Terms

Business-to-Business (B2B)

What is B2B?

Business-to-business (B2B) refers to transactions between businesses, such as those between a manufacturer and wholesaler or a wholesaler and retailer, rather than between a company and individual consumer. B2B companies represent a significant part of the economy, particularly in firms with 500 or more employees, where it is estimated that as many as 72% primarily serve other businesses. The overall volume of B2B transactions is much higher than that of business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions.

Key Elements of B2B Relationships

  • Integral Role in Supply Chains: B2B transactions are critical in supply chains, enabling companies to purchase essential components and products for their manufacturing processes.
  • Growth of B2B E-commerce: The B2B e-commerce market is expanding, offering a robust platform for businesses to explore and understand various products and services, setting the stage for future business engagements.
  • Types of B2B Transactions: B2B transactions are divided into two types: Vertical B2B, oriented towards specific manufacturing or business needs; and Horizontal B2B, which targets the intermediate trading market.
  • Balanced Negotiating Power: B2B transactions typically involve comparable negotiating power between the parties, fostering a more balanced business environment.
  • Challenges in B2B Transactions: Despite the balanced power, B2B interactions face challenges such as slower decision-making processes, complex price negotiations, and complications within e-commerce supply chains.
  • Future Growth Projections: The global B2B e-commerce market is expected to reach $36 trillion by 2026, reflecting a significant trend towards increased digitalization and continued growth in the B2B sector.

Benefits of B2B Partnerships

  • Cost Savings: B2B partnerships can lead to reduced expenses through bulk purchasing, shared resources, and streamlined processes, which enhance operational efficiency and reduce overhead costs.
  • Shared Risks and Rewards: Collaborating with other businesses helps distribute risks and increase the potential for mutual success, making ventures less burdensome and more potentially rewarding for all parties involved.
  • Innovation and Creativity: Partnering with other companies can foster new ideas, leading to improved products and services. This collaboration often results in innovative solutions that may not have been possible independently.
  • Improved Customer Service: B2B relationships can enhance customer support by combining expertise and resources, which can lead to faster, more effective service responses and higher customer satisfaction.
  • Enhanced Reputation: Forming strategic alliances can boost credibility and brand image in the market, as partnerships with reputable companies can enhance perceived trustworthiness and expertise.
  • Competitive Advantage: B2B partnerships can provide access to unique resources, technology, and expertise, giving companies an edge over competitors by leveraging strengths that are otherwise unavailable in-house.
  • Long-term Growth: B2B collaborations can contribute to sustained growth by expanding market reach and fostering innovation, helping companies to scale effectively and enter new markets.
  • Knowledge Sharing: Partnering with other businesses facilitates the exchange of valuable information and industry insights, enriching each organization’s knowledge base and improving strategic decision-making.

B2B vs B2C Differences

One of the main differences between B2B and B2C transactions lies in the nature of the parties involved. B2B transactions occur between businesses, such as a manufacturer and wholesaler, or a wholesaler and a retailer. In contrast, B2C transactions involve a company selling products or services directly to individual consumers.

Another distinction can be found in the decision-making process. B2B transactions often involve a buying committee responsible for product selection and decision-making, which may include business and technical decision-makers, as well as influencers. Large purchases might require a request for proposal (RFP), where prospective vendors submit detailed proposals outlining their products, contractual terms, and pricing. On the other hand, B2C transactions typically involve individual consumers making decisions based on personal preferences and needs.

Strategies for Effective B2B Marketing

To create effective B2B marketing strategies, businesses should focus on a combination of tactics.

