Most B2B applications are in the areas of supplier management (especially purchase order processing), inventory management (i.e., managing order-ship-bill cycles), distribution management (especially in the transmission of shipping documents), channel management (i.e., information dissemination on changes in operational conditions), and payment management (e.g., electronic payment systems or EPS)
Differences of B2B Marketing and B2C Marketing:
1. The Market Size: Consumer markets are measured in the “millions” while only a few B2B firms have customer bases over “thousands”. On the other hand, the dollar value of each B2B customer is significantly larger than in the consumer market.
2. The Buying Process: In the business market the buying process is much longer and involve many people. It’s not unusual to have a 6-9 month buying cycle involving 5-10 people as both decision makers and influencers.
3. The Selling Process: Vastly different than in consumer markets, B2B sales organizations are characterized by well-paid field sales people, distributors, and business partners or independent representatives who are not only engaged in the selling but in the fulfillment of the product or services.
4. The Cost of A Sale: As a result of the selling process, the cost of a B2B sale is much higher. Average sales call costs now average of $350-400. A complex solution may require 8-10 calls to close a sale plus the advertising and marketing expense to generate inquiries and qualify leads.
5. The Value of A Sale: Balancing out the cost of B2B selling is the value of the sale. The initial transaction value is measured in hundreds or thousands of dollars and the likelihood of on-going sales is quite high. As a result, the lifetime value of a B2B customer can span many years and add up to hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars.
6. Data Quality: In general, the quality of B2B data is far below consumer standards. One key reason: research indicates that 72% of business people have had one or more changes in their business card during a 12-month period. Unfortunately, no National Change of Address card exists for business addresses.
7. Lead Generation vs. Sale. Most B2B campaigns are devoted to generation of an inquiry that is subsequently qualified to a lead. In consumer marketing only a small fraction of communications are for lead generation while the majority is for direct sale. This places a greater emphasis on creating offers that are much different than those used in consumer programs.
