week 4: EOC consumer VS business to business

It may seem that business to business marketing may seem the same as business to consumer marketing, but in reality they are two separate entities. “Business to business marketing requires. It requires a deep-down understanding of customer needs and customer-driven marketing strategies that create superior customer value. But that’s about where the similarities end.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation pg 158). Companies like GE are the supplier like the a company that sells food to a restaurant and the restaurant supplies the consumer. Now with companies that are business to business companies only sell in bulk. This makes for a more reliable customer base because with other businesses that are consumer based have the chances of the consumer not buying their project and sales may drop. “An average consumer buying a refrigerator might do a little online research and then pop out to the local Best Buy to compare models before buying one. In contrast, buying a batch of jet engines involves a tortuously long buying process, dozens or even hundreds of decision makers from all levels of the buying organization, and layer upon layer of subtle and not-so-subtle buying influences.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation pg 158). But what is the better of the two? It’s hard to tell restaurants have to get there food from somewhere unless they have a slaughter house in the back and rail road companies don’t make their own trains so there for they go to the most reliable companies that makes trains. Like GE for example one would never know that most of their revenue comes from industrial consumers. “Most of GE’s business comes not from final consumers but from commercial and industrial customers across a wide range of industries. Beyond light bulbs and electronics, GE sells everything from medical imaging technologies, water processing systems, and security solutions to power generation equipment, aircraft engines, and diesel locomotives.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation pg 158).  So in the end there is no fight between consumer and business to business marketing. You can say they are best friends because we the consumers buy the products on business makes and that business buys the best from another business to make us happy.