Marketing: How B2b Differs from B2c

Marketing: How B2B Differs From B2C

Marketing b2b v b2c

Marketing allows organizations to promote their products or services with the intent of maximizing their profit and gaining consumers’ confidence. In today’s society marketing the correct product/service can be difficult but implementing the marketing process and planning accurately can alleviate potential obstacles. This paper will discuss the meaning of marketing, define business to business (B2B), define business to consumer (B2C), and compare how marketing differs between B2B/B2C websites.

In marketing there are 4 Ps. In order to determine how marketing differs on a B2C site compared to a B2B site we would have to focus on the 4 Ps of marketing which is Product: This includes packaging design, branding, trademarks, warranties, guarantees, product life cycles and new product development. Price: Setting profitable and justifiable prices. Place: This covers the physical distribution of goods. Promotion: Encompasses personal selling, advertising and sales promotion. All of the 4 Ps will apply to both B2C & B2B sites however the only difference is that the 4 Ps for a B2C site would relate to a business to consumer and the B2B site would be related to a business to business. Giving credit to the author retrieved from

According to Warholic, “marketing a B2B/B2C website requires a performance evaluation, understanding the business being marketed, identifying the customer base, incorporating pertinent content with the keywords properly included, updating the content regularly, establishing trust with customers, and understanding the marketing channels available” (Warholic, 2006, para 1). Marketing consist of four elements that assist with developing the market mix: product, which is the physical item or service that a company is selling, place is where and how a product is distributed and sold, promotion explains the advertising/selling part of marketing the product/service, and price defines how much the consumer will pay for the product/service.

Marketing online has similar benefits from a B2B/B2C standpoint, such as lower cost of advertising or increasing customer’s awareness of ones products. So is there really a difference between the two? Ultimately B2B and B2C websites have common goals, such as identifying/satisfying the end user with the expectation of increasing profit margin.

The first step in developing a “marketing strategy for B2B is similar to the first step in a B2C strategy: identify who the customer is and why they need to hear your message, from there the marketing activities diverge” (Murphy, 2006, para. 4).

As mentioned earlier business-to-business environment requires very different strategies from those directed towards the consumer market. Consumer competition can be a lot fiercer, with customer loyalty begin a constant battle. According to Murphy, the differences between B2B marketing and B2C marketing are: B2B marketing is more relationship driven whereas B2C is more product driven. The value of the relationship in B2B is maximized whereas B2C the value of transaction is maximized. In B2B the target market is smaller compare to B2C, which has a large target market. The purchasing aspect in B2B is a multi-step process whereas in B2C the purchasing process is a single step.

For example, if a consumer wanted to purchase a book for Amazon.com the only thing they would have to do is click on the shopping cart to add the item to the cart, once that was done the purchasing screen is displayed which allows the consumer to purchase the book. This is not true with a B2B website because the funding for the same book has to be authorized through many channels before the purchasing process can be completed.

According to Murphy, “B2C companies employ more merchandising activities like coupons, displays, store fronts (both real and Internet) and offers to entice the target market to buy” (Murphy, 2006, para. 6).

For example, the goal of an email campaign for a B2C company is to get consumers to buy the product immediately to make this process as short as possible,