Accenture

There are several things Accenture has done well to target its business-to-business audience. With many intelligent strategies, and a little luck, they were able to appeal to many business executives. In addition, they were able to adapt to certain conditions such as the business climate, and proved capable of making tough and wise decisions, such as dropping Tiger Woods following the scandal. Accenture serves as a great example for how to successfully reach out to businesses in marketing. Marketing to businesses is very different than marketing to consumers. Compared to consumer markets, business markets generally have fewer and larger buyers, a closer customer supplier relationship, and more geographically concentrated buyers (Marketing Management textbook, p. 207). In addition, it is very different when dealing with consumers than it is dealing with business executives. Business executives generally know more about professional purchasing, and are more aware of certain sales techniques. In the case of Accenture, the thing that worked so well for them was what they did in their rebranding campaign. It turns out that in 2000, following arbitration against its former parent, the relinquishing of the Andersen name turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Although a difficult task, this gave the company an opportunity to rebrand, and launch an entire marketing campaign around it. By choosing Accenture, brand awareness went from low to very high, and was no longer being confused with its former accounting corporate parent, Arthur Andersen. As a result, Accenture successfully completed a $1.7 billion IPO in July 2001. Another thing that Accenture did so well in reaching out to its business-to-business audience was by understanding exactly what businesses needed. They did this by surveying senior executives from different industries and countries to get their feedback. They found that business executives believed that the number one barrier to success