What are B2b services for? What is B2B and B2C sales? Key differences between B2B and B2C sales

B2B– an abbreviation from the English “Business to Business”, which translated into Russian sounds like “business for business”. In other words, the B2B business model involves the sale of goods and services not to the average user, but to legal entities, that is, companies and enterprises.

In its turn entity, We will consider it inanimate, it has a lot of parameters: different structure, very different areas of activity(even within the same business area), different turnover volume and internal resources...

All these points can serve well when working with a client. B2B sales are a separate branch of the art of profitable trading.

B2B – professional segment. The customer clearly imagines the desired product, knows its qualities and properties. Therefore it plays a huge role company reputation-supplier. Reputation largely consists of the opinions and reviews of other customers.

Also in creation image A professional in his field and a reliable partner, publications in the press and disclosure of information about his company, emphasizing its strengths, are a good help. Combination of all image factors leads to success whereas the absence of one of them can lead to failure.

For example: one customer, of the good old school, I believe only in my eyes and experience, who was very pleased with the cooperation, recommends the supplier to his partner. The partner, a person of more modern tailoring, decides to supplement the information received by using the Internet. Having landed on a site “made on the knee” with news from two years ago, he closes the page and... at best, forgets. At worst, he explains his point of view to a fellow recommender over a glass of beer.

Who is hiding under the second “B” and why do we need detailed information about the client?

By limiting the advertising of our product to the standard concepts of “cheap” and “high quality,” we automatically place ourselves in the faceless row of similar sellers. And this row may be far away in the gallery. These qualities are important, but most people associate the presentation of benefits using exclusively such terms with “another consumer goods peddler.”

To get into the first row of excellent students, we must study our client well - so that we have the key to each of them. A universal master key will not help here!

However, down with allegories.

What can you offer the client besides the above-mentioned cheapness and quality?
A number of additional benefits. Make yourself the most convenient supplier using customer information!

Client in B2B may be either a retail market seller or a large corporation and/or manufacturer. It is important for us to know everything there is to know.

The number of employees, information about the presence or absence of additional non-core departments at the client will make it possible to offer him services that would otherwise entail additional costs.

Having identified problems and difficulties with the buyer, and on their basis, by offering him an additional service, we work not only for today’s sale, but also for further cooperation and, most importantly, for our reputation.

An example of such a sentence: organize the delivery of products to the site and the signing of all documents, and the actual payment at the client’s office. If the client does not have technical means, in this example: cars and movers, he would have to resort to third-party paid services.

This means that our price for the product, even if slightly higher than that of a competitor, will no longer become an obstacle to concluding a deal, since in the end our offer becomes more profitable. For us, if we have an established delivery service, this service will not become burdensome.

Large corporate clients often announce tenders. A thorough study of the specifics of a potential client’s business will help to create a tender proposal that will not only show off the product, but also show the supplier in the most positive light.

Even in Goa, where the Russian language was not popular until recently, today you can hear: “cheap, beautiful, harasho.” Having escaped from the boring words of annoying traders, the tourist enters a shop, where he bargains with pleasure under the currents of air from the ceiling fan, and receives his souvenir, albeit a little more expensive, but with a feeling of satisfaction from the purchase. The example is not “Business to Business”, but it is clear.

Based on the definition of a client as a legal entity and related issues, B2B sales have a number of distinctive features.

Some features of working in B2In sales.

Emotional component.

This element, which is very significant when selling a product to the end consumer, plays a special role when working with organizations.

On the one hand, we can say that the emotions of the end consumer do not play a role, since B2B sales are not instantaneous, and decisions on transactions are made not by one person, but by a group of people representing the buyer.

On the other hand, it is all the more difficult to endear yourself to several people at once, each with their own character and mood. Seriousness and professionalism in this segment play a greater role than the ability to be the soul of the company.

Eg. The initiator of the purchase, or the employee responsible for searching for a number of suppliers for subsequent discussion, reads information about production equipment on the website. Filled with seriousness from the proposal, supported by professional arguments, he reads to the end of the page, preparing to add it to his “favorites,” and the next line he sees is a link: “pizza with sausage.” The page was slammed, the supplier was not even included in the candidates.

Purchasing center.

