B2B marketing or Business-to-Business marketing is the sales or services that happen between businesses without any other interference. It is done through online transactions since online payments have become convenient now. The difference between B2B and B2B e-commerce is that most B2B companies offer services, and it’s not like they can’t work in e-commerce, but it’s just that they have been slow in adopting e-commerce. Whereas, as its name suggests, B2B e-commerce offer products for sales. Often, it is called human-to-human instead of business-to-business. If your B2B business gets stuck in legacy systems, digital transformation will help you.

B2B marketing or Business-to-Business marketing is the sales or services that happen between businesses without any other interference. It is done through online transactions since online payments have become convenient now. The difference between B2B and B2B e-commerce is that most B2B companies offer services, and it’s not like they can’t work in e-commerce, but it’s just that they have been slow in adopting e-commerce. Whereas, as its name suggests, B2B e-commerce offer products for sales. Often, it is called human-to-human instead of business-to-business. If your B2B business gets stuck in legacy systems, digital transformation will help you.

B2B E-Commerce Types

Here are various types of B2B e-commerce. Though all these types have advantages and disadvantages, you can choose whichever you find suitable for your business. Many companies go for more than one or all types of e-commerce at a time.

Also See: D2C Marketing: Best Digital Marketing Strategies You Must Adopt

B2B2C E-Commerce

Business-to-business-to-consumer e-commerce works without the interference of a middle man, wherein the businesses and consumers directly negotiate and work accordingly. The way manufacturers and wholesalers interact with traditional B2-B, and B2C models of e-commerce can be considered an example of this type. Here, the consumer knows that the business they get products from differs from the one they bought them from because both the businesses are involved in the process.

Wholesale B2B E-Commerce

Wholesale B2B e-commerce is between businesses and manufacturers or wholesalers. In this process, goods are sold to other companies. Businesses buy goods in bulk order at a lower price from manufacturers or distributors and sell these goods at retailers’ prices. Many industries indulge in this type of B2B e-commerce. Everything, including business dealing and transactions, is done online. Over the past few years, B2B e-commerce has expanded.

Manufacturers 

Just like wholesalers, manufacturers are expanding their business through digital methods. They produce goods on a large scale with the help of manual labor and machines. Manufacturers sell their finished goods to other manufacturers, wholesalers, and suppliers.

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Distributors

Manufacturers have the option of selling their products themselves, but for them, it can be a difficult task to handle the process from making goods to selling them. To avoid this situation, manufacturers can collaborate with distributors, and with their help, their goods are sold. 

Stages of B2B Business Marketing

There are four stages of B2B marketing, and it is important to understand them all if you are planning to establish your business. As the business goes through these phases, it might face challenges, but even these challenges can be overcome. These four phases are mentioned below, along with their challenges.

STARTUP

It is the initial stage where you realize that you want to start a B2B business. You decide and prepare to launch your business and plan accordingly. When you decide to launch your business, you might have already developed your product or services and are ready to sell them. As you work and start selling your products, you get to know your target audience, and you will change or improve your advertising campaign based on your research while working. Common challenges you might face in this phase are recognizing and establishing your target audience, or there might be an issue in managing cash reserves.

Check: 10 Ways Salesforce CRM Helps Your Business Take A New Height 

GROWTH

When you learn to adjust in the first phase of your B2B business, you get into the growth stage, also known as the survival phase. At this phase, you will see profits increasing, but they might not be as high as sales. You must not feel disheartened by this because this is still your business’s growth stage. You will also explore new business opportunities as you work through this phase. You will also be able to cover your business’ operating expenses with the revenue you earn. The challenges you face at this stage come when you struggle to manage the new and existing customers and increase revenue. You might also struggle to handle the increased competition, but you will overcome this as soon as you learn everything with experience.

EXPANSION

Once your business is established, you will see growth in sales and revenue as you collaborate with distributing channels and reach new markets. To continue receiving revenue, you must collaborate with the new market from time to time. You must also look for new sources of revenue to expand your network and business. You might face challenges in this phase too. Such as increased competition, expanding network, growing and managing new markets, and creating new products and services.

MATURITY

When you have reached this stage, your business might not make as sales as it used to make in its earlier stages. You might want to exit from the business, but if you wish to make it successful again, you must consider reinvesting in it. The challenges you face at this stage are exploring new markets, creating new products and services, and potential exit strategy.

Establishing B2B Online Shop

Below are steps you can follow to establish your online shop while focusing on the stages of B2B business that are explained in this article.

• Getting IT and Business on the Same Page
• Gathering Requirements
• Building Use Cases
• Choosing the Platform
• Hiring the Development Team
• Choosing the theme
• Integrations
• Checking SEO Metrics
• Going Live
• Regularly Updating It and Checking Bugs

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Conclusion

B2B is business-to-business e-commerce and is used by most businesses nowadays. Businesses are also learning to get their work done online in today’s digital age, where everyone is trying to make everything online. The type your business chooses to do online business might differ, but all of them have their advantages and disadvantages. All the types are discussed in this article. There are four stages in B2B marketing that are important to understand and follow in B2B business marketing. A few steps are also mentioned in the article which can help you establish your e-commerce shop.