B2B as a business relationship

B2B means that a company has a business relationship with at least one other company. The abbreviation stands for "business-to-business". The business relationship can relate to services and the delivery of goods. In B2B, several companies come into contact with each other. As the world's largest management consultancy, IBM supports 20 different industries with e.g. strategy consulting or customer relationship management.

B2C means "business-to-consumer" and describes relationships between companies and end consumers. Consumers are offered services or products directly by the companies providing them. Typical B2C businesses are e.g. tourism businesses, hairdressers and supermarkets whose offer is not specifically aimed at other businesses.

Sales staff have extensive knowledge of the products or services. In B2B, the focus is on stable relationships between individual customers with personal contact. Here, sales staff must prepare specifically for the contact persons, anticipate needs and communicate at eye level. Ideally, one works with the same person for years.

Another basic prerequisite for lasting business relationships is well-functioning customer support. Complex products or services usually need a more comprehensive advisory service. It must be possible to answer all questions that arise about the product or service. Communication with industry experts requires quick answers to more in-depth questions.

Marketing activities are intended to build trust and strengthen the loyalty of customer companies. B2B marketing is very much oriented towards the customer.

The company's presence on the web should be professional. Potential customers should find initial information about the company and its offers. Due to the target group's expert knowledge, the information can be more extensive than in B2C. Less important is the emotional appeal. There should be direct contact possibilities.

With a newsletter, interested parties can be informed about new offers, opinion polls can be conducted or new marketing campaigns can be launched. Newsletter subscriptions can be rewarded with free information or training material.

Social media can be used to maintain contact with the target group and increase the reach. It is important to choose the right social networks for the company. To reach mainly business customers, you should be represented in business networks such as LinkedIn or XING. Industry news is also part of the social media strategy. In content marketing, informative and advisory content with added value for a company is conveyed.

An in-house online shop and an informative website should be standard. Sales platforms should be used early on to reach potential customers. These achieve a high reach through search engine marketing and search engine optimisation.

Important information should be made available to customers as clear data material. For a target group-oriented approach, one should inform oneself on industry platforms and in social media about what a target group is currently occupied with.