Analyzing Business Markets

Business to Business marketing, or B2B marketing is extremely different from Business to Consumer, or B2C marketing.



In B2B, the importance of-

Integrity: High
Competence: Very High
Continuity: Very High
Caring Service: Medium
Character: High
Imagery: Low

Whereas, in B2C, the importance of-

Integrity: Medium
Competence: Medium
Continuity: Low
Caring Service: Medium
Character: Medium
Imagery: Very High

Characteristics of B2B Marketing:

• Focus on problem solving
• Need to support customers’ professional
• Different customer needs (sometimes changing)
• Different customer segments
• One customer, many people
• Long, step-by-step process
• Typically higher value/bigger unit purchases
• More technically complex products
• Higher buyer risk
• Longer buy times
• More complex decision-making units
• Professional purchasers
• Closer buyer-seller relationships
• Derived demand

The B2B Buyer Decision Process:

1. Need Recognition Stage
2. Option Evaluation Stage (matching differentiators to decision criteria)
3. Query/Concern Resolution Stage
4. Decision Implementation Stage