B2C

Business to consumer (B2C) is business or transactions conducted directly between a company and consumers who are the end-users of its products or services. The business-to-consumer as a business model differs significantly from the business-to-business model, which refers to commerce between two or more businesses. While most companies that sell directly to consumers can be referred to as B2C companies, the term became immensely popular during the dotcom boom of the late 1990s, when it was used mainly to refer to online retailers, as well as other companies that sold products and services to consumers through the internet.

Although numerous B2C companies fell victim to the subsequent dotcom bust as investor interest in the sector dwindled and venture capital funding dried up, B2C leaders such as Amazon.com and Priceline.com survived the shakeout and have since seen great success.

Business to consumer (B2C) is among the most popular and widely known of sales models. The idea of B2C was first utilized by Michael Adrich in 1979, which used television as the primary medium to reach out to consumers. Traditionally, B2C referred to mall shopping, eating out at restaurants, pay-per-view and infomercials. However, the rise of the internet created a whole new B2C business channel in the form of e-commerce or selling goods and services over the internet.

Businesses that rely on B2C sales must maintain good relations with their customers to ensure they come back. Unlike business to business (B2B), businesses that rely on B2C must make the consumer have an emotional response to your marketing. In B2B, marketing campaigns are geared to show value of the product or service.