Business-to-business (B2B) marketing Coursework

Business-to-business (B2B) marketing - Coursework Example The paper tells that business-to-business (B2B) marketing describes dealings between businesses which take place in between a manufacturer and a wholesaler or amid a wholesaler and a dealer whereas in business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing transaction takes places between a company and a consumer. There are various characteristics that differentiate B2B marketing from B2C marketing: Market Size In case of B2B firms, there are small and focused customer base whereas in case of B2C firms, they include huge number of customer base. But if compared in terms of monetary values, then investment from each of the customers of B2B firms are much higher than the customers of B2C firms. Along with this, high customer loyalty can be developed in case of B2C process but it is quite low in the case of B2B. Buying Process The buying process of B2B firms is much longer and includes many people whereas the buying process of B2C is much smaller and at times can be a single step process. In case of B2B marketing, customer loyalty is acquired by the word-of-mouth but in case of B2C marketing, it grows by mass adoption process. Selling Process The selling processes within B2B and B2C are vastly different. The B2B marketing process includes many efficient and highly trained individuals, distributors and business partners, in order to accomplish the tasks as well as to maintain a good relation with the customers, which can be beneficial in the long run. In B2C marketing process, the selling procedure is very small and highly skilled persons are not essential. (Raisinghani, 2004). Reduced Capital Commitment and Less Overproduction As production is usually based on the actual demand, so overproduction does not take place in case of B2C marketing processes but in case of the B2B process, overproduction is necessary to meet the sudden arising requirements of the customers. The production in case of B2B process is based on inventory of accumulated warehouse rather than actual customer demand. As in B2C process production takes place according to the demand of the customer, so less capital is invested as well as less cost is associated with stock keeping operations. In case of B2B process, high amount of capital is indulged in the stock keeping process which brings in the requirement of high investment. B2C marketing process requires less staffs whereas B2B marketing requires large number of efficient staffs (Raisinghani, 2004). From the point of view of a marketing manager of an office supply based company, the promotional media which can be highly beneficial for promoting their products in relation to the above stated characteristics is online media via internet and by newspaper advertisements. If internet is used in the promotion process, then it would be highly beneficial as it would help to attract more customers and increase the market share by endorsing innovative products to the customers according to their needs and wants. This can enhance the brand image as well as the market size of the company. Moreover, it can also be advantageous for increasing the profitability of the firm. In order to increase the customer loyalty and satisfaction, new innovative office supply products with varied benefits according to the needs and wants of the customers should be launched and promoted through both online media and newspaper advertisements. This is required in order to make the customers aware about the benefits of the products and to attract them towards the brand. It can also enhance the market share by increasing the number of purchasing made, thereby improving the profitability of the organisation (Oracle Corporation, 2010). The online media as well as newspaper advertisements can also play a part in the selling process as they can highlight all the