The journey thus far in marketing and research has been designed to offer assistance to those seeking information concerning the building of businesses. Today, we will dig further into a different area; however, this area will deal directly with business to business, or commonly known as B2B.

Business Marketing is the practice of individuals, or organizations, including commercial businesses, governments and institutions, facilitating the sale of their products or services to other companies or organizations that in turn resell them, use them as components in products or services they offer, or use them to support their operations. Also known as industrial marketing, business marketing is also called business-to-business marketing, or B2B marketing, for short.

In the broadest sense, the practice of one purveyor of goods doing trade with another is as old as commerce itself. As a niche in the field of marketing as we know it today, however, its history is more recent. In his introduction to Fundamentals of Business Marketing Research, J. David Lichtenthal, professor of marketing at the City University of New York's Zicklin School of Business, notes that industrial marketing has been around since the mid-19th century, although the bulk of research on the discipline of business marketing has come about in the last 25 years.

Business marketing took a back seat to consumer marketing, which entailed providers of goods or services selling directly to households through mass media and retail channels. This began to change in middle to late 1970s. A variety of academic periodicals, such as the Journal of Business to Business Marketing and the Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, now publish studies on the subject regularly, and professional conferences on business-to-business marketing are held every year. What's more, business marketing courses are commonplace at many universities today. In fact, Dwyer and Tanner (2006) point out that more marketing majors begin their careers in business marketing today than in consumer marketing.

Business Markets
Business markets are markets for products and services, local to international, bought by; 1. Business, 2.Government Bodies, 3.Institutions such as Hospitals or corporate for incorporation for consumption. The only markets not of direct interest are those dealing with products or services which are principally directed at personal use or consumption such as packaged grocery products , home appliances, or consumer banking The factors that distinguish business marketing from consumer marketing are the nature of the customer and how the customer uses the product.

Although on the surface the differences between business and consumer marketing may seem obvious, there are more subtle distinctions between the two with substantial ramifications. Business marketing generally entails shorter and more direct channels of distribution.

While consumer marketing is aimed at large groups through mass media and retailers, the negotiation process between the buyer and seller is more personal in business marketing. Most business marketers commit only a small part of their promotional budgets to advertising, and that is usually through direct mail efforts and trade journals. While that advertising is limited, it often helps the business marketer set up successful sales calls.

Marketing to a business trying to make a profit, as opposed to an individual for personal use (Business-to-Consumer, or B2C marketing) is similar in terms of the fundamental principles of marketing. In B2C, B2B and B2G marketing situations, the marketer must always
successfully match the product or service strengths with the needs of a definable target market
position and price to align the product or service with its market, often an intricate balance; and communicate and sell it in the fashion that demonstrates its value effectively to the target market.

While other businesses might seem like the simple answer, business customers fall into four broad categories: companies that consume products or services, government agencies, institutions and resellers.

The first category includes original equipment manufacturers, such as large auto makers who buy gauges to put in their cars and also small firms owned by 1-2 individuals who purchase products to run their business. The second category - government agencies, is the biggest. In fact, the U.S. government is the biggest single purchaser of products and services in the country, spending more than $300 billion annually. But this category also includes state and local governments. The third category, institutions, includes schools, hospitals and nursing homes, churches and charities. Finally, resellers consist of wholesalers, brokers and industrial distributors.

Clearly, business to business relates cognitively to business to customer as the end goals are the same. Delivering goods and services in a timely manner, making sure that customer satisfaction is achieved, and following up with customers is vital to any marketing campaign. The fundamental differences are not that distinguishable as the customer is always paramount in the process of maintaining profit for long term business growth.

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Butch Hamilton
Internet Marketing by Butch Hamilton
Director of Marketing Veretekk