.

Remember the plumber? You hire them for a solution (hot water). Our clients hire us to deliver specific benefits, and the FADA framework is our blueprint for delivering them:

1. Foundation: We build a strong digital presence—including your website, business listings, and social media—that establishes you as a credible authority.
2. Awareness: We enlighten more potential customers (the right ones, not just anyone) about the solutions you sell.
3. Differentiation: We develop a clear message that sets you apart from the competition, so you compete on unique value, not just price.
4. Action: Finally, and most importantly, we inspire customers to engage. This delivers the sales opportunities, revenue, and positive return on investment that you actually need.

If you're considering hiring a marketing partner, I know you'll perform your due diligence. You will likely interview at least three marketing companies to find the right fit before making your selection.

I simply ask that you make sure Mansfield Marketing is on that short list. That's the best way to make a fully informed decision.