B2B what is it

Let's analyze the terms often used in the business environment: B2B, B2C, and so on. Most often I hear exactly these 2 abbreviations, but in fact there are more of them. These terms were introduced to refer to e-commerce business models. In a broader sense, it is the relationship of subjects in the market. In addition, now these designations are used not only in the field of electronic commerce, but also in the offline environment.

Explanation of abbreviations BB, BC, BG

All subjects interacting in the market can be divided into 3 categories:

  • Business (business) - legal entities, companies, enterprises.
  • Individuals (in these categories it is considered as a consumer) - ordinary citizens, buyers / consumers of certain services
  • State (government) - state structures: municipality, budgetary organizations , federal services, etc.

From these categories we get the letters included in the abbreviations:

B - (business) business C - (consumer) end consumers, individuals. G - (government) state structures

What does the number 2 mean? This is short for "to", the English preposition. Indicates from whom the service is going to.

If you look at the table, you can count as many as 9.

Let's look at specific examples

B2B (business to business) - business to business. The company supplies materials for construction companies. The consulting company provides training services for the personnel of the sales department of another company. The plant supplies components. B2B sales are trade relations between two legal entities, companies.

B2C (business to consumer) - business provides services to the end consumer. online retail shops, retail outlets. Any business where the goods are received by the final consumer, an individual.

B2G (business to government) - business for the government. Here, legal entities, entrepreneurs, provide services to state institutions. Usually we are talking about the implementation of government procurement.

С2B (consumer to business) - a private person (consumer) for business In this model of relations, the end customer creates value for the business. For example, he puts forward a request for certain products that are not in the assortment, suggests ideas for new products, writes reviews. this same type of relationship can be attributed to customer recommendations. There is a C2B business model where buyers set prices for products themselves, then these prices are offered to sellers.

B2B (business to business, business to business) is a company's activity (marketing, trade), which is focused on interaction and obtaining benefits from cooperation and rendering services to other companies.

Unlike the B2C (business to customer) segment, where companies interact with the end consumer, in the B2B market, other businesses are becoming the target audience of companies. However, not every relationship between two companies can be attributed to a B2B model.

BB Key Features

It is customary to refer to the B2B segment as the supply of goods and services by one company to another with the following conditions:

  • Goods or services will be basic or auxiliary in production, become consumables for it and will be fully used,
  • During use, goods may be subject to minor changes in in accordance with the purpose of the company, and complete modernization / revision, during which a completely new product appears.
  • The use of goods and services benefits the company.
  • The goods and services are not used for subsequent resale.

  • An organization engaged in the supply of consumables, spare parts, raw materials and goods for processing for manufacturing companies,
  • Agencies that develop online services for online stores <
  • An office building where a company can rent premises.

There are also examples of companies that can be both B2B business and B2C - it all depends on the goals of the client they serve. For example, a regular customer may come to a supermarket and purchase products for himself (in which case it is a B2C model), or maybe a small bakery administrator who needs certain goods for making fruit pies (in which case it will be B2B). Or, for example, a large construction hypermarket, where both a foreman can buy for repairs in someone else's apartment (B2B), and a married couple who decided to re-glue the wallpaper in their corridor (B2C).

Accordingly, companies that:

  • They sell goods to companies for subsequent resale, for example, in the FMCG segment,
  • They supply tea and coffee, napkins, paper, etc. to offices.

Features of the BB market

  • A small number of selling and buying companies compared to the B2C segment, and also, for the same reason, the competition is low.
  • Unlike the B2C sector, the buyer rarely gives in to emotions when buying a product - practicality and rationality come to the fore: the ratio of price and quality of the product, terms of cooperation - discounts for large volumes of deliveries, delivery forms, etc.
  • A purchase decision can be made by more than one person.
  • A company often allocates a large procurement budget, which must be spent as efficiently as possible - a product that perfectly performs its functions and at a minimum cost.
  • B2B customers who buy goods are generally good at it and often know all the major suppliers. That is why, when choosing a company for cooperation, attention is paid not to its advertising in the market, but to how well it has proven itself in work - the client chooses not only a product, but also relationships and benefits.
  • The same supplier can offer different prices for the goods to the purchasing companies - depending on the volume of purchases, the duration of cooperation, etc. All companies try to make the relationship profitable and partnership and at the same time long enough.
  • Demand for B2B goods and services is often determined by the economic situation in the market.

Probably, many have heard such a thing as B2B. In simple words, the abbreviation can be deciphered as a business not for clients, but for another business.