This is the name given to a group of buyer representatives who decide on the need for a purchase and select a supplier. In building relationships, it is necessary to find out the degree and area of influence of each participant in the buying center in order to most accurately convey the benefits of their offer. The procurement process consists of the functionality of each group member and is lengthy.

Volumes.

In the B2B segment, transaction volumes are usually large!

Because:

purchase of goods for resale is carried out in bulk;
the acquisition of equipment to enhance production capacity cannot be small by definition;
purchase of parts for manufactured equipment and units is carried out in large quantities;
software can be purchased with a large number of licenses. In addition, this entails the sale of updating, maintenance, and consulting services.

And again to the issue of image and working with the client. In a cheerful voice, the sales department employee promises: the program has an intuitive interface, setup is easy, all vagaries can be resolved in a couple of mouse clicks.

A short time after the purchase, the client is surprised to learn that the setup is not so simple, that certain conditions must be met for updates, and employees still need to be trained to work with the program, and most importantly, you have to pay for everything. He will eventually pay, but to another service provider.

Hence another feature:

Long terms.

Both the sale itself and customer relations. Sometimes a lot of time passes from the start of negotiations to the actual sale. The customer can look for a supplier with an eye to future production development.

Agreement process takes a long period of time. After the transaction is completed, the supplier provides setup and maintenance services, becoming somewhat direct participant in the production customer.

B2B sales– a long period of communication with the client, a direct impact on his business.

That's revealed a small fraction of the part of the iceberg that is visible above the water. Iceberg – B2B sales. You can climb it quickly owning relevant tools, knowledge, and applying constants efforts.

And without all this, you can slide off it even faster. And flop into the water. And this will not lead to a view of the underwater part.It is voluminous, it is interesting and only thirsty professionals will submit.

We wish you, dear sellers, ascents, conquests and just good beautiful sales!

Business to business (B2B) - short for business-to-business, the marketing and trading activities of a company focused on obtaining benefits from the provision of services, selling goods not to private end consumers, but to other companies that consume these goods and services only to carry out their own business.

The b2b model can be called the relationship between companies for the supply of goods and services, when what is supplied to the buyer:

Is a fixed or auxiliary means of production and is subject to depreciation;
They are consumables and raw materials for production and are consumed without reserve;
Creates, in the process of conducting subsequent business, economic, social and other forms of value;
These goods and services themselves, in the process of doing business, are subject to:

or modding;
radical modernization, as a result of which fundamentally new products appear;
(before, re)stacked, (before, re)packed with the creation of a fundamentally different product;
consumed without reserve;

Not used for the purpose of subsequent resale.

B2B model examples:

Business for business manufacturing companies- activities of supplier companies to provide manufacturing companies with services, means of production, as well as goods intended for the production of other goods (consumables, spare parts for machines, feedstock and goods for subsequent processing).
B2B e-commerce(electronic commerce) is the activity of selling goods or services between companies via the Internet using the online sales method. (e-commerce systems, online management and administration systems, e-commerce systems are understood as B2B tools).
Business for business of integrator companies- activities related to the supply and purchase of goods and services from different suppliers and the formation of offers to consumers by combining them, for a specific need and in order to create additional value for the end consumer (supply of any goods and services for companies that form, based on the supplied, portfolio solutions, integrated solutions ).
B2B cleaning– supply of consumables for companies engaged in cleaning services
B2B catering– supplies of alcoholic and other products for companies providing catering and catering services for events.
Distribution, resale of goods in the consumer market does not apply to the B2B segment (purchase, movement, redistribution and subsequent sale of FMCG goods).
Supply of goods used by companies for internal consumption not used in the course of business operations refers to corporate supplies and does not apply to B2B (supplies of toilet paper for public toilets in a machine manufacturing plant and in a sales office). It is necessary to clearly understand that, for example, the supply of toilet paper for toilets at a factory belongs to corporate sales, but not to the B2B segment, since the supplied products do not participate in generating profits, are not part of a business solution, and are not used in the company’s business processes -consumer and does not generate added value.

Purchase of goods and services B2B- purchased goods, received services, which, as a result of doing business, are consumed without reserve. As a result of doing business, on their basis, other goods or services are formed that are sold to the end consumer.

