Business to Business (B2B) Market

Hey gang,

Did you know the Business-to-Business market is huge and growing everyday?

Business-to-business, or “B2B”, is businesses selling to other businesses. Industrial and High Tech business markets are common place for B2B.

An example of a B2B transaction is a computer manufacturing company selling its product to an electronics and computer store, which is another company.

B2B companies generally have sales and marketing organizations that create and manage the sales processes and transactions.

A company selling photocopiers is likely a B2B sales organization because their sales representatives (reps) call on businesses, not consumers.

Often more than one decision-maker is involved in a B2B sale on the buyer's side. For example, a company making a software product purchase could require the decision of the technical department for the support of the product, the department designated to receive and use the software (the end-user), and the purchasing department to ensure the budget can support it and make the actual purchase and issue the purchase order (P.O.).

B2B marketing communications, or marcom, is how businesses promote their products and services to other businesses using tactics other than direct sales. The purpose of B2B marketing communications is to support the company's sales effort and improve the company profitability.

Conventional B2B marcom has two functions: (1) to generate leads for salespeople and (2) provide salespeople with sales aids they need to do their jobs. Less common is the mail order B2B company, which sells directly to businesses without involvement from a live salesperson.

B2B marcom tactics include advertising, public relations, direct mail, trade show support, sales collateral, branding, and interactive services such as website design and search engine optimization.

The Business to Business market is growing every day. It has a lot to do with the economy. So we need to get more businesses selling their wares to other businesses and create a need, which will create jobs.

Your comments are welcomed.