B2Bridge

According to the book Business Marketing by F.Dwyer & J.Tanner (McGraw-Hill, 2002) business marketing is "marketing products or services to other companies, government bodies, institutions (such as hospitals), and other organizations". Consumer marketing therefore is marketing products or services to individual consumers.

But how different are they? Can one bluntly state that a business customer equals a business consumer? As I can understand from Dwyer & Tanner this is not the case. Business customers tend to order larger volumes for larger budgets. They also buy on a global market and from much fewer suppliers. Those suppliers put a lot of effort in building long-lasting relationships with their customers - and vice versa. Moreover, business customers sometimes buy according to procedures and have decisions cycle through buying centres.

But then, on the other hand, what about a small enterprise buying a stack of printer paper or purchasing some office supplies? In that case, the purchasing decision is made by one person. This person places a small business order for a small amount of money at a local office supply dealer. Is this a (business) consumer and hence in its buying behavior different from the typical industry business customers?

We would like to know your opinion. Feel free to post your viewpoint.