Sale of goods and provision of services B2B- this is a trading activity in which the buyer is not private consumers, but organizations. In a general sense, the definition of the sale of goods and the provision of B2B services corresponds to any activity of a company aimed at clients who are legal entities and buy goods and services not for the purpose of subsequent resale, but for their own consumption, for the purpose of doing business.

B2B and Enterprise Sales Concepts- not identical concepts. In the first case, we are talking about participation in the supply of goods in the partner’s business, in the second – we are talking about supplies for any needs of the partner (internal needs of the company and (or) for its business). All sales of goods and services not to final private consumers are called corporate sales (sales to companies, not private consumers).

B2B marketing- corporate marketing (business, industrial, industrial marketing), focused on creating business benefits for the corporate consumer. B2B marketing is the marketing of solutions aimed not at the final, ordinary consumer, but at companies.

Purpose of B2B Marketing- satisfy the current and future business needs of the corporate consumer, provide commercial and secondary benefits to the company.

B2B target audience- companies, company employees responsible for purchasing, purchasing goods and services for their company’s business, for production, for the purpose of processing. This also determines the difference between B2B marketing strategies. For example, in the B2B segment, the use of mass communication channels, which are actively used in the private consumer market, is often ineffective.

B2B market segment- a market sector focused on organizing interaction between companies in the process of production and sale of goods and (or) services. B2B sales are made wholesale at the organizational level.

B2B media- media carriers aimed exclusively at professionals in a certain field or industry. B2b publications include publications devoted to issues of management, logistics, sales, finance, various sectors of the economy, etc. As a rule, these publications are consumed solely for the purpose of obtaining information necessary for work (exchanges, company bulletin boards, corporate industry catalogs, tender sites).

Number of impressions: 146042

B2B or B2C. Let's understand the terms.

The terms B2B and B2C seem to be clear. One of them (B2B) denotes sales for business, the second (B2C) sales for personal use. However, in some cases it is not clear what to include the sale of, for example, one air conditioner to a company, or a fax to a lawyer who uses it for his activities. It turns out to be ambiguous; at first glance, practice contradicts theory - let's try to figure it out.

According to the formal definition, B2B (English: Business to Business, literally business for business) is a term that defines the interaction of legal entities. In other words, if one company sells something to another company, then this action, by definition, falls within the scope of B2B activity. Similarly with the term B2C (English Business-to-Consumer, Russian Business for the Consumer) - a term denoting the commercial relationship between an organization (Business) and a private, so-called “end” consumer (Consumer).
However, in the Russian language there are concepts that seem to correspond to the definitions of B2B and B2C - wholesale trade and retail trade. But is everything so clear with definitions? Let's figure it out.
First, about definitions.
“Retail trade - Trade in goods and provision of services to customers for personal, family, home use not related to business activities.”
“Retail trade enterprise is a trade enterprise that sells goods, performs work and provides trade services to customers for their personal, family, and home use. (GOST R 51773–2009)
“Wholesale trade is an integral part of domestic trade; the initial stage of circulation of goods, their movement from producers to retail enterprises or, in terms of means of production, to enterprises.” - (TSB)
“Wholesale trade is trade in large quantities of goods, sales to wholesale buyers who consume goods in significant quantities or then sell them at retail.” - glossary.ru
“Wholesale trade is the trade of goods with their subsequent resale or professional use.” - (GOST R 51303–99)
“A wholesale trade enterprise is a trade enterprise that sells goods, performs work and provides trade services to customers for subsequent resale of goods or professional use. (GOST R 51773–2009)
Note - Wholesale trade enterprises include wholesale distribution and logistics centers, commodity warehouses, warehouse stores, wholesale food markets, wholesale and small wholesale trade centers, etc.

Any definition of wholesale trade, or wholesale (even the last one) implies trade in consignments of goods, which implies special characteristics of the product (packaging of a consignment of goods, warehousing, loading, delivery services, etc.). It's just that in the latter definition it would be an industrial purchase, implying a product that includes characteristics other than a single product.
Therefore, I do not agree that any sale from enterprise to enterprise is wholesale. Based on the essence of the definitions, wholesale is the sale of a batch of goods (at least packaging*) for subsequent resale or use in an enterprise. And there are contradictions in GOST. Therefore, it is easier to use the term B2B sales to avoid confusion.
*small wholesale trade: A type of wholesale trade associated with the sale of goods, the minimum batch of which cannot be less than the number of units in one manufacturer’s packaging for retail trade. - GOST R 51773–2009

Let's, based on the concepts presented above, give a strict definition of the terms B2B and B2C
B2B market is a set of consumers making purchases for professional use, as well as buyers (wholesale trade enterprises) making purchases for subsequent resale of goods.
Sales in the B2B market are carried out either through the sales department of a manufacturing enterprise or through a wholesale trade enterprise.