  • Email Marketing Campaigns: Utilize email marketing campaigns to maintain communication with potential clients, ensuring regular engagement and updates about your products or services, which keeps your brand top of mind.
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Implement search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure online visibility, making it easier for potential clients to find your business when they search for relevant keywords, thereby increasing web traffic and potential leads.
  • Hosting Webinars and Online Events: Host webinars and online events to showcase your expertise and foster connections. These platforms provide an opportunity to demonstrate your industry knowledge and directly interact with potential customers.
  • Influencer Partnerships: Develop influencer partnerships to expand reach and credibility. Working with respected figures in your industry can enhance your brand’s reputation and extend your marketing reach.
  • Account-Based Marketing: Implement account-based marketing for personalized targeting of high-value prospects. This strategy focuses on catering specifically to the needs and characteristics of key accounts, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
  • Trade Shows and Industry Events: Explore trade shows and industry events for networking opportunities. These events are crucial for making personal connections with industry peers and potential clients, enhancing your business network.
  • Referral Programs: Consider implementing referral programs to leverage existing relationships. Encouraging satisfied customers to refer new clients can significantly increase your customer base at a relatively low cost.
  • Utilize Analytics and Data-Driven Marketing: Utilize analytics and data-driven marketing to optimize campaigns. Analyzing performance data helps refine marketing strategies, ensuring resources are used efficiently and effectively.
  • Invest in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools: Invest in customer relationship management (CRM) tools to streamline the sales process. CRM systems help manage customer interactions, track leads, and automate sales activities, enhancing overall sales efficiency.

Other terms

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Feature Flags

Feature flags let you remotely control features in your app without new code. This enables safe testing, gradual rollouts, and quick rollbacks.

Feature Flags

Docker

Docker is a tool that packages applications and their dependencies into isolated environments called containers for easy deployment and scaling.

Docker

Sales Engagement

Sales engagement is the sum of all interactions between a seller and a prospect, aimed at building a relationship and moving a deal forward.

Sales Engagement

CRM Integration

CRM integration connects your CRM software with other tools, creating a unified system for all your customer data and business processes.

CRM Integration

Revenue Operations KPIs

Revenue Operations KPIs are quantifiable metrics that track the performance, efficiency, and health of a company's revenue-generating engine.

Revenue Operations KPIs

Inbound Sales

Inbound sales attracts interested prospects who've engaged with your brand, letting sales reps connect with warm leads instead of cold outreach.

Inbound Sales

Outbound Leads

Outbound leads are potential customers a business proactively contacts through outreach like cold calls, emails, or social media.

Outbound Leads

Payment Processors

Payment processors are companies that handle card transactions, connecting merchants with the banks needed to complete a sale.

Payment Processors

Regression Testing

Regression testing ensures that new code changes don’t negatively impact existing features. It's a key step to maintain software quality after updates.

Regression Testing

Dynamic Territories

Dynamic territories are fluid sales assignments that adjust based on real-time data, ensuring reps can focus on the highest-value accounts.

Dynamic Territories

Low-Hanging Fruit

Low-hanging fruit are the most obvious and easy-to-tackle tasks or goals that provide a quick, valuable return for minimal effort.

Low-Hanging Fruit

End of Quarter

“End of Quarter” (EOQ) refers to the final weeks of a business quarter when sales teams rush to meet quotas, often leading to a flurry of deals.

End of Quarter

Touchpoints

A touchpoint is any time a potential or existing customer comes in contact with your brand, from seeing an ad to receiving an email.

Touchpoints

Analytics Platforms

Analytics platforms are tools that collect and analyze data from various sources, helping businesses track key metrics and make informed decisions.

Analytics Platforms

Firmographics

Firmographics are descriptive attributes of organizations, used to segment companies by characteristics like industry, size, and location.

Firmographics

Break-Even

Learn about break-even, including calculating your break-even point, importance of break-even analysis, & break-even analysis vs. profit margins.

Break-Even

Product Qualified Lead

A Product Qualified Lead (PQL) is a user who has experienced a product's value, signaling a strong potential to convert to a paid customer.

Product Qualified Lead

B2C2B

Learn about B2C2B, including how B2C2B transforms sales, key strategies for B2C2B success, & differences between B2C2B and B2B2C.

B2C2B

Simple Object Access Protocol Application Programming Interface

A Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) API is a web service that uses XML to exchange structured information between different applications.

