Introduction to business to consumer (B2C)
Business to Consumer or B2C is a business model where businesses provide services directly to the consumer, without the interference of any intermediaries. This model is especially popular in e-commerce, and became the gateway where local businesses could thrive by putting up a storefront of their own for customers to choose and make purchases from.
Understanding Business to Consumer (B2C)
Business to Consumer business model is significantly different from Business to Business model. The volume of goods sold is lesser than B2B but it is often open to a wide audience. B2C model businesses thrive by maintaining a steady stream of sales through their trade windows. Examples of B2C include online shopping outlets, the onset of which came about during the dotcom boom in the 1990s with the internet, mall shopping and eating out at restaurants etc.
When times and the economy is tough, B2C businesses often face the brunt of it. The supply-delivery chain gets hampered due to lack of funds by the business or due to the lack of demand by the consumers. Without adequate marketing, and without a particular target market to advertise these products to, B2C may face the brunt of it, like many dotcoms in the 1990s did and weren’t able to survive the shakeout of the dotcom business.
Highlights of Business to Consumer (B2C)
B2C businesses and B2B businesses couldn’t be more different, yet many businesses combine both the model appropriately and offer services or orders in bulk to their customers and other suppliers, respectively.
B2C business models need extensive and elaborate marketing campaigns to elicit the response in consumers, while also catering to propagating about the value of the product. By finding the right target audience, B2C businesses will be able to maintain their sales.
B2C businesses take a variety of forms in the modern era, digital and otherwise. Netflix, Hulu and other streaming services are fee-based subscription B2C models, while direct selling or via through online intermediaries are also very common.