B2C market is a set of buyers making purchases for personal, family, and home use.
Sales in the B2C market are carried out through retailers.

Please note that the first definition in each pair implies the definition of a buyer, i.e. e. definition of the macro-segment, and secondly, the process of interaction between the seller and the buyer. This can lead to confusion, depending on what is meant by a market: “a collection of consumers” or “a meeting place between a seller and a buyer.” In the first case, we will talk about the macro-segment, in the second - about the industry (trade enterprises). In our discussion, when talking about the market, we are talking about the totality of consumers, adding to them wholesale buyers - intermediaries.
If we depict the system on a diagram, we get the following.

B2B and B2C markets - distribution channels and end consumers. © Andrey Minin

Thus, depending on which category of trading enterprise (wholesale or retail) the enterprise belongs to, it is focused on the B2B or B2C market.
In some cases, it may be focused on working in two markets at once. For example, construction bases that are happy to work with both private and business buyers. In this case, it is called a wholesale-retail enterprise. The situation is approximately the same with sales via the Internet; the website can be considered as a showcase, but sales are actually carried out from the warehouse. That is, it is a wholesale and retail store. Formally, we can divide B2B or B2C sales either for an enterprise operating in a specific market (focused on selling to one segment), or (for mixed types of trade) by the type of consumer making the purchase.

Now let's get back to our examples. In my opinion, the following logic is applicable for all cases (based on definitions). If a purchase through a retail store is a B2C sale, in another case it is a B2B sale. Formally, if a transaction is carried out as a sale between legal entities, it is a B2B sale. Accordingly, if the sale was in a retail store for cash, this is B2C.
But, in essence, the introduction of these terms was intended to introduce macro-segmentation, since the methods of working with segments of individual buyers and organizations differ in almost all elements of the marketing mix, from product to marketing communications.
Accordingly, a company selling air conditioners on the B2C market will create a product that differs from that offered to retail customers; at a minimum, it will be focused on a set of turnkey works for a facility owned by another company. Therefore, a company’s purchase of an air conditioner in a retail store (or from a supplier’s warehouse) and subsequent independent installation of it by its own installers in the director’s office or meeting room does not make this transaction related to the B2B market. After all, the sales company was initially focused on other methods of work and other needs of clients, as well as their behavior patterns.
In the case of fax, if the seller’s company is focused on working with companies, which include law firms, and organizes work in such a way as to attract them to its office (store), where sales are carried out by competent consultants, then this can be considered as work in the B2B market. Regardless of who the formal buyer is.
In some cases, a company may simultaneously operate in two markets. For example, small companies are computer sellers that can target consumers in two markets at once. At the same time, the main differences will be in marketing communications aimed at two different markets.

Thus, a company can be focused in its work on the B2B or B2C market, and at the same time use the appropriate marketing tools. If, at the same time, individual sales are made to buyers from another segment, this does not mean at all that the company operates in a different market, just that the purchase was made by a buyer from a non-target segment. In this case, everything falls into place. There is no contradiction in the theory.

© Andrey Minin 2012

"Business". In the modern world, this word appears almost as often as the word “I,” which has no equal in popularity. It’s logical: a person strives for self-esteem, and what can give it to a greater extent than participation in business with the maximum usefulness of which we are capable? Whether it is large or small, related to goods or services, private or public - even if the phrase “state business” does not sound.

However, in addition to this obvious gradation, there is another one, including a Latin abbreviation. Who they are, these mysterious B2B, B2C and B2G, as well as what features each of these types has, will be discussed in this article. Additionally, we will provide examples of businesses for each area.

What is B2B?

Pronounced "bee toe bee" and looks quite nice. B2B in English stands for business to business – “business for business”. Businesses conducted between firms. That is, companies operating within this area do not focus on the individual as a consumer, but on other companies and legal entities.

