MODULE 4

• Business to business - company provides services or products to other businesses.
• Business to consumer - company sells directly to individual consumers.
• B2B Marketing is relationship driven while B2C marketing is product driven
• 4 Categories of B2B Buyers:

  1. Producers
  2. Resellers
  3. Governments
  4. Institutions
• Producers are companies that purchase goods and services that are transformed into other products, and they include both manufacturers and service providers.
• Resellers sell goods and services produced by other companies without any material change.
• Retailers are businesses that sell goods to consumers in relatively small quantities for personal consumption.
• Wholesalers, on the other hand, typically purchase larger quantities from producers and then resell them to retailers.
• Brokers bring buyers and sellers together (for a commission, of course), and they may represent many producers of noncompeting products.
• Buying center are groups of people within organizations who make purchasing decisions.
• Buying center they are referred to as purchasing agents, purchasing managers, or procurement officers.
• 6 Roles of Buying Center

  1. Influencer
  2. Gatekeeper
  3. Buyer
  4. Decider
  5. User
  6. Initiator
• The initiator is typically the individual who first identifies a purchasing need within the organization.
• Influencers are those within the organization who help define specifications and/or provide information to be used in the evaluation process.
• The gatekeeper is the person the marketer has to negotiate their way through in order to reach the decision makers.
• Gatekeepers play a strategic role in the buying process, because they

  have the ability to allow only that information favorable to their opinion to flow to the decision makers.
• Buyers are those who have authority within the organization to select suppliers and negotiate and arrange the purchase terms.
• Deciders are the critical link for a marketer in getting the order, particularly in major purchases.
• Users are those people within the organization who will actually use the product or service.
• 7 Stages of B2B Buying Process

  1. A need is recognized.
  2. The need is described and quantified.
  3. Potential suppliers are searched for.
  4. Qualified suppliers are asked to complete responses to requests for proposal (RFPs).
  5. The proposals are evaluated and supplier selected.
  6. An order routine is established.
  7. A postpurchase evaluation is conducted and the feedback provided to the vendor.
• 3 Types of B2B Buying Situations

  1. Straight Rebuy
  2. New-Buy
  3. Modified Rebuy
• Straight Rebuy is a situation in which a purchaser buys the same product in the same quantities from the same vendor.
• New-buy selling situation occurs when a firm purchases a product for the first time. Generally speaking, all the buying stages we described in the last section occur.
• Modified Rebuy occurs when a company wants to buy the same type of

  product it has in the past but make some modifications to it. Maybe the buyer wants different quantities, packaging, or delivery, or the product customized slightly differently.
• B2B E-commerce: It is the buying and selling of goods and services between businesses through electronic channels such as the internet, mobile devices, and other digital platforms.
• 2 Common Types of B2B Websites

  1. Sell-Side Site
  2. Buy-Side Site
• Sell-side site is a type of e-commerce platform where businesses can sell their products or services to other businesses. This type of website is typically owned and operated by the seller and offers a range of products or services to the buyer.
• Buy-side site is a type of procurement platform that allows

  businesses to purchase products or services from multiple suppliers.

  This type of website is typically owned and operated by the buyer and provides a range of products or services from various suppliers
• 7 Ethical Dilemmas in B2B Markets

  1. Conflict of Interest
  2. Bribery and Corruption
  3. Confidentiality and Data Privacy
  4. Labor and Human Rights
  5. Unfair Competition
  6. Environmental Impact
  7. Product Safety and Quality