B2C vs. B2B – Key Differences
Marketing professionals face different challenges when marketing products and services in a B2C vs. B2B business model. These challenges are shaped by the characteristic differences between B2C and B2B outlined here.
Target Customer
The characteristic difference between B2C and B2B is the target customer. If you’re selling directly to the end user, that’s B2C. If you’re selling to a company or another business, that’s B2B.
Buyer Motivation
In the B2C model, buyers are focused on the emotional benefits of purchasing a product. For this reason, B2C marketing often hones in on the change in emotional state that occurs after making a purchase.
In the B2B model, purchasing decisions are usually more heavily based on the specific features and value a product can provide for the business. As a result, B2B marketing places more emphasis on quantifying the business outcomes that a solution can provide.
Decision Process
In the B2C model, the target customer is the key decision-maker, the payer, and the end user of the product or service. As the sole stakeholder, individual consumers can make carefully considered decisions or act entirely on a whim when making a purchase.
In the B2B model, the target customer is a business or a company that includes multiple different stakeholders. The decision-maker, end user, and the payer may all be different people, who will need to do research, look at market alternatives, and build consensus around a product before a purchase happens. As a result, the decision-making process takes longer and can be more complex.
Volume and Deal Sizes
SaaS products that sell B2C generally seek to reach a wide audience at a low price point, while products for businesses target a much narrower audience at a higher price point.