Most often, such firms organize accompanying services (for example, transportation of goods), create means of production (such as machines, tools), and other goods for professional use (high-level grooming products for beauty salons or equipment parts for factories that produce them).

Individual entrepreneurs are also considered legal entities and can relate to this type of activity under general rights. Very often, such orientation is very profitable: large orders, long-term cooperation, stable income, more opportunities for development, reaching new levels.

In the US, for example, the share of small businesses focused on B2B is about 50%.

It is B2B that allows small businesses to compete with business sharks, especially in our century, when all the conditions for e-commerce have been created.

It is more convenient to conduct B2B contacts within the framework of online trading platforms - they allow you to best optimize the communication of enterprise managers with each other and decision-making on interaction. The B2B direction is characterized by a number of points.

Features of the B2B segment

Business to business is a market for professionals. Responsible persons at enterprises are very well aware of all the necessary properties of the desired product or service, and the likelihood of “purchasing on emotions” is negligible here. So, we outline the main specific aspects of the company’s work in this segment.

an increased “check” for each concluded transaction, which confirms the meaning of the “struggle” for clientele;
increased risk of loss of both material resources in case of dishonesty of the counterparty, and loss of reputation;
stable business relationships and a limited number of clients;
Unfortunately, our country is still characterized by increased corruption in this segment. However, all conditions have been created to overcome it. It is only necessary to address this issue with the help of helplines to those people who are sufficiently not indifferent to this;
purchasing decisions are most often made collectively;
preliminary research of prices and suppliers is carried out;
competitive bidding is frequent;
In almost all cases, negotiations and approvals take place.

There are many areas in which business-to-business participants work quite widely and successfully.

Examples of B2B businesses

In Russia, the most active participants in B2B trading are companies operating in the following areas:

mechanical engineering and metalworking(Military-industrial complex - defense industry, construction of ships, cars, aircraft manufacturing, production of agricultural machinery, various equipment, urban transport and much more);
construction(creation of business objects: office, private educational, entertainment centers, etc.);
transport and communications(cellular operators in the direction of business tariffs, companies organizing local computer and telephone networks, wi-fi distribution, companies transporting goods or employees, and so on);
trade and catering(holding holidays or events in cafes and restaurants, production and sale of commercial equipment, etc.);
wood processing, paper industry(mainly supplying companies with paper as consumables, as well as stationery related to other industries).

A number of other areas are also involved in B2B commerce, albeit not as actively:

light industry– for example, sewing workwear;
chemical and petrochemical industry– production of pesticides for agriculture and others;
consulting– services of highly professional “tips” at the request of company managers who, if necessary, turn to different “gurus”, each of whom has already proven himself to be the best in his field;
media products(narrow-profile publications, professional magazines, printed materials on various professional fields needed by companies - the same consulting, only more ready-made and voluminous);
advertising industry(advertising in the media, interior, exterior, printing and printing);
Internet resources(online trading platforms, business Internet portals, websites of companies participating in the B2B market, communities organized by companies).

So, business for business is overwhelmingly serious business games of serious people on no less serious network and office spaces. Now let's look at other segments.

What is B2C?

Business to Customer – “business for a client,” consumer, living person, private individual. These companies produce consumer goods or services that we buy every day. There are several types of consumer goods: first (food, drinks, medicine, clothing and shoes), second necessity (cars, apartments, entertainment) and luxury (art and jewelry). Services can include hairdressing salons, beauty salons, car work at service stations and others.

We meet and interact with B2C every day.

B2C specifics

Features of this more direct contact with clients will be the following:

the largest number of both consumers and competitors;
a relatively small “average check” for companies;
more efficient sales;
the large role of emotions in the client’s decision making;
less close relationship between seller and buyer.

We appear in stores, gas stations, hairdressers, markets, always in the company of a large number of people who came at the same time, we make relatively small, mostly purchases, quite quickly, often on emotions, and at the same time we do not always have intimate conversations with sellers, right?

Online commerce in the B2C sphere is usually expressed by online stores or selling groups, public pages (public pages) on social networks. Everything is sold there, from small items to educational programs and trainings worth up to hundreds of thousands, and these are also private purchases.

