B2B

Definition

Business that sells products or provides services to other businesses are

called B2B

Information

While business-to-business activity exists both online and offline, the

acronym B2B has primarily been used to describe the online variety.

There has been a significant amount of hype given to the potential size of
B2B markets--and how much bigger B2B will be than B2C. Despite the
potential size, however, some B2B markets may be overcrowded, too.

Although many people have heard the term “business-to-business marketing,”

not everyone knows exactly what it is. If you are part of corporate America
and still are not sure what business-to-business marketing is, it's time you
learned.

Put very simply, business-to-business marketing is the marketing of goods

and services to businesses in order to keep those companies operating.

The most common business-to-business markets are manufacturers, resellers,

the government and non-profit institutions. Most businesses that fall into
these categories do make some money off of a consumer base; however,
the majority of their capital is made off of other businesses.

One great example of this is a non-profit institution. While private donations

from individuals like you and me is important to a non-profit's operations,
most charitable organizations make the great majority of their money from
corporations or through government funding. Because of this, non-profits
must make themselves and their products and services attractive not just to
individuals, but also to other businesses.

To do this, non-profits and other organizations marketing themselves to

other businesses must identify a competitive advantage. In other words,
they must demonstrate why a company should buy goods and services from
them rather than from their competitors, which is where business-to-
business marketing comes in.
The biggest differences between business-to-business and business-to-
consumer marketing are the types of goods and services being marketed
and the types of entities the goods and services are being marketed to.

Business-to-business marketers promote goods and services that will help

other companies run. Some of the things businesses produce for other
businesses include equipment, components, raw materials, processing
services and supplies.

In addition, because business-to-business marketers target only other

companies, they have a significantly more targeted market than business-
to-consumer marketers. Even when marketing very specific products for a
fairly small subset of individuals, the latter type of marketer has a far larger
audience than the former.

By now, you might be thinking that business-to-business marketing and

business-to-consumer marketing are two entirely separate things. However,
before you do, know that business-to-business marketing, in many
instances, is driven largely by consumer demand. In other words, if there
are no consumers to purchase a product, there is no reason for a business to
exist in order to make it. If that business doesn't exist, it will obviously not
need the products and services offered by another business.

Also, the goals of businesses and consumers are often the same. When
choosing a company for goods and services, most consumers and businesses
will make a decision based upon price, quality, delivery time and their
history with the business. Other considerations might be the availability of the
product or service and the quality of customer service if something goes
wrong.

Business-to-business marketing is currently one of the fastest-growing areas

of marketing. As technology brings more businesses together, companies
are beginning to court each other far more aggressively. And as technology
makes the world a smaller place, it becomes more important
for marketing and sales professionals to understand and implement the
principles of business-to-business marketing.