Business-to-Business Menu

B2B, or Business-to-Business, transactions occur when businesses sell products and provide services to other businesses, sometimes in a wholesale context.  These types of transactions often result in durable business relationships between commercial buyers and sellers.  Target markets for business-to-business transactions are often fairly small and narrowly focused.  Especially in these situations, the B2B purchase process is relationship driven, with each party striving to establish the relationship and maximize its value.  In terms of monetary value, B2B products and services represent the majority of sales transactions compared to B2C (Business-to-Consumer) transactions.

In many cases, B2B transactions deal with products and services that are customized to satisfy a customer's or a client's requirements.  Business purchases are made for company use as finished goods or raw materials, and they are generally based on a rational decision-making process that involves price and profit considerations.  Business buyers are usually quite knowledgeable, sometimes understanding the technologies and specific applications of a product even better than the seller!  However, branding can often raise awareness of a company's offerings, helping to ensure their consideration along with other competitive offerings.

A B2B purchase transaction may comprise a multi-step decision-making process, involving interactions between multiple players at both the buying and selling companies.  The process may include educational sessions and marketing presentations as well as basic sales calls.  Customer service considerations begin with the first contact, whether the buyer or seller initiates the contact.

So-called B2G transactions between businesses and government agencies, as well as those between businesses and non-profit organizations, share many of the same characteristics as B2B transactions.  In a broader B2B context, wholesale warehouses such as Costco, office products retailers like Staples, and imaging services like Fedex Office serve local small business markets.

On B2B-Menu.com, you will find information about products and services, such as commercial real estate and institutional furniture as well as accounting and advertising services, that are traditionally associated with Business-to-Business transactions.

B2B Definitions and Resources

• B to B - Business to Business (Investopedia)
  B to B is a type of commerce transaction that exists between businesses, such as those involving a manufacturer and wholesaler, or a wholesaler and a retailer.
• What is B2B? (Business News Daily)
  B2B is a business model whose focus is selling products or services to other companies.  The B2B model facilitates the transfer of raw materials, parts and components from which additional profit is derived, through manufacturing or final sales to consumers.

---