Buyer behavior and consumer decision-making processes

Buyer Behavior

Business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) buying behaviors are distinctly unique. This paper identifies ten differences in the ways businesses and consumers make buying decisions.

In "Marketing for B2B vs. B2C - Similar but Different," author Debra Murphy advises companies to market and sell differently to businesses and consumers. This, according to Murphy, is because B2B consumers are relationship driven while B2C consumers are product driven. As such, B2B consumers base a company's brand identify on a personal relationship vs. B2B consumers who perceive brand identify through repetition and imagery. B2B consumers engage in multi-step buying processes that involve a long sales cycle. On the other hand B2C consumers are more likely to engage in a single step buying process with a shorter sales cycle. Business buyers are more likely to make rational buying decisions based on business value than consumers who frequently make emotional buying decisions based on things such as status, desire or price.

In "What's the Difference Between B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) Business Development?," Tom Varjan offers more opinions on what he believes are the key differences in B2B and B2C buyers. Varjan states that B2C consumers buy from you because they like you while B2B buyers buy from you because they believe you can offer new value to their companies. Further, he claims that business buyers aren't as likely to respond to marketing hype as consumers. In fact, the hype might make business buyers reject the entire marketing message. and, unlike B2C buyers, B2B buyers will take the time to read and digest long and detailed information packages. Varjan notes that B2C buyers buy for personal benefit and that B2B buyers buy for both personal and company benefit. In B2B environments, there are several decision makers who come to agreement on a decision vs. The typically individual decision of a consumer. Finally, according to Varjan, business buyers are skilled professionals who are trained to research and understand product claims vs. The consumer who often has less skill for making purchase decisions.