Simple Object Access Protocol Application Programming Interface

Sales Training

Sales training is the process of honing a salesperson's skills and knowledge to enhance their effectiveness and drive sales success.

Sales Training

Demand Generation

Demand generation is the process of creating awareness and interest in your products to build a pipeline of qualified leads for your sales team.

Demand Generation

Stress Testing

Stress testing is a type of software testing that determines a system's robustness by pushing it beyond its normal operational capacity.

Stress Testing

B2B Sales Channels

Learn about B2B sales channels, including types of B2B sales channels, strategies for effective channel selection, & integrating technology in B2B sales.

B2B Sales Channels

B2B Demand Generation Strategy

Learn about B2B demand generation strategy, including key elements of demand generation, & crafting your demand generation plan.

B2B Demand Generation Strategy

Account-Based Analytics

Account-Based Analytics measures engagement and impact across target accounts, not just individual leads, to guide B2B sales and marketing efforts.

Account-Based Analytics

Weighted Sales Pipeline

A weighted sales pipeline forecasts revenue by assigning a closing probability to each deal, giving a more accurate picture of potential income.

Weighted Sales Pipeline

Kanban

Kanban is a visual project management method that uses a board to visualize workflow, limit work-in-progress, and maximize team efficiency.

Kanban

Event Tracking

Event tracking is the method of collecting data on specific user actions, or 'events,' on a website or app, such as clicks or downloads.

Event Tracking

Upsell

Upselling is a sales tactic encouraging customers to purchase a higher-end version of a product or related add-ons to boost revenue.

Upsell

Trigger Marketing

Trigger marketing uses customer actions or events to automatically send highly relevant, personalized messages at the perfect moment.

Trigger Marketing

Channel Marketing

Channel marketing is a strategy where a company sells its products or services through third-party partners, like resellers or affiliates.

Channel Marketing

Remote Sales

Remote sales is selling from a distance. Reps use digital tools to connect with prospects and close deals without meeting them in person.

Remote Sales

Buying Process

The buying process is the journey a customer takes from first realizing a need to making a final purchase decision and evaluating it afterward.

Buying Process

Target Buying Stage

The Target Buying Stage identifies a prospect's position in the buying journey, from initial awareness to the final decision to purchase.

Target Buying Stage

Customer Lifetime Value

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total revenue a business expects from a customer throughout their entire relationship with the company.

Customer Lifetime Value

Intent-Based Leads

Intent-based leads are potential customers whose online actions—like searches or content engagement—signal a clear interest in buying a solution.

Intent-Based Leads

Performance Monitoring

Performance monitoring involves collecting and analyzing data to track a system's operational health and efficiency, ensuring it meets set standards.

Performance Monitoring

B2B Data Platform

Learn about B2B data platform, including key benefits of B2B data platforms, choosing the right B2B data platform, challenges in implementing B2B data platforms.

B2B Data Platform

Functional Testing

Functional testing verifies that software performs its intended functions as specified in the requirements, ensuring it works as users expect.

Functional Testing

Contact Data

Contact data is the set of details, like names, emails, and phone numbers, used to get in touch with a person or business for outreach.

Contact Data

Sales Methodology

A sales methodology is the framework that guides how your sales team approaches the entire sales process, from prospecting to closing deals.

Sales Methodology

Content Management System

A Content Management System (CMS) is software for creating, managing, and modifying website content without needing specialized technical skills.

Content Management System

Bad Leads

Learn about bad leads, including identifying bad leads, warning signs of bad leads, impact of bad leads on sales, & strategies to minimize bad leads.

Bad Leads

Product Champion

A product champion is an internal evangelist who drives a product's adoption and success by ensuring it solves real problems for their team.

Product Champion

Sales Pipeline Velocity Formula

The sales pipeline velocity formula is a key metric that measures how quickly deals move through your pipeline and turn into revenue.

