What is the difference between selling to businesses (B2B) and selling to consumers (B2C)?

It is often said that B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to customer) sales strategies are different, but what about in the world of the Web and websites? For example, if my business is B2B, can I use B2C methods?

In conclusion, it is better not to make the distinction between B2B and B2C, because it does not make much sense, and there is no clean division of methods between B2B and B2C.

In other words, it is a kind of categorization that the Web industry has put in place to make it easier to sell. In some cases, even so-called B2B businesses are moving in a B2C-like manner, and vice versa.

The best thing to do is to forget about such distinctions and think about what kind of movement you should make for the customer in front of you. the customer in front of you.

General B2B and B2C image

In the dictionary sense, “B2B” refers to sales to businesses, while “B2C” refers to products and services to consumers.

And the general perception of “B2B” tends to imagine that internal approvals, comparisons, and decision-making are required. In reality, however, it depends on the product. For example, for fine consumables or products handled by Amazon or ASKUL, decision-making is similar to B2C. Actions such as buying from a reliable store or buying because a sale is being held are examples of this.

On the other hand, B2C may be imagined as a more casual behavior, for example, immediate purchase after viewing a social networking site. However, that is not the only characteristic of B2C.

Classification as B2B and B2C is meaningless.

For example, they tend to give more thought to purchases of expensive items, items that affect their social status, or items that they wear. This can be like a meeting, as the opinions of family members can have an impact. These movements can be described as similar to B2B.

Therefore, the classification of B2B and B2C itself does not serve to divide everything into MECE. The only difference is whether the place to think about it is in an office or at home.

There are many services in the world, such as “B2B specialized XX” or “XX for B2C,” but please think of it as meaning “I have experience through B2B” or “I have experience in B2C that has worked well”.

So, I think the next concern is how much attention should be paid to B2B and B2C, and what action should be taken on their behalf.

First, let’s look at purely prospective customer movement.

But basically, whether it is B2B or B2C,

• How buyers move
• with respect to what
• What kind of information do you need to get?
• What decisions will be made?

It is important to always consider this in any service.

The starting point is not to get caught up in stereotypes such as “this is what B2B is all about,” but to think deeply about what kind of values customers are currently choosing in our industry, what steps they are taking, and what kind of information they are coming into contact with!

*The “Blue Ocean Strategy” strategy canvas may be helpful in this process.

I myself don’t think in formulaic terms, “It’s B2B, so here’s what I’m going to do.

I don’t think the concepts of B2B and B2C are meaningless. They are useful as starting points and triggers for thinking. However, we should not be bound by them.

In fact, we rarely use the reason “this is B2B” in our proposals or advice to customers.” We may use it in the form of “it’s a common B2B case,” but not otherwise.

If you ask me, “What is the difference between B2B and B2C?” I answer, “The distinction itself is not very meaningful.

It is more important to consider the prospective customer’s factors, such as demographics and geographics. Demographic refers to population, age, gender, family structure, etc. Geographic refers to geographic factors. In addition, sociographic, or social factors, are also important.

But that doesn’t mean we should take our customers’ opinions for granted.

It is important to follow the needs of the customer closely. However, customer opinions vary widely, and over-involvement can be problematic.

This is because the customers themselves do not know with certainty what they really want. It may not be too much to say that they remember on the spot.

For example, when you go shopping, you don’t all decide in advance what you want. It is common for people to look around for products, find something that looks good, and then realize that it is what they wanted. In order to actively cause this to happen, there is a behavioral pattern called window shopping.

The fact of the matter is that when we ask our customers what they want, often they themselves cannot give us a clear answer.

Therefore, if we listen to all of our customers’ opinions, we may not know which needs to focus on.

This is not good. Therefore, rather than placing undue emphasis on customer feedback, we believe that a better direction is to use it as the basis for determining our own targets, while ensuring appropriate volume in a way that meets their needs.

It’s important to have a place to go for help if you need it.

I feel that once you get a sense of these flows and experience the process, it does not take long to learn and master them. However, the first step is the hard part. It would be nice if there was an environment in the company where one could receive on-the-job training from senior staff, but I am sure that many companies have difficulty with this.

In such cases, we recommend bringing in outside experts. We also offer remote consulting at an affordable price, so please consider it if you are interested.