What's the difference between B2B and B2C business models?

Literally, B2B is business to business and B2C is business to customer. The former is business to business, and the latter is business to customer.

Simply put, the buyers of goods are different. If the enterprise sells the goods to the enterprise, it is B2B, and the individual consumer who sells them directly to the terminal is B2C.

Although many people have some concepts about these two terms, it is obviously not enough for market participants to understand the literal meaning. What are the differences between the marketing elements behind the two business models, and what are the similarities and differences between the market means? Obviously, we should really learn.

First, the common B2C/B2B model

In fact, the B2C model is no stranger to us. Traditional retail enterprises (such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever and other familiar consumer goods companies) are all B2C, and with the rise of the Internet, the B2C model of the retail industry has also moved from offline to online, and B2C platforms such as Taobao and JD.COM have prospered one after another, and commercial sellers at the B end and individual buyers at the C end can complete the whole closed-loop transaction on the platform.

Different from the B2C model that can be contacted in daily life, the B2B model is far from daily life. But similarly, under the Internet wave, the B2B model has also derived a new form with Internet labels. Generally speaking, there are three B2B models:

(1) B2B in vertical mode is mainly divided into two directions, namely, upstream and downstream. For example, in traditional manufacturing, the supply relationship between manufacturers or commercial retailers and upstream suppliers, and the sales relationship between manufacturers and downstream distributors. For example, if you are an automobile manufacturer and retailer, your B2B relationship with the upstream suppliers who provide you with automobile parts is your B2B relationship with regional distributors.

(2) Vertical B2B in 2)IT industry provides enterprise services independently, such as cloud computing services and cloud software services, such as IBM, ORACLE, Intel, Alibaba Cloud in China, and various software companies. Just like the previous category, B2B in IT industry will also have suppliers and distributors, such as hardware industries such as servers;

(3) Horizontal mode B2B, facing the intermediate trading market, centralizes similar trading processes of various industries in one place, providing trading opportunities for buyers and suppliers of enterprises, which can refer to both offline platforms (such as industry exhibitions) and online e-commerce platforms (such as Alibaba International Station, 1688 platform and China Manufacturing Network);

Of course, this is mainly from the perspective of business model, the existing three B2B models. From the business model, we are familiar with the bidding ranking, search engine optimization, advertising services and so on, which can be regarded as B2B model, so I won't go into details here.

Second, the difference between B2B model and B2C

After a brief understanding of their models, what are the differences between B2B and B2C in specific marketing elements? This paper mainly understands from the following seven aspects, including the four marketing elements of "product, price, channel and communication".

(1) product features: B2B products are mainly industrial products and services, and there will be standardized products, but more will need to be customized according to customer needs (such as secondary development of software industry and OEM services). ), and the products are mainly used for large-scale production or system construction of enterprises; B2C products are mainly standardized consumer goods and services, which can be mass-produced. This product is mainly used for personal use or family and other daily consumption.

(2) Pricing characteristics: B2B is mainly based on bidding, which usually needs to be determined through negotiation between buyers and sellers, emphasizing the cost analysis of users; B2C pricing mainly reflects the wishes of sellers;

(3) Channel characteristics: B2B mainly focuses on direct sales channels, especially direct sales; B2C is generally sold through middlemen and indirect channels. For example, consumer goods companies will not build their own offline stores, but choose to launch large supermarkets.

(4) Sales method: B2B will generally set up a sales team and pay attention to the professionalism of sales staff. Advertising and other publicity methods are usually used as a means to collect sales leads; B2C emphasizes advertising, paying attention to popularity and reputation, supplemented by personnel promotion;

(5) Purchase relationship: B2B transactions are complex, and the purchase volume is usually large. For rational and professional procurement, it is necessary to stipulate and solidify the relationship through contracts and other contracts; B2C is a simple transaction, with small purchase volume, based on personal sensibility and no contract;

(6) Decision-making features: B2B has a long decision-making chain, which is generally a team decision, influenced by multiple departments, but the procedures are clear; B2C decision-making is personal decision-making, and there is no procedure, which is very vague.

(7) Brand positioning: B2B focuses on the product functions and service capabilities of manufacturers, corporate customers pay more attention to company brands, B2C focuses on the brand influence and price of products or services, and consumers pay more attention to product brands.

This paper mainly summarizes the differences between B2B mode and B2C mode. Perhaps the marketing method of B2B is not as fancy as B2C, but it is obviously not easy to do a good job in B2B market under the high professional threshold. Learn the course "How to Do Marketing in B2B Market" by the excellent teacher Chen Zhi next week, and then share it!