What is B2B? Overview of Business to Business Market and New Emerging Trends

B2B and B2C are very different markets: in B2B we have sales aimed at companies, while on the other side, in B2C, buyer is the final consumer.

The customer or public to whom we are addressing is the first substantial difference between these two areas, but it is certainly not the only one.

In this article we will delve into various aspects of the B2B market by comparing it with the B2C one and we will see what differences there are in relation to:

• Target audience;
• Metrics such as acquisition cost (CAC) and customer lifetime value (LTV);
• Product (or service) type and pricing model.

We will then move on to see different types of B2B businesses (with examples) and the new trends to follow in this area.

B2B and B2C definition

When a product or service sale occurs between two companies, it is called B2B. In this type of sales, a company sells services or products to another company (or to a professional).

In all cases in which, however, a company sells to final consumer, it is called B2C sales.

What’s the difference between B2B and B2C?

B2B and B2C markets differ in several key points such as the target audience of the offer and the length of the sales cycle. These differences make the sales process in B2B and B2C different, as we have already discussed.

Now we want to focus on the differences in the business model.

Target audience

In B2B, the main customers are other businesses, which means that our offer must be aimed at a company and in particular at the decision makers of that company.

To give some practical examples, decision makers can be:

• Company managers;
• Directors of a specific branch (e.g. marketing director);
• IT managers;
• Chief financial officers (CFO).

On the other hand, in the B2C context the audience is made up of individual consumers. In this case, therefore, it is not so much the role that they play in company that is important, but rather their personal preferences and desires.

Taking the example of a B2C brand of fitness products, in this case two distinct target audiences could be:

• Professional athletes interested in improving their performance;
• Fitness enthusiasts who want to stay fit and improve their health.

Customer Acquisition Cost and Lifetime Value

One of the important elements to consider in sales is the LTV (Customer lifetime value). The LTV represents the total value that a single customer generates for a single company.

In short, all purchases made by a single customer (or in the case of B2B, by a company) go to make up this metric. It is one of the most important metrics to keep under control both in businesses that involve recurring purchases, and to understand how our business is performing. It is also important to compare it to the CAC, the acquisition cost.

CAC and LTV are two of the most important metrics to take into account for every business. The CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) tells us how much it costs us economically to acquire a new customer.

The goal for a company must be to reduce the CAC as much as possible and increase the LTV.

With reference to these two values, there are notable differences if we compare the B2B and B2C sectors.

In fact, in the B2B market the customer acquisition cost (CAC) is often much higher, especially due to these factors:

• The sales cycle is longer;
• More people are making purchasing decisions;
• More efforts are needed in terms of content marketing and outreach.

According to this research by Winsavvy, in B2B the average CAC is between $500 and $2,000, while in B2C the value is between $10 and $500.

And what about LTV? Generally speaking, B2B customers tend to be more loyal to the company they buy from. This result is also favored by strategies that include recurring contracts, upsells with the sale of more complete products or services, and renewals for the use of licenses or platforms. The average LTV can therefore range from $25,000 to $250,000.

On the other hand, the B2C market can have many more episodes of one-time customers who make a single purchase and never return to buy from the same company. This leads to an average LTV that ranges from $100 to $10,000.

Product types and pricing structure

In B2B the products sold can be varied and include:

• Raw materials that are then sold to manufacturers to make other products;
• Partly processed products that are then sold to other manufacturers;
• Finished products that are sold to distributors or retailers;
• As for services, there can be licensed software, one-time services and recurring services.

In B2C, on the other hand, the finished product is generally sold.

And what about the pricing structure?

In B2B, compared to B2C, there are different models that include wholesale with prices that vary based on quantities.

In both markets, subscription sales are becoming increasingly popular. For example, until a few years ago, it was possible to buy software, such as the Adobe suite, with a one-time payment and keep the same software until you wanted to upgrade to the next version. Today, to use the suite, you need a subscription plan and lifetime licenses have been abolished, so to speak.

