Business to Business Marketing.

Business to Business (B2B) Marketing involves the activities of the sale of goods and services from one business to another. Most people don't consider how a company obtains their supplies and equipment to operate a business but believe it or not, the B2B market is much larger than the Business to Consumer market.

Who are the Customers?

In B2B marketing the customers consists of:

• Government Agencies.
• Companies that resell products.
• Institutions.
• Companies that use their products.

Government agencies are the largest purchaser of B2B marketing goods.

What makes B2B different?

• More complex decision making
• The purchases from one business to another tend to be much larger than a business to consumer. This is because the B2B market is usually involving the sale of expensive equipment, mass quantities of supplies, or other high priced items that help a company run.
• B2B purchases are more rational
• This plays off of the idea listed above. Being that the price of the items purchased are typically more expensive buyers need to be much more rational with their purchase and not buy goods and services because of emotions. Buyers need to ask themselves "Will this good/service make the company a profit?", "Will this good/service help the business grow?".
• B2B products are more complex
• When we as consumers make purchases we generally don't need a prior expert knowledge about the product. When it comes to B2B products the complexity level is higher than B2C. As an example, when a buyer in the B2B market wants to buy a new computer programming system for designing the companies products, the buyer needs to know much more detail about the system than your typical B2C customer buying a new personal computer.
• Relationships are VERY important
• In B2B markets, relationships between the buyer and seller are vital. Having a good relationship is a key step in the process because the sellers want to make sure they have built a good foundation with their clients to ensure continued business. It is very common to see the buyers and sellers on a first name basis. The sellers usually follow up with their clients on a regular basis and make sure their clients are pleased with their purchased goods/services.

Works Cited:

"B2B Marketing | What Is Business to Business Marketing?" B2B Marketing | What Is Business to Business Marketing? N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2015.