You sell fruit at the market, home furnishings in a brick-and-mortar store, a car in a showroom or even clothes on an e-shop. Your customers buy from you and use the goods, they don't make anything from them and don't sell them on. You are part of a B2C business. What are its specifics and how does it differ from other business models?
What is B2C business
The abbreviation B2C stands for business-to-consumer and refers to the sale to the end consumer who uses the goods for their own use. That is, they buy the car they drive, the house they live in, the clothes they wear or the food they eat.
This is different from so-called B2B (business-to-business) commerce, in which a company sells its products to another company. The latter uses them to produce its goods or resells the products it buys to its customers.
Differences of B2C from B2B
Besides the customer, B2C business usually differs from B2B business in other aspects:
- the price of goods is uniform for all customers in B2C, whereas in B2B it often varies for individual clients,
- in B2C the consumer makes the purchase decision and usually buys quickly, whereas in B2B more people in the company are involved in the decision and the process is more lengthy,
- B2C business is characterised by a broad market, whereas in B2B the market is more limited, so companies also have to pay more attention to building relationships with customers,
- therefore, while in B2C, clients usually use customer service only when there is a problem with the goods purchased, in B2B, quality customer service is sought by clients before, during and after the purchase.
How to choose a suitable business model
The specifics of both business models will help you determine which one is better suited for your business. If you sell car parts that are not applicable elsewhere, B2B will be the obvious choice.
But imagine you grow vegetables and want to sell them. You have two options:
- Either you offer it directly to consumers, i.e. to customers who will buy it from you and use it in a B2C shop,
- or you can use B2B and sell it to shops, where they resell it to customers or to companies that make other products from it.
Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Either you build a network of clients who will resell your goods, or you target the wider end-customer market directly. Our RAYNET CRM will help you manage your B2B business, where you have all your client contacts, all communications and documents clearly in one place.
