What is Science-to-Business (S2B) Marketing, and Why is It So Important for Your Company?

Scientists want to know they have not worked in vain. Companies are pressured to innovate. And R&D is expensive.

Science to business (S2B) marketing has been taking shape in the past decade as a framework for bridging this gap. The name follows on from B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to customer).

Let’s look at S2B and how it’s at work for scientists and industry.

What is Science to Business (S2B) Marketing?

Science to business marketing (S2B) aims to more efficiently market and ultimately sell the work of researchers. This work usually comes from universities and research institutes. With the approach, scientists become actively involved in transferring technology and knowledge.

S2B aims to spread scientific innovation and expertise, while also protecting intellectual property.

Typically it positions the research institute/university as responsible for marketing their research.

Researchers from all fields can gain from S2B. The most-common results come from the “hard sciences” of:

• Biology (e.g., in food and medicine)
• Chemistry (e.g., in medicine)
• Physics (e.g., in energy)

However, even results from the social sciences can be of use in the marketplace. For example, a Polish S2B model is introducing labor protection in industries.

S2B aims strengthen ties between universities and industry. The cooperation aims to produce research of common interest for both sides.

Governments are the third major player in this structure. S2B in their regions is good for the economy and for reputation, as it benefits greater society. For example, the Canadian national government has a CIHR Science to Business (S2B) Program with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The aim is to supports “Canada’s researchers to build a more innovative economy.”

Benefits of S2B

There are many benefits of S2B, not only for universities but also for society and businesses.

S2B Works for Society

The University of Applied Sciences Muenster (Germany) first came up the first comprehensive approach to “science marketing” in a commercial sense.

The program aims to introduce marketing practice into the scientific research arena. It notes:

All successful companies are working with marketing strategies. A basic principle of their success is that these companies know exactly the demand of their customers and that they adjust their research, developing and production to their customers’ needs. So why do research institutions not use marketing strategies?

Research with marketing in mind more-effectively and rapidly benefits society.

Society benefits, because, among other reasons:

• Taxpayers can fund necessary science, and S2B then channels that money to solving urgent problems.
• Innovations can improve quality of life.
• Marketable research can create more jobs.

Governments want the research they fund to be shared. They want the benefits to reach industry and ultimately reach people.

S2B Gets Research Out of Silos and Makes it More Business-savvy

Research scientists have a tendency to work in isolation, focused on their work. This doesn’t help in finding funding or in bringing the findings to the public. Taking an S2B approach in the earlier stages of research helps in finding private and government funding, and in working to make marketable research.

This gives scientists a new entrepreneurial, business-minded role.

Universities are recognizing and encouraging this.

• They encourage staff to form partnerships with suitable industries. Scientists develop cross-disciplinary projects with colleagues. In this way, complete solutions can be delivered to the market.
• Universities are offering S2B training courses for doctoral students. The European Institute of Innovation and Technology expects that 80% of doctorates in the fields of health, energy, and raw materials will enter industry. Researchers, therefore, need this business savvy.
• Research is being conducted on building cooperation between university and business. This is, after all, the main point of S2B.

Science Makes Industry More Competitive

Business focused on technological advancement, and even more traditional industries, usually need to innovate. The traditional model is that they create their own innovation. However, this naturally requires a huge organizationall investment. S2B helps in this area.

• Innovation boosts profits. However, most industries struggle with funding R&D. S2B makes it possible for a business to receive expertise from universities, without investing their own money in R&D. Industry therefore benefit from government funding of universities.
• Even bigger and richer businesses can benefit. Through S2B, they get access to existing research facilities. They also get to work with trained and talented scientists. This cooperation can save time and funds. The German industrial company Evonik used this approach to fund 21 projects. These led to new products that improve energy efficiency and protect the climate.
• Competition is fierce in almost any industry; companies must innovate. Whether it’s full innovation or an improvement on an existing product or technology, industry benefits from innovation. In the case of S2B, it benefits from brilliant minds and brilliant new research.

Removing Hurdles in S2B

Despite the clear benefits of S2B for businesses and researchers, the S2B model still is not widely used. It’s also facing a number of problems. These will need to be overcome.

Differences in Work Culture

There is a big difference in the way research labs and business are organized. The bottom line and aims can also be very different. The gap in work culture can sometimes get in the way of joint efforts.

While researchers may have little idea of when their work will be complete, and may go through rigorous experimenting, businesses work on tighter timelines. Businesses need to constantly watch their budgets and timelines, and consider competition and market entry. Scientists may have trouble understanding this urgency, and their work naturally may not cooperate with such tight schedules.

Trust and commitment from both sectors are important in building reliable partnerships, according to two Australian scientists. This is something that will need developing and refining over time.

Unclear Frameworks for Sharing Science with Industry

How technology can be shared through S2B is not always clear. A few European universities have been actively seeking ways to improve this situation.

Some universities have set up centers that look to for ways to improve S2B marketing; e.g., the Science to Business Hochschule (University of Applied Science) in Germany.

Journals focusing on S2B marketing have also emerged. These boost the sharing of technology. These journals are often industry-specific, like minib (Marketing of Scientific and Research Organizations), which is published by the Polish Institute of Aviation.

In Sum

Modern life depends on science. It would seem logical that the people doing scientific research and the people bringing the science to the public should work together. S2B is working in this direction. It also offers side benefits of shared funding and a more logical supply chain for research improving life and society.

Some scientific businesses, such as those in biotech and pharma, are achieving superstar status and are attempting bold and disruptive activities. However, they also benefit from huge private investment. Their discoveries may be impressive, but many other companies struggle to innovate, even when they have great ideas. Likewise, many scientists struggle to get anyone to pay attention to their work.

S2B is a very promising way of bringing research and industry together. It starts with good communication and mutual understanding. Just as scientific companies must communicate their value, researchers must communicate their science.

A version of this was posted in the Scize Blog. Scize is full-stack content writing, editing, and marketing for organizations doing good science.