In today’s dynamic business world, you need a clear-cut focus in order to churn out your next move. Here’s a good question, which model is more profitable and scalable? Is it B2B or B2C?
Well, it depends! It depends on your background, skillset, and expertise. B2B and B2C models clasp several similarities, as it is basically how you communicate with your customers or clients to solve their problems. But the differences between them run even deeper.
Scale:
Target demographic is a major differentiator between B2B and B2C sales strategies. For example, let’s say you’re selling sliced bread. You certainly don’t need to keep a count of the consumers as people require it on a daily basis. Just in case, if you want to boost your overall profit, you can devise a marketing strategy on other similar products for your loyal customers.
Given this reality, the B2B industry works on the basis of specific requirements. In this puddle sized pool, you will have only a few clients to pitch. In simpler terms, the number of people who buy machines that make bread does not come anywhere near the number of people who feast upon them.
“Best way to sell something: don’t sell anything. Earn the awareness, respect, and trust of those who might buy.”
– Rand Fishkin, CEO, and co-founder of MOZ.
Product knowledge:
The sales team is a crucial part of your business and they need to know the product like the back of their hand. As buyers are getting sophisticated these days, they should acquire information from various sources to stay ahead of the curve.
Months of training may help with learning big words and concepts but with little real-world application. If you have a B2B business, then your sales team must have experience with product presentations and show curiosity for executive-level questions.
In a typical B2C scenario, your team needs to master the craft of convincing. With hours of research, a B2C sales team can crack the code to convince their customers.
“People shop and learn in a whole new way compared to just a few years ago, so marketers need to adapt or risk extinction.”
– Brian Halligan, CEO, and co-founder of HubSpot.
Decision-makers:
As you know in a B2C business, the purchase decisions will be made by the individuals. People will walk into a supermarket and pick up the items they need. It barely has any complex decision-making process.
Whereas, B2B businesses will have too many parties involved. For example, if a B2B company is buying machinery, they will have a specific workflow to follow and should consult with different stakeholders. Only after getting a green signal from the decision-making group, a transaction will take place.
Relationships:
Although building long-term relations and partnerships is a part of running a business successfully, B2B companies must strive to create an ambiance with their clients. If you are a B2B business owner, the fusion of trust and consistency is your golden ticket to be successful.
As B2C shoppers tend to purchase based on the value and freebies they get, establishing an emotional connection with them should top your to-do list. You can run innovative campaigns and have a reliable customer support team to tap into the profit zone.
Customer lifecycle:
Chances are that a B2C customer can make a purchase and never return anytime now. As they say, with numerous alternatives, people keep trying new things. In contrast, B2B customers are always looking forward to a long-term relationship. The concept is quite simple, the turnaround time is comparatively high for B2B companies.
“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else”
~ Sam Walton, CEO, Walmart
Overall, it may be said:
B2C markets are naturally based on emotional value and so devising marketing strategies appropriately will cater to the benefits of the product.
Whilst in B2B business, you will be leaning heavily on the features of a product as opposed to the benefits in the former model.
Amongst this universal market, where do you fit?
