B2b Versus B2c Sites

This paper will compare the two kinds of markets: Business-to-Consumer and Business-to-Business with respect to their sites and how these markets use their sites as e-Business to deal with the different kinds of marketing approaches. Finally, the paper will give an understanding of whether it is more difficult to sell to a consumer or a business, or whether it’s similar. Discussion B2B (Business-to-Business) As can be drawn from the sentences written above, B2B is when a business sells and caters to another business. Therefore, it has a tighter focus and it tends to enhance associations between businesses.

Other companies know exactly how much they want, for how much and they have equal knowledge about the market. The sales cycles of the business that sells are adjusted accordingly. B2B mainly develops as a result of healthy personal relations. All these also contribute to making it a risky approach to do business. B2C (Business-to-Consumer) Business-to-Consumer markets its products or services to consumers, as the name suggests. This is the kind of marketing of goods that most businesses carry out. The focus of the market is larger. The customers do not have perfect knowledge about the market.

They order in smaller sizes. They look for good service and this kind of approach develops as a result of successful advertisement campaigns and brand images, rather than personal relationships. Comparison Both B2B and B2C sites market their products using similar media. It is just that they send a different message. Both sites need to be designed differently because both focus on a different market. These sites assist eBusiness and communication. The one (out of a few) thing that is common in both sites and approaches is that business ethics and values have to be maintained.

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These are extremely important when doing any kind of business, either with another organization or with an individual customer. B2B sites ultimately involve supply chain management. These are sites where businesses exchange information and goods directly with their suppliers and distributors online. B2C websites are conciliator portals that connect the customers to suppliers. Some of the major B2C sites that do excellent business are ebay. com, amazon. com etc. These sites are mainly retailers (A-K Strategic Business Solutions, 2001) So, when using Business-to-Consumer site, the focus obviously is the consumer.

This is a vast market that orders in small sizes. There are different preferences in this one market and the business needs to consider all of these. On a B2B site, the focus is another possibly significant organization that orders in bulk and has market information. The key here is to not only deal with the sales of products like in a B2C site but it is a forum where business conduct transactions. It is highly transaction-oriented. A B2B site has an entirely different market logging onto it than a B2C site, and these are other business or companies. The important thing to focus on here is the details and the language that is used.

On a B2B, other companies log in that have equal knowledge and maybe some times even more knowledge about the product/service than the business selling it itself. Because they have such knowledge, the site needs to have more details than a B2C site would have. These details will focus on the product, its price and its availability. A B2C site, on the other hand, will be more reader- and user-friendly and will focus largely on the product itself and its benefit to the consumers. Even the language used on these sites (to communicate with the buyer) will be different.

On a Business-to-Business site, the language will be more technical and will have many more jargon than a site that sells to individual consumers. A Business-to-Consumer site will be detailed using natural language. The advertisement medium used in both sites is the same; internet advertisement. However, different kinds of advertisements will be used. A Business-to-Business site is more likely to use informative advertisement. It will inform the buyer about its price and features of the product and promotions such as discounts on bulk buying. A Business-to Consumer site will alternatively make use of persuasive advertisement.

Rather than emphasizing on details about the features of the product, it will elude the customer into buying the product by emphasizing on the product’s many advantages, shown even more temptingly. The customers are so unpredictable that the sites have to be kept dynamic. Pricing of the product shown on both sites will be different also. Because selling to other companies will be a much larger order, transportation costs will be higher. However, they will buy in bulk so discounts will be given to them so that they can benefit from economies of scale.

All in all, the price offered to companies will be lower than that offered to individual customers. The price for individuals will be made more attractive by promotional price packages. Promotions on B2B sites are more likely to concern bulk buying. The reduction in price for buying in bulk is how the product is promoted on B2B sites. The product can be promoted more extensively to individuals. Attractive promotional campaigns such as “Buy three, get one free” can be carried out. Prices can be adjusted slightly to make the product more attractive. Packaging can be emphasized on. Advantages can be explicitly explained.

However, a strong brand is essential for both kinds of marketing. The brand encourages the shopper to buy and remain loyal and prospectively pay a higher price in the B2C approach. With B2B, it will only be a consideration rather than the only essential criteria for selection. (Thomas Morva, 2007) The look and the interface of the site will be different too. They will be similar so that the interface is effective and friendly. They will be different in the sense that colors will be used differently. B2C sites will be more bright and colorful and will display the products more attractively by investing in celebrity advertisement.

Reviews of other customers can be added on these sites. B2B sites, on the other hand, will be brief and to-the-point. They could have reviews of other big organizations also. Usually selling your product to other companies in large orders is a confidential matter because companies like to keep this information hidden from competitors. So on a B2B site, when information about buying and selling is exchanged, it has to be marked private. Unlike this, on a B2C site, there is nothing confidential about the exchange of information other than credit card numbers account numbers etc.

Therefore, it is more general. Also, authority is a big issue on B2B sites. It is important to know which member from an organization will be responsible and answerable in case something goes wrong. It is also vital to know who the site is dealing with and where that member stands in the organization to prevent any kind of inconvenience in a later period. Finally, B2B sites usually have information on how to contact them because businesses generally have more questions than individual customers. This helps to build lasting business relationships. The same cannot be said for Business-to-Consumer sites.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. (2001) What is the Difference between B2B and B2C? Retrieved on June 14, 2008 from A-K Strategic Business Solutions. Website:

2. Morva, T. (2007). B2B Versus B2C Marketing. Retrieved June 14, 2008, from Ezine Articles.

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