Among the business models that lead to recurring earnings we can find:

• Subscription: for example, a customer regularly pays a monthly or annual subscription to use a platform. A classic example of this type is the Netflix model.
• Pay-per-use: all systems that require you to pay a certain amount based on the consumption/use of a service fall into this model. This is the system used in the SaaS sector. An example of this model is Google Cloud, which allows you to use storage, for example, by paying based on the amount of data used.
• User: in some cases, access to the product or service is limited to a certain number of people and there is a pricing model based on the number of users we want to give access to. For example, ClickUp (in the paid versions) has a monthly cost per user.
• Banded: products or services are often offered in multiple plans or bands, if you like. The price varies according to the available functions. For example, Brevo, an email marketing software, uses a plan model.

B2B: Market and Customers

Let’s now go into detail to better understand how the B2B market works, what types of audiences there are and some examples of B2B companies.

B2B Business Types

Let’s look at some examples of business models in the B2B sector.

1. Manufacturing Company – Target: Suppliers, Manufacturers. Manufacturing companies purchase raw materials from another company. This type of purchase is often made in bulk, which allows you to save on the purchase based on the quantity ordered.
2. Manufacturing Company – Target: Distributors and Resellers. Companies that produce finished products sell them through distributors or resellers. Distributors act as intermediaries between the manufacturing company and the reseller. Reselling companies, on the other hand, interface with the end customer.
3. SaaS Services – Target: Companies. The SaaS model involves the distribution of software as a service. This category includes many services that you are probably familiar with, such as Zoom, Slack, Zendesk, or Salesforce. This type of business is based on subscriptions and must therefore be very focused on customer management and measuring metrics such as churn rate.

In these different models, the customer is always represented by a company (or a professional) who purchases products or services.

Examples of B2B companies

To better understand how the B2B space works, let’s look at some famous examples from different sectors. You can find more examples in our B2B ecommerce guide.

Microsoft

Microsoft is a company that sells both to the end consumer (B2C) and to other companies (B2B). As for sales to companies, an example is Office 365, the package of cloud services and office applications intended for companies (even small ones).

In addition, Microsoft also has Azure, a cloud platform that allows companies to take advantage of cloud computing. As for the pricing model, Azure applies a consumption model, for example for data storage you pay based on consumption and frequency of access to the data.

Shipping companies: FedEx and UPS

FedEx is a transportation company that offers shipping services to companies. Together with UPS, these two companies are among the most used to organize logistics in companies.

Companies that rely on these services have the advantage of not having to have their own logistics system as well as being able to obtain advantageous prices by relying on external companies. The business model of these companies is based on the rates applied.

Payment Systems: Stripe and PayPal

Stripe and PayPal are examples of B2B companies that are part of the same industry. The service they offer is a payment system that allows you to receive and send payments both online and via POS. Their business model is based on fees applied to transactions.

New trends in B2B

The B2B market continues to evolve: company decision makers, as well as B2C customers, discover new channels every day and experiment with new ways to stay informed and acquire new knowledge. On the other hand, therefore, companies that want to emerge in B2B must leave no stone unturned and try to use new methods to reach target customers.

At Visilay, when we deal with lead generation for our customers, we always study the reference market to be able to determine the best strategies to follow based on the reference sector. We therefore know how important it is to adapt to change, without being overwhelmed by trends, but understanding which weapon to unleash at the right time.

To help you orient yourself, we have collected among the emerging trends, the three that in our opinion you cannot miss in 2025.

Using LinkedIn, the social network for companies

Over the years, interest in LinkedIn has been growing thanks to its good organic reach and the introduction of new formats (such as video posts). Don’t forget its weapon up its sleeve: LinkedIn Sales navigator, which can be an excellent lead generation tool.

Investing in content marketing

More and more marketing departments are focusing resources and budgets on content creation. The Content Marketing Institute reports that 49% of companies use content to increase sales.

Does content creation seem too daunting to approach? To get started, read our guide on how to create a content marketing strategy in B2B.

Adopting automations

Automations can make repetitive tasks faster, save us precious time and improve our processes. One of the biggest obstacles, however, is the initial barrier: implementing an automation system that works can often be complex.

It will not surprise you to know that 41% of B2B companies say they cannot get what they want from automations.

How to make the process less complex? Contact us to talk to us about your goals and the difficulties you are facing, we will help you study an effective strategy and implement the processes with automations in full.