The Consumer and Business Market

You will post a minimum of 250 words in the textbox for this journal assignment in response to the bulleted item(s) below. The journal is a private communication that is shared only with your instructor for grading purposes.

To increase revenue, many businesses, such as gift baskets, insurance, tax preparation, food, and entertainment businesses, have targeted consumer and business markets. However, the decision-making process is a bit different for each market.

Checklist:

First, briefly describe the similarities and differences in the decision-making process between the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) groups.

Next, choose a business that predominantly targets the consumer market. Explain how they can reposition themselves to increase their sales to the business market using the business decision-making process.

ANSWER

                                               The Consumer and Business Market        

The primary difference between B2B and B2C decision-making process is the scope. The decisions in B2B take much longer because they incorporate the needs of more stakeholders to make a sale. Among the leading stakeholders whose concerns and input must be sought in a B2B decision-making process include the staff and their managers, product users, and the executive. Conversely, the B2C process only considers the individual needs of the consumers who are mostly the end-users (Rėklaitis, and Pilelienė, 2019). B2B decision making is also more rational, with elements such as the Return in Investment (ROI), and defined role of every aspect of the deal forming the foundation of the decisions. On the contrary, B2C decisions are more focused on influencing the emotions of consumers.

Trust is among the issues that play a crucial role in both the Both 2B and B2C decisions. In the two cases, all the stakeholders must be convinced of the viability of a decision. The two must also explicitly state that they can solve the consumers’ problems (Rėklaitis, and Pilelienė, 2019). Follow-up is another crucial similarity between the B2B and B2C decisions. Meaning customers are contacted to determine their satisfaction even after closing a sale.

Amazon is among the leading companies that can use the 8 steps of the decision-making process to increase profitability. Defining the decision can help the company identify the unique needs of its different market segments. Clarifying the objectives would help identify and correct decision-making flaws. Prioritizing objectives would help the company understand which products and services move faster and offer them more support to increase profitability. The company can also identify alternatives to reduce the risk of overreliance on a single approach.  Evaluating the alternatives would also help the firm to only focus on the profits-based decisions. Assessing the risks would help Amazon eliminate decisions that may lead to losses.

References

Rėklaitis, K., & Pilelienė, L. (2019). Principle differences between B2B and B2C marketing communication processes. Management of Organizations: Systematic Research, 81(1), 73-86. doi:10.1515/mosr-2019-0005