Sales Pipeline Velocity Formula

Browser Compatibility

Learn about browser compatibility, including understanding the importance, common challenges, best practices, & tools for testing.

Browser Compatibility

CPM

CPM, or Cost Per Mille, is a key advertising metric. It's the cost an advertiser pays for one thousand views or impressions of a single ad.

CPM

Challenger Sales

The Challenger Sales model is a methodology where reps teach prospects, tailor their pitch, and take control of the sales conversation.

Challenger Sales

Sales Performance Management (SPM)

Sales Performance Management (SPM) is a suite of tools and processes that help businesses monitor, analyze, and boost sales team performance.

Sales Performance Management (SPM)

Follow-up

A follow-up is a communication sent after an initial interaction to continue the conversation, provide more value, or prompt a response.

Follow-up

Geo-Fencing

Geo-fencing creates a virtual boundary around a real-world location. It triggers actions on a device when it enters or exits this area.

Geo-Fencing

Buying Committee

A buying committee is a group of stakeholders within an organization who are jointly responsible for making major purchasing decisions.

Buying Committee

Buying Intent

Buying intent is the collection of online cues and behaviors that signal a prospect is actively researching and moving toward a purchase decision.

Buying Intent

Purchase Buying Stage

The purchase stage is when a buyer has decided on a solution and is ready to buy. They're comparing vendors to make a final choice.

Purchase Buying Stage

Demographic Segmentation in Marketing

Demographic segmentation divides a market into groups based on traits like age, gender, and income, allowing for more targeted marketing efforts.

Demographic Segmentation in Marketing

Inventory Management

Inventory management is the process of ordering, storing, and using a company's inventory, from raw materials to finished goods.

Inventory Management

Pain Point

A pain point is a specific, recurring problem your target customers face, causing them frustration, inefficiency, or added costs.

Pain Point

Sales Territory

A sales territory is a specific group of customers or a geographic area that a salesperson or sales team is responsible for managing.

Sales Territory

Marketo

Marketo is a marketing automation platform used by B2B marketers to manage lead generation, nurturing, email marketing, and analytics.

Marketo

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to their organization, motivating them to contribute to the company's success.

Employee Engagement

Sales Operations Analytics

Sales operations analytics is the practice of analyzing sales data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire sales process.

Sales Operations Analytics

MOFU

MOFU, or Middle of the Funnel, is the crucial evaluation stage in the buyer's journey where leads compare solutions to their known problem.

MOFU

Market Intelligence

Market intelligence is the process of collecting and analyzing data about your target market, competitors, and industry to guide business strategy.

Market Intelligence

Logo Retention

Logo retention is a key B2B metric that measures a company's ability to retain its customers, or 'logos,' over a specific period.

Logo Retention

Email Deliverability

Email deliverability is the ability for your emails to successfully land in your recipients' inboxes instead of their spam folders.

Email Deliverability

Customer Centricity

Customer centricity is a business approach that puts the customer at the heart of every decision, aiming to build loyalty and long-term value.

Customer Centricity

Channel Partner

A channel partner is a company that works with a manufacturer or producer to market and sell their products, software, or services to customers.

Channel Partner

User Interaction

User interaction is any action a user takes within a digital interface, like clicking a button, scrolling a page, or filling out a form.

User Interaction

B2B Data Enrichment

Learn about B2B data enrichment, including benefits of B2B data enrichment, implementing B2B data enrichment strategies, B2B data enrichment vs. data cleaning.

B2B Data Enrichment

Lead Enrichment

Lead enrichment adds third-party data to your raw lead lists, creating fuller prospect profiles for more effective and personalized outreach.

Lead Enrichment

Data-Driven Lead Generation

Data-driven lead generation is the process of using data insights to identify, attract, and convert high-quality leads into customers.

Data-Driven Lead Generation

Regression Analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical method for estimating the relationships between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables.

Regression Analysis

Load Testing

Load testing is a type of performance testing that determines how a system behaves under both normal and anticipated peak load conditions.