Business for the client is the most understandable type of business activity for us. Let us dwell only on an illustration of the transition from B2B to B2C in the market.

Connection between B2B and B2C market

We see that the B2C market is precisely retail trade with us, individuals. Let's consider what types of this business we interact with for the client.

What are B2C companies like?

Now about the types of business for the client. It's not that they didn't know each other:

So, “business to business” and “business to client” are not exactly the same thing. Let's consider the “comparative characteristics” of these segments.

Main differences between B2B and B2C

As one of the modest but often encountered examples, night markets are indicative. “Shuttles”—individual entrepreneurs—come there every day to buy goods. In all their considerable numbers, they represent far from the most capacious share of the B2B segment in terms of turnover. At this moment, they are participants in “business for business”, individual entrepreneurs for individual entrepreneurs. However, returning to their retail outlets, in the process of selling to customers, they are already moving into the B2C segment, as shown in Fig. 1.

There are many differences between these two types of business activities, and the easiest way to depict them is in the following table.

Analysis criterion	B2B	B2C
Number of clients of the selling company	As a rule, small, everyone is important	Considerable, relatively modest significance of each individual
Understanding the product, knowing your own needs	Glubokoe	Usually quite weak
Average order volume	Big	Small
Average cost per purchase	High	Low
Relationship between seller and buyer	Close relationships, mutual benefit	No close relationship
New product development	Complex, large investment	Relatively easy
The most important product characteristics	Quality of product or service	Appearance, price, brand
Price	Negotiable	Bargaining is limited - the seller often “dictates”
Marketing communications	Targeted at each specific consumer	They are widespread
Purchase decision	Hosted by the team	Typically taken by one person
Client's motives	Rational	More often emotions

Work under contracts with the company and direct sales to individuals - in both cases, the counterparties remain within the business sphere. The third segment is somewhat different. Let's talk about him.

What is B2G?

Business to government is the relationship between business and government. Typically, this involves just as much, if not more, use of e-commerce to make the work of government procurement managers easier.

The main example of B2G is electronic government procurement systems in Russia through a procurement portal. This species, as you might guess, has its own characteristics.

What makes the B2G segment different?

Relations with the state are always more responsible than with private business partners. Characteristic points for the “business for the state” segment are:

complex, multi-level decision-making mechanism;
tenders are a very typical system for government agencies to organize competitions for companies on prices, qualities, conditions and other characteristics;
certain specifics and difficulties with calculations, as well as procurement mechanisms;
inertia, stability and constancy, which may explain some decisions regarding the selection of companies that provide goods and services to government agencies;
another “scale” – the scale of purchases announced in the news of federal channels is sometimes impressive;
involvement of administrative resources in all processes.

B2G transactions take place in several stages and are carried out by professionals who provide:

monitoring the needs of government customers;
searching for customers among administrative institutions and departments;
transaction support;
tracking customer payments.

In general, this area of business is quite complex and specific. Working in it requires exceptional knowledge in matters of legislation - in particular, 223-FZ “On Procurement” and 44-FZ “On the Contract System”, which prescribe all the nuances. The business to government segment is divided into several types.

Types of B2G

There are a number of forms of business for the state.

supply of goods and provision of services to the state: stationery, equipment, transport, textbooks, educational programs, consulting, and much more;
rent: in this case, the business acts as a tenant, and the state acts as a lessor, that is, a business unit leasing certain property;
equipment leasing: lease with the right of subsequent purchase, as a rule, with the involvement of an investor bank and the conclusion of a leasing agreement;
concessions: involvement by the state of business in the mutually beneficial use of property owned by the state, or services provided by it, on acceptable terms);
public-private partnerships– as a rule, a partnership agreement is drawn up).

Concession is probably the most specific type of B2G. This is the creation or reconstruction of any property - often buildings and structures - at the expense of an investor company or with the help of the state, acting as a grantor within the framework of the concluded agreement. Moreover, after completion of the work, the property created, accepted for rent (as land for real estate construction) or reconstructed remains in the ownership of the state or, if newly created, comes into it. The investor company, depending on the terms of the agreement, receives the right to fully or partially use this property for the purpose of making a profit. Very often, concession agreements are concluded with foreign investors. An interesting point is that the subject of concession agreements can be a trademark, service mark, commercial designation (logos), as well as a production secret (know-how).