Besides this segment, there are two more models: B2C and B2G. Due to the fact that in English the pronunciation of the words "for" and "two" sounds the same, instead of the last "to", just for the sake of beauty, they put a two in them.

It is worth understanding what this means and what is the difference between these terms.

Explanation of the abbreviation "Business to Business" and means trade between organizations. Such a business is slightly different from the sale of goods and services to ordinary people.

Ignorance of this term and its essence means the illiteracy of an entrepreneur. Each of them must know the concept of selling goods and services in order to be fully competent in doing business.

What does B2B sales look like in real life?

In order to understand the segment, you need to imagine some agency that produces documents in different languages.

The company employs employees who speak several languages ​​and can easily translate text from Japanese into Russian or from Russian into Uzbek.

For help, the director of a plumbing store turns to the head of the agency with a request to translate all the data on new sets with installation for toilet bowls from Germany.

The manager provides a translation service, which in the future will help the plumbing store sell its goods, since the consultant managers will receive a description of the product in Russian and will be able to clearly tell customers about it.

Another example of B2B selling. The flower shop bought a batch of indoor rose seedlings in disposable cups. To ensure that each flower has the best presentation, the director bought a batch of beautiful pots from a household goods store.

Simply put, a B2B system is the sale of goods by a company that it has acquired from intermediary firms.

It automates the interaction between suppliers and buyers. Allows both to optimize costs. In a B2B system, one entrepreneur sells his product or service to another entrepreneur, not a consumer.

In this article I will talk about B2B - what it is in simple terms. You will learn what is behind this tricky concept and which B2B professionals to watch out for.

“I have a long and successful experience at Be-to-Bee! - I heard recently from another young girl in a beautiful business suit. I did not know the meaning of this Americanism, I felt embarrassed to admit it, and I decided that it was time to figure it out.

Content of the article:

What is BB?

“B2B” (bi-to-bi) means “business to business” or “business to business”. This term covers all companies that create products and services focused on other types of business.

These can be SaaS products (software), B2B marketing firms and business supply companies.

If you have a business, sooner or later you will probably work with a B2B company at some stage of development. It's important to understand what B2B is, why it's useful, and how you can use it to improve your own business.

BB companies: what are they selling?

B2B companies are supportive businesses that offer what other companies need to work and grow. Payment systems and industrial equipment suppliers are examples of such companies.

This differentiates them from business-to-consumer (B2C) models, which sell directly to individual customers, and consumer-to-business (C2B) models, in which users offer services to businesses (such as customer testimonials) ...

B2B companies have a completely different target audience: they offer the raw materials, finished parts, services or advice that other businesses need to operate, grow and profit.

There are B2B companies in every industry, from manufacturing to retail. Whichever business you run, you can rest assured that there are many B2B vendors and consulting firms operating everywhere.

Every B2C company needs certain products, services and professional consultants, so every B2C company stimulates B2B activity.

Monitoring the performance of the sales force is not just collecting data "to be". It's all about making the right to-do list. By monitoring we mean the calculation of payback and cycles of continuous improvement with regular measurements.

It will be difficult, to some extent even unpleasant, to rebuild your brain and implement changes in the sales department. But in the end, you will increase your profits. Even if you just listen to calls, check seller letters and study your CRM, this is already more than the average company owner in Russia does. But to get ahead of the competition and count on super profits, you need a system.

Maybe now let's say some seditious thing and all business coaches will shower us with rotten tomatoes - not always in order for a company to grow steadily, you need to strive for an “ideal sales system”. In order to understand to what extent it is profitable to grow and what changes will be for the good - one of our articles is not enough for you, but it contains a lot of systemic concentrated information.

Why you should read this article

Because you probably want to know how to quickly determine the point of current development of the company's sales and understand:

  • where is it worth striving and what exactly needs to be done,
  • and where you will not so much gain profit as lose money and time.

Useful and boring reading is waiting for you, which will give you a boost of vivacity no less than a whole coffee pot with invigorating espresso.

The article will be useful not only for heads and commercial directors of b2b companies, but also for organizations working with private clients.

For those who are just getting started on their sales management journey or want to refresh their knowledge, we will give introductory information at the end of the article, you can skip:

If you can't wait to find out what the sales system consists of and download infographics, take a look here.

And if you have very little time and want to understand how to determine the stage of evolution of your sales force and increase it with modern technology, start here. We will look at 2 of the 8 growth stages and even cover the 3rd stage a little. We will analyze the rest of the steps in the following materials. Don't want to wait and figure it out yourself? Fill out the application and let's start working!

Sales development strategy according to the classical method

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