Load Testing

Sales Stack

A sales stack is the suite of tech tools—from CRMs to prospecting software—that sales reps use to close deals faster and more efficiently.

Sales Stack

Lead Scoring Models

Lead scoring models rank prospects by assigning points for their behaviors and demographics, helping sales teams prioritize their outreach.

Lead Scoring Models

MEDDICC

MEDDICC is a sales qualification framework for complex B2B deals. It helps reps identify and validate key aspects of an opportunity to close more effectively.

MEDDICC

Intent leads

Intent leads are prospects who show buying signals through their online actions, indicating they're actively looking to make a purchase.

Intent leads

Persona Map

A persona map visually outlines a target customer, detailing their goals, behaviors, and pain points to help your team build genuine empathy.

Persona Map

Sales and Marketing Analytics

Sales and marketing analytics involves measuring and analyzing performance data to maximize effectiveness and optimize return on investment (ROI).

Sales and Marketing Analytics

Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on Investment (ROI) is a key performance metric that measures the profitability of an investment relative to its initial cost.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Sales Pipeline Reporting

Sales pipeline reporting is the process of analyzing sales data to track progress, identify bottlenecks, and forecast future revenue.

Sales Pipeline Reporting

Closed Question

A closed question is a type of query that elicits a simple, often one-word answer like 'yes' or 'no,' or a specific, factual response.

Closed Question

Application Programming Interface Security

API security is the practice of protecting application programming interfaces from attacks, preventing data breaches and unauthorized access.

Application Programming Interface Security

Value-Added Reseller

A Value-Added Reseller (VAR) is a company that adds features or services to an existing product, then resells it as an integrated solution.

Value-Added Reseller

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Competitive intelligence (CI) is the ethical gathering and analysis of market data to inform strategic business decisions and gain an advantage.

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Yield Management

Yield management is a dynamic pricing strategy that adjusts prices based on demand to maximize revenue from a fixed, perishable inventory.

Yield Management

Marketing Play

A marketing play is a repeatable tactic used to achieve a specific marketing goal, like generating leads or driving engagement.

Marketing Play

Webhooks

Webhooks are automated messages sent by an app when a specific event occurs. They push real-time data to another app's unique URL.

Webhooks

Network Monitoring

Network monitoring is the continuous process of tracking a computer network's performance and health to detect and resolve issues proactively.

Network Monitoring

GTM

A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is an action plan that outlines how a company will reach target customers and achieve a competitive advantage.

GTM

Brand Awareness

Learn about brand awareness, including understanding its importance, building an effective strategy, key metrics to track, & examples in the real world.

Brand Awareness

B2B Marketing Analytics

Learn about B2B marketing analytics, including key components of B2B marketing analytics, & getting started with B2B marketing analytics.

B2B Marketing Analytics

Intent Data

Intent data tracks a user's online behavior—like searches and site visits—to identify signals that they are ready to make a purchase.

Intent Data

Sales Playbook

A sales playbook is a guide that outlines your sales process, best practices, and tools to help reps sell more efficiently and consistently.

Sales Playbook

Sales Enablement Content

Sales enablement content refers to the materials and tools that empower your sales team to engage prospects and close deals more efficiently.

Sales Enablement Content

Buyer Intent

Learn about buyer intent, including understanding buyer intent signals, strategies to capture buyer intent, & buyer intent vs. customer interest.

Buyer Intent

Site Retargeting

Site retargeting is a marketing strategy that shows ads to people who have previously visited your website but left without converting.

Site Retargeting

Value Chain

A value chain is the series of business activities required to create and deliver a product or service, from conception to the final customer.

Value Chain

Time on Site

Time on site, or session duration, is a key web metric that tracks the total time a visitor spends on your website during a single visit.

Time on Site

Average Customer Life

Average Customer Life is the average time someone remains a customer. It's a key metric for predicting revenue and measuring customer loyalty.

Average Customer Life