What is B2B (Business to Business)?
B2B (Business to Business) refers to any commercial transaction or relationship conducted between two companies, rather than a company selling directly to an individual consumer. Common examples include accounting software providers, cloud hosting services, or specialized manufacturing equipment suppliers.
Why B2B is Different from B2C
The B2B sales motion is fundamentally different from B2C (Business to Consumer), requiring unique strategies:
| Feature | B2B (Business to Business) | B2C (Business to Consumer) |
| Sales Cycle | Long and complex (months), requiring multiple approvals. | Short and impulsive (minutes to days). |
| Customer | Rational. Buying is driven by logic, ROI, and efficiency. | Emotional. Buying is driven by desire, price, or brand loyalty. |
| Pricing | High Annual Contract Value (ACV); tiered, custom, or value-based. | Low transaction value; fixed, published price. |
The Stakeholder Challenge
In B2B, you are rarely selling to a single person. You must win over the entire Decision-Making Unit (DMU), which often includes the end-user, the budget approver, the IT manager, and the CEO. This complexity is why B2B sales cycles are so long and require highly personalized outreach and product demos.
Key Takeaway: B2B success requires demonstrating clear ROI and efficiency gains to rational buyers, not creating emotional consumer connections.
