All marketing is B2C Marketing.!!!

[Pratik Gupta]

This is one question that has been bugging me ever since I have come
across these two terms and actually studied them, which would be pretty
much my MBA days.

I will start with formally defining the two terms:
Business 2Business(B2B) Marketing: as in intra-organisational communication, collaboration, and commerce -
normally electronic, normally using websites and/or web services (source:wikipedia)
Business 2 Consumers Marketing (B2C) : Business that sells products or provides services to end-user consumers ( source: http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/b2c/)

Now, my doubt/confusion is that are businessess, not customers? Dont
business houses buy things. I will answer this question later. ...Here
again I think and believe that all marketing is B2C marketing, albeit
the 'C' stands for something slightly different.

As I said, all marketing, according to me, is B2C marketing or 'Business to Client'
marketing. Now, many would argue the difference between a consumer/
customer and a client and why does it make the term B2B marketing
redundant.

The word 'Customer' , to me, signifies a one time buyer. It does not imply relationship of any kind. A person who makes a
one time purchase would be a customer. On the other hand the word
'Client' implies a consumer with whom the seller has a relationship and
a scenario where the consumer stays with the seller for a certain
length of time. To put it simply, 'repeat purchase'!!!

Brand Loyalty/ Repeat Purchase is the ultimate nirvana for Brand
Managers...Then why should it be any different for FMCG/FMCDs. The aim
is to transform the 'customer' to a 'client', be it any kind of
sales/marketing activities, B2B or B2C.

For Example, take a medicine shop. I have been visiting my local medicine shop for 10-15
years. The shop owner, knows me by my first name and knows my parents
by their first name as well. He also acts as my local physician at
times when I have a cold etc. By the text book definition, this is a
typical B2C scenario. So, what am I to the medicine shopwallah. Am I a client or a customer??

Similarly, in my current professional capacity, I sell education solutions to students. My organization helps students in preparing themselves for the various management entrance examination/s. This business works purely on word of mouth publicity. However, goin by the definition, it will still be in the B2C segment, since it deals with individuals. I address my clients on first name basis and
at times even share a drink with them. So , are they my 'clients' or
are they merely customers. We all know one thing that businesses dont
buy and businesses dont sell. It is we human beings who buy and sell.

This is my justification in favor of my argument that there is no separate
thing such as B2C or B2B Marketing. To me, every marketing effort is
B2C Marketing,i.e. 'Business 2 Client' Marketing.

[manish madhukar]

I agree Pratik, every marketing is B2C rather than B2B in my views. But just trying to present my case a bit differently. If we talk about B2B marketing, one question I have is that aren't these businesses customers/consumers? This is because for a certain product/service which we tend to classify under B2B marketing, aren't these businesses the ultimate customers? For example, if we term 'selling' so called industry solutions such as servers, storage etc. then apart from businesses, who else will buy it? They are the ultimate customers and hence for marketers they are the customers even if they are 'businesses'. Similarly, any marketing activity which goes on, from understanding consumer needs and wants, satisfying them through our products/services and post sales support, is it any different in both these fields? Yes, our approach, our communication may be put differently but that is true for any set of customers. We don't generalise customers and try to personalize each aspect by understanding them and pitching for sales in a way which is appropriate for that customer in our understanding. Ultimately, these businesses are also, customers and marketing involves similar procedures. But as we say, welcome to the world of jargons in MBA!!!

[Manoj Mani Iyer]

I think it is the term marketing which is common to both the terms is creating the overlap here... B2B, B2C or C2C ... End objective being to market the product and sell it, however there is difference in terms of consumer size, target segment, order size, the buying and selling process, lead generation etc these can be explained as follows:-

The Market Size: Consumer markets are measured in the “millions” while only a few
B2B firms have customer bases over “thousands”.

The Buying Process: In the business market the buying process is much longer and
involves many people. It’s not unusual to have a 6-9 month buying cycle involving 5-
10 people as both decision makers and influencers.

The Selling Process: Vastly different than in consumer markets, B2B sales
organizations are characterized by well-paid field sales people, distributors, and
business partners or independent representatives who are not only engaged in the
selling but in the fulfillment of the product or services.

The Cost of A Sale: As a result of the selling process, the cost of a B2B sale is much
higher. Average sales call costs now average of $350-400. A complex solution may
require 8-10 calls to close a sale plus the advertising and marketing expense to
generate inquiries and qualify leads.

However technology is allowing these differences to get blurred, A B2B may take an individual order from a customer through a website thus reducing the cost of sale, especially if it is digital work then there is hardly any difference in B2B or B2C... as taking order is through website and delivering the product is also through the net thus hardly having impact on the cost of sale.

[Ritesh Choudhary]

pratik da, with what u defined as b2c i think u defined what marketing is and the goals of marketeer. but the dynamics of the game are different when u are dealing with different types of customers (individuals or business organisations), the decision makers vary, the stake holders differ and also their numbers vary. hence the diference in b2b and b2c. i support manoj's point of view

[Pratik Gupta]

@ Ritesh and Manoj...agreed with both of you....what I was pointing out was the similarity in approach of the two terms!!!!