Key Difference between Consumer and B2B Marketing Assignment

Key Difference between Consumer and B2B Marketing - Assignment Example Most of the large firms which produce goods such as production, steel, and equipment along with computer memory chips cater to the business market customers and the organizations do not directly interact with their customers. The introduction of the laser printers along with the personal computers had brought HP which was a B2B marketer into the consumer market. Conversely, Apple strength has also extended towards the business market as its iPad was being used or tested in more than 75% of the fortune 500 companies just after a month of its launch. Corporate using iPad includes J.P. Morgan Chase, Tellabs, Inc., and Cardinal Health. Products such as office furniture, smartphones, software, and personal computers are products which are purchased both by the consumers as well as by the business markets. The feature that tends to distinguish consumer goods from business marketing is the â€Å"intended use of the product â€Å"and the intended consumer.† Some of the global big bra nds belong to the business marketing section and they include Google, Blackberry, Cisco, Caterpillar, FedEx, IBM, HP, 3M to name a few organizations (Hutt & Speh, 2012, p.8-9). Some of the key differences which exist between B2C and B2B marketing have been shown in table 1. B2B marketing focuses on fewer and on varied customers and involves complex and technical sales processes as compared to consumer marketers. The issue of complexity such as multiple stakeholders which includes, purchasing agents, financial analysts, engineers, layers, manufacturing managers all of these stakeholders proceeds through the multi-stage decision-making process. The presence of however few but powerful customers who often account for a high percentage of sales represents that most of the powerful and common statistical tools in the B2C domain should be adapted in the B2B domain. In addition, most of the transaction in B2C sectors happens through common channels. For example, consumer packaged goods in the retail stores through which the retailers are able to capture and host about competitive consumer marketing. In contrast, transactions in B2B marketing are mostly private and negotiation happens mostly the ough a downstream channel of distribution. Therefore it can be said that data about the terms and nature of transactions and consumers are not visible to the common people (Lilien & Grewal, 2012, p.4). B2B marketing generally involves wholesalers, manufacturers, and the service firms which markets the good and service to another form of business but not to the ultimate consumers. Thus the distinction between B2C and B2B is not only the service or the product but the ultimate users of the product and the service. For example, if a pair of jeans had been sold to industrial business which then to the custodial firm where the employees would have wears them on the workplace, such transaction would still be termed as B2B transactions. Another major factor of difference between busi ness marketing and consumer marketing is the role e of the salesperson. Salespeople are important and essential in dealing with consumer goods such as FMCG, consumer electronics, jeweler, insurance and real estates.