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B2B

What Is B2B?

B2B is another name for business-to-business eCommerce, which entails an online transaction between two businesses. This concept can also extend to the exchange of information or products and services between one business and another, such as a retailer and wholesaler, as opposed to between businesses and consumers.

How Does B2B Work?

Unlike B2C, players in a B2B market are purely other businesses that trade amongst themselves. Typically, a business can approach another one to sell its product and services directly. In most cases, you’ll find a group of businesses that uses a specific vendor’s products and services to fulfill the needs of their target audiences. Most importantly, all these operations happen online.

Why Is B2B Important?

The B2B industry is thriving, thanks to the business improvements this model brings by connecting businesses of all sizes to globalization. The business-to-business market is technically dominated by players in the manufacturing industry who want finished parts, raw materials, marketing, or even consultation services to fulfill specific consumer requirements.

The importance of B2B in eCommerce includes:

B2B opens up a wide range of distribution in eCommerce;
It creates thriving niches by studying online consumer behavior;
Business-to-business greatly reduces product and service costs;
It stimulates business growth as players can support each other.

What Are The Four Types Of B2B Markets?

Now that you understand what is B2B, here are the four types of markets in this model:

Producers: This market extends to service providers as well. Producers and service providers purchase goods and services from other businesses to recreate the products they sell.
Resellers: This market includes resellers who buy finished goods and services and sell them to their target audience without altering any material or composition.
Government: Governments all over the world, whether state or national contract with businesses to offer certain services and products to their citizens.
Institutions: Just like governments, institutions, such as schools, hospitals, and non-profit organizations purchase goods and services from other businesses to minimize unnecessarily high operation costs.

What Are B2B Challenges In eCommerce?

eCommerce in B2B also faces various challenges that are probably hindering the industry from experiencing optimal growth. They include:

Difficulties in integrating the latest technologies;
Globalization challenges when targeting diverse markets;
A big number of decision makers are involved in a typical sale;
Poor integration between marketing and sales.

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Frequently Asked Questions About B2B

What is the difference between B2B and B2C eCommerce?

The main difference between B2B and B2C is the target audience. While B2B deals with businesses, B2C eCommerce targets primary consumers with a finished product. In other words, B2B deals with business partners while B2C deals with end users.

What are examples of B2B companies in eCommerce?

Notable examples of B2B companies in eCommerce include:

What is the B2B eCommerce market size?

The global market for B2B eCommerce reached $ 6,883.47 billion in 2021 and experts project it to grow at a compound annual rate of 19.7% between 2022 and 2030.

How is the B2B buyer journey different from that of B2C?

A typical B2B buyer journey is an ongoing process, where the business customers may require recurring technical support at different touchpoints while fulfilling a bigger request. On other hand, a B2C customer journey requires little to no support once the goods or services have been bought.