Fitbit B2B Marketing Takes the Lead

By most counts, there’s not a lot of overlap between the worlds of B2B and B2C sales. Most companies focus their efforts on selling to businesses or consumers. Marketers use distinct tactics and strategies to reach the different audiences.

Yet more and more companies are realizing this distinction is needlessly limiting.

Enter Fitbit.

From 2007 on, Fitbit has sold its wearable fitness and activity trackers to consumers in the B2C market and upheld its mission – to empower and inspire individuals to reach their fitness goals and maintain healthy lifestyles. For years, the company held first place in the B2C race to sell fitness tracking technology. But as competitors like the Apple Watch entered the field, Fitbit’s sales began to slow.

Fitbit Goes B2B

Rather than settling for second place, Fitbit looked for other places to compete. It expanded its presence in the B2B space with the release of the Fitbit Care Wellness Program and the Fitbit Inspire. The launch included a new employer-facing Fitbit app and key partnerships with insurance companies and health care providers.

Employers can now offer Fitbit devices to employees to improve company culture and reduce health care costs. Take Target for example – whose employees compete with each other as they track their Fitbit stats.

A Shared Purpose

Due to a well-crafted and aspirational mission, Fitbit was able to make a successful B2B transition. The rise of purpose-driven branding is creating a push for companies to buy from (and sell to) like-minded organizations. The organization can remain true to its company purpose while helping other companies promote a healthy workforce.

Don’t overlook the fact that this B2B outreach ultimately supports Fitbit’s B2C efforts, either. When companies purchase devices for their staff, these individuals may develop a newfound brand loyalty for the brand – bringing marketing efforts full circle.

You’ll notice this strategy is applicable to other industries as well. Uber and Amazon, for example, now offer services like Uber Freight, Uber Health, Uber Eats, and Amazon Business. Uber began as a ride service, but now caters to companies, too, through food-delivery, urgent medical delivery and shipping. Uber has transformed a single service into a broader business model by applying the same core technology to different services and markets – while maintaining its original mission and brand.