B2B Concept, definition

Profº Doutor Ricardo Cayolla

B2B CONCEPT, DEFINITION

What is “Business to Business Marketing”?

Let us first understand the meaning of Business. Any

organization or firm actively involved in the transaction of
goods and services to the consumers/end users is known as
business. As the name suggests “Business to Business
Marketing” (B2B Marketing) refers to the exchange of either
goods or services or both between two businesses
(organization/firm). “Business to business marketing” also
known as industrial marketing involves the sale of goods and
services by one organization to the other which in turn either
further sells them to the consumers or use them to support
their own system. In layman’s language business to business
marketing is nothing but the transaction of goods and
services between businesses/organizations/firms.
Transaction between a manufacturer and a wholesaler often
comes under Business to Business Marketing.
B2B CONCEPT, DEFINITION
Business to Business Communication
Communication is a strong medium that not only connects
organization with the end-users but also employees of one
organization with the employees of other organization/firm.
Social media, Internet and so on connect one organization
with another organization and come under various ways of
Business to Business Communication. Any communication
done between employees of two organizations is referred as
Business to Business Communication.
Examples of Business to Business Communication
An organization A sells Bulk SMS service to organization B
and C. Organization A sells its services only to other
organizations and not directly to consumers. An example of
Business to Business Communication. Employees in
Organization A use various modes of communication to
interact with Organization B and C. Communication can be
through emails, social networking sites, presentations or
mere verbal interaction. Organization B and C can use the
services of Organization A either to support their own
operations or directly sell to the end users/consumers.
B2B CONCEPT, DEFINITION

Where does demand in Business Market arise from?

Let us go back to the previous example. Organization B and C

would not need Organization A’s service if there is no
demand among end-users or consumers. In simpler words an
increase in demand of a particular product among consumers
creates demand in business Market.

Let us understand the same with the help of an example:

Organization P sells furniture (desks, workstation, cabinets)
to various offices in city A. Organization P does not deal with
end users. Organization P would not survive if new offices do
not open up in City A. New offices would only open up when
more and more people are educated and there would be an
underlying demand of consumers to open up new offices for
them to earn their bread and butter. Need in consumer
market is responsible for triggering the demand in business
market. No business can survive in isolation. Each and every
business is interlinked.
B2B CONCEPT, DEFINITION

Size of Business Marketing

Business marketing constitutes the largest market. Growth in

business marketing hints a growth in economy as well.
Organization D would purchase more and more electronic
appliances like refrigerator, television, mobile handsets from
Organization F - a case of Business to business marketing
only if the purchasing power of consumer increases.
Consumers would be able to spend a substantial part of their
income on electronic appliances/luxury goods only when
their salaries increase. Business to Business marketing helps
in satisfying the needs/demands of other organizations,
though primarily the need arises from the consumers/end
users only.
B2B CONCEPT, DEFINITION
Differences between B2C and B2B Marketing

1. Marketers can use industry jargon to excellent effect on B2B platforms.

2. Drivers matter.
3. B2B clientele want to be educated and provided with expertise.
4 Highly detailed content is required for B2B marketing.
5. Lengthy content tends to work for B2B.
6. A B2C consumer following your brand isn’t necessarily looking to build a close relationship with it.
7. B2B marketers have a much longer chain of command to deal.
8. The B2B cycle is often longer than the B2C decision process.
9. A contract for B2B purchase tends to last months or even years.
10. The two types od marketers have distinct problems.
B2B CONCEPT, DEFINITION
 B2B CONCEPT, DEFINITION
The Difference Between B2B & B2C Content Marketing
There is a difference between B2B and B2C content marketing. In both cases, you are
creating content for real people with real needs, but there’s a big difference in what
they are looking for:
B2B CONCEPT, DEFINITION

The Difference Between B2B & B2C Content

Marketing

Consumers also have a much shorter sales

cycle than businesses. They don’t care how
you manufacture a product. They just want
to know if it will suit them. B2C content
marketing campaigns help provide
information that converts prospects into
customers.

For example, when a consumer decides to

buy an Amazon Fire HD6, they may place an
order after reading a review or seeing a TV
ad and may not even look at the technical
specifications.

In contrast, a business buyer would

probably look at functionality and technical
aspects as part of the market research and
decision-making process.
B2B CONCEPT, DEFINITION

Biggest contrasts between B2C and B2B

First, there is almost always a much smaller

universe of potential customers to
interview. And often, they have been
seriously over-researched to the point
where it is difficult to get their cooperation.
For instance, in a project on implantable
defibrillators, which are surgically placed
into the body by a narrow physician
specialist called an electro physiologist, I
learned that there are only 1,800 of these
specialists in the United States. All of them
are extremely busy, highly-paid people and
most of them are quite tired of
participating in market research. So if you
want their participation, you’re going to
have to pay them handsomely. Even worse,
for some products, e.g., oil and gas
exploration, there may be as few as 25-100
potential customers in the world.
B2B CONCEPT, DEFINITION

Biggest contrasts between B2C and B2B

Second, defining who the customer is usually far more

complicated, requiring a complex sample design and set of
screening criteria. Instead of demographics, which are
straightforward, we’re going to need to deal with company
characteristics (firmographics). And instead of just two roles
– purchaser and consumer, who are often the same person –
we’re going to have to deal with multiple functions (sales,
marketing, engineering, quality, manufacturing, technical
support, etc.) on many different levels of the organization
(executives, managers and workers) and in many parts of the
supply chain (direct sales, captive distributor sales and
independent distributor sales). And within each of these,
there may be many different roles: decision-makers,
specifiers, influencers and end-users.