B2C And B2B Marketing Comparison

B2C and B2B Marketing Comparison

Marketing ultimately depends on who you are delivering your message to. With Business to Business (B2B), an organization has to know the businesses needs, its current situation, competitors, trends, technology and costs. Business to Commerce (B2C) is also about knowing who you're selling to. You have to know their wants and needs, your competition, distribution, supply chains and costs.

Often, B2B sites are more informational and technical. There is less branding, or at least a different kind. It is not so much an emotional connection as an intellectual connection. B2C sites are more entertainment. They often change with promotions and products, and are made simpler for ease of navigation for the common user.

The major characteristic of B2B is that companies attempt to automate the selling and buying processes in order to improve it. The major characteristic of B2C is that companies try to create a direct relationship with consumers without the involvement of distributors, wholesalers and dealers.

The difference in marketing is that a B2B seller tries to differentiate itself from its competition by marketing its value towards its specific market as one that will save the buyer companies a great deal of time and money by automating as much of their supply chain as possible. They do this through the traditional offline methods of advertising, tradeshows, field sales, etc. along with websites that provide customer only access to their accounts and inventory. In addition, e-mail marketing and other communications using the supply chain channels is effective. B2C also uses traditional offline methods along with the integration of online tools such as interactive websites, email marketing, online communities, pop-ups and banner ads. B2B may also utilize some of those mentioned for B2C and vice versa. The goal of any marketing program for either one is to find the combination of integrated online and offline tools that can produce maximum sales, minimum expense and maximum profit.

B2C sites tend to be more transactionally oriented than B2B sites. Both types have transactions, but consumers are usually online to transact or purchase the product or service right away; B2B users tend to be more investigative and know it may take longer to get the complete details of the product answers they are interested in. Many business sites entice those interested in learning more; to register and give their contact information in exchange for getting the information they want. This allows for human intervention, when applicable, which can really make an online business transaction very enjoyable and begin to build a long-term business relationship.