The Difference Between B2C and B2B: 6 Non-obvious Distinctions

The difference between b2c and b2b seems insignificant. After all, externally the online stores in both cases look similar. However, the differences in business processes and functionality are systemic in nature and differ significantly from one another.

But what distinguishes these two types of commerce?

B2C and B2B in a Nutshell

B2C or business to consumer (customer) are retailers who sell directly to the end consumer. Read here about the features and benefits of such sales: https://belkins.io/help-center/belkins-glossary/what-is-b2c-sales

B2B or business to business is a segment in which manufacturers and importers sell to distributors, dealers buy from distributors, and ultimately everyone sells to online stores and retailers.

The Main Differences Between B2C and B2B

If you compare the motivation of customers, the difference is obvious. In b2c, the company is already working with the end consumer, who buys goods directly for his own use. In the case of b2b, the company is dealing with a different business: the wholesale buyers will use the purchased products to make a profit.

In b2b, 80% of the clients are, as a rule, permanent. In b2c, you have to pay each time to attract repeat customers, and unfortunately the frequency of purchases in b2c is several times less than in B2B.

Equally important differences include:

1. Registration – in b2c the customer comes in, attracted by the goods in the “showcase”. The customer studies the assortment, chooses a product and places an order at once, registration often takes place when the order is placed.

In b2b complex settings are required. Scheme, under which the client saw the goods and made an order, in the case of wholesalers does not work because of the lack of personalization of prices, discounts, payment terms, shipping, paperwork, etc.

2. Verification – often in b2c, verification is performed by confirming the customer’s mailbox, but sometimes it is not required. Usually the customer makes a payment and the product is sent to the specified address. That’s where the interaction ends.

In b2b platforms, verification should be mandatory.

3. Personalization – in b2s, products, prices, conditions of purchase are the same for all without exception. This is required by the laws of many countries within the framework of consumer protection. 

However b2b requires wide-scale personalization of conditions for a client: starting from prices and discounts up to a range of products, categories and batches of goods.

4. Order Processing – retail orders are usually small, so they are processed as they come in. A manager checks the availability of goods in stock and immediately takes the order to work. Since wholesale purchases have a deferred transaction, and orders can be split into several parts, wholesalers are willing to wait for the right item to appear, agree to ship in batches, and accept replacement offers.

5. Working with Documents – the online retail store assumes a minimum of documents – invoices and bills of lading. But working in b2b involves a full set of documents for each order. 

6. Administration – in b2c, to manage the work of an online store, the usual admin panel is sufficient. The manager just needs to check the availability of goods in stock, confirm the order, make sure the payment is received and make the delivery. Management of b2b solutions is performed by many people, both on the part of the supplier and the buyer, where one customer can work on behalf of several legal entities with different terms of cooperation for each.    

The complexity of a b2b platform is primarily due to the non-linear, multi-factor algorithms designed to serve customers. 

So, wholesale and retail marketplaces, although they look similar, have critical differences in the organization of business processes.