So, having examined three business segments, we can say with full responsibility that this phenomenon is complex and diverse, with a lot of features and subtle aspects associated with human relationships, intelligence, diligence, responsibility and even goodwill. In whatever field, industry or segment the business is conducted.

What meansB2B sales? Between whom are they carried out? How attractive is the sales market?B2B?

If your business is focused on selling goods and services to other companies, enterprises, firms, then your business model is called B2B (business-to-business) or the more common version in Russian - corporate sales.

Unlike B2C and , companies in this segment supply raw materials, materials, equipment, tools and other goods and services to other enterprises, which ultimately transfer these costs to the product produced and include it in the cost price.

An example of a traditional B2B market is automotive manufacturing. Vehicle components are usually produced by different companies. The car manufacturer purchases these components and uses them in the production of the car. Other examples of B2B selling are:

Sales of CRM, ERP, MRP software. These are specialized programs that are used by enterprises to operate more efficiently.
Sales of office equipment to other companies
Sales of fire safety systems, video surveillance, security alarms to other organizations

When aspiring entrepreneurs think about creating their own company, in most cases they intend to enter the B2C market, that is, the mass consumer market, where ordinary consumers are the buyers (for example, opening a store, beauty salon, cafe).

But sometimes businessmen deliberately choose a market niche focused on other businesses. Despite some attractive aspects of the B2B sector, there are still certain pitfalls that entrepreneurs should be aware of before starting B2B sales and marketing.

The fact is that the most effective way to stand out in the B2B goods market among competitors is in the following ways: offering higher quality service, faster delivery, more product functions at a lower price, more flexible payment terms (in installments). At the initial stage, it is very difficult for firms to offer the above, especially installment sales when there is cash shortage.

In addition, B2B sales often rely on building personal relationships between the seller and the client, and winning over buyers will not be easy. Accordingly, in order to create and develop a company in the B2B segment, you need to have serious resources and competitive advantages in order to gain a foothold in the market and not fly out of there in six months (read also the article on how to build in this segment).

What is the way out for those businessmen who still want to focus on B2B? According to Western business experts, a less risky option for starting a company is the B2B services niche. It is more flexible and less resource intensive than the production of goods. Its advantages also include the following:

#1 Companies have money. Firms have much more money than ordinary consumers. Ask a typical customer to spend $5,000 and you will see their reaction. At the same time, ask the client to spend the same amount, but at the expense of the company, then he will be more accommodating, especially if you demonstrate to him the personal benefits of the transaction.

#2 The competitors' marketing strategy is not as strong. Some B2B sales professionals argue that most companies' marketing strategies are not as sophisticated or strong as those in B2C. In principle, this is logical. Competition in selling candy bars, laundry detergent, or diapers is much fiercer than in selling, say, business automation software. B2C is inherently much more intensive than the B2B sales segment, and therefore B2C companies have to invest enormous amounts of money on marketing. Accordingly, this can become an incentive to activate the creative abilities of the businessman and his team in terms of promotion in order to be higher than the “average” competitors. It may even be advisable to use an aggressive marketing strategy to gain market position faster.

#3 Flexible pricing. In the B2B services market, entrepreneurs can practically use what in economic theory is called “price discrimination,” that is, when a product or service is sold to different customers at different prices (to be frank, depending on the purchasing power of each).

For example, a marketing research service for one company can be sold for $10,000, and another for $50,000. And if you ask the contractor why there is such a difference, you can always say that one market is more difficult to study, labor-intensive, etc. Although in reality the same technologies for conducting marketing analysis are used.

Audit services, valuation of business assets, financial consulting, etc. – all this in fact does not have uniform price prices. The final price is determined through negotiation, so sales and negotiation skills come first. Therefore, here you can charge your clients as much as they can pay, plus a certain amount of arrogance and assertiveness. The world's leading auditing and consulting companies, whose names we all know very well, work on this principle. Therefore, the amount of transactions there can simply go off scale and defy logical explanation (You might be surprised to learn that the oil company BP paid $1 million for the development of a simple logo).

Thus, the sales sectorB2B is a set of economic relationships between various companies selling goods and services.