Nexans favors mobile first to talk about its products to its customers

What are the major challenges of BtoB marketing at Nexans?

Nexans has a direct commercial activity with targets such as major BtoB accounts and an intermediary activity that is a little more oriented towards BtoBtoC, where the “C” corresponds to electrical installers and VSEs with 5 to 10 employees who obtain their supplies from specialized distributors (Rexel, Sonepar, etc.).

Everything we market and have to say to our customers and partners must be accessible on smartphones. We are no longer in the era of digital first but in that of mobile first. The content that we produce in partnership with other internal departments (sales, communication, engineering, R & D) must explain the characteristics and benefits of the product, the added value of the associated services in order to maximize the value provided to the customer.

What are your priority projects?

Nexans positions itself as a pure player in sustainable electrification. Cable should no longer be considered a “commodity”. With the scarcity of resources, this is no longer possible. Therefore, another major project in terms of marketing and communication is to change the perception that customers have of cable.

To assess Nexans’ reputation in France among our electrician, installer and distributor customers, we entrusted Ipsos with carrying out a study ⁽¹⁾. This confirmed our leadership with 86%, far ahead of the second in the ranking (37%). Our funnel is also appreciated with a score of 8.5, compared to 7.4 for the closest competitor. In addition to France, the study was conducted in Italy, Belgium and Switzerland. We are currently evaluating the effectiveness of our brand strategy by studying its performance from a data analytics perspective.

To keep yourself informed, what do you prefer? Professional newsletters, trade fairs, the economic press?

I read the specialist press like The Monitorthe specialized media on our businesses and the financial press, Nexans being listed on the stock exchange. I receive newsletters from analysis companies – McKinsey, Gartner and Forrester – to keep me up to date with technological developments occurring in our businesses.

What are the major HR issues at the moment in your company?

A large sociological study was conducted in France in 2023 and then internationally at the request of our CEO Christophe Guérin to better understand how to make the link between the strategy of a listed multinational and the daily life of plant operators who represent 50% of the group’s workforce. All stakeholders within Nexans must be aligned with the company’s strategic issues. This requires an effort to popularize and mutually understand the challenges that everyone faces in the organization. This initiative is part of our “E3” operational model, which combines environment, economy and team commitment.

If you had to explain the specificities of the BtoB sector compared to that of BtoC, what would you say?

Nexans factory (Switzerland)

Interdepartmental collaboration in B2B is vital. To produce quality expert content, we are required to work with the departments in charge of R&D and innovation, for example. Conversely, in B2C, we mainly play on emotion. This aspect is not absent from B2B but it is less significant. The need to work interdepartmentally is, in my opinion, a little less strong in B2C than in B2B. Finally, I note that the maturity of B2C marketing is more marked because it has existed for longer than in B2B.