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Many people have probably heard of the term B2B at some point, but most have never heard of similar terms like B2C, C2C, or C2B. So what are these terms exactly, and what do they mean? Essentially, these are all practices for which an exchange of goods and services happen. Each one of these models serves a different purpose and each one requires a different strategy.
B2B (Business to Business)
This model involves the transactions between two or more businesses. An example would be a retailer and a supplier. The supplier deals with the retail store who sells their product. A manufacturer like Sony, sells its products to a store like Target, so in turn Target can sell it to their customers. This type of relationship requires a longer process than a B2C interaction would, due to the numerous individuals that the offer has to be approved by, such as management, from all parties involved.
B2C (Business to Consumer)
When a business sells an item to a customer, that is Business to Consumer. The business is selling the goods or services directly to the consumer. Retailers and websites are an example of the B2C model. For instance, once Target receives the purchased merchandise from the manufacturer, they use their marketing efforts to sell it to the customer. This practice is not as complicated as the previous model because this deals with the end user, resulting in the culmination of the exchange.
C2C (Consumer to Consumer)
This is the business model where a consumer deals with another consumer. There are no businesses involved, rather the customers of those business are conducting the transactions. Auctions, classified ads in a newspaper, and sites like eBay and Craigslist are examples of consumer to consumer interactions. The internet has revolutionized consumer to consumer business with different websites becoming platforms for transaction of a wide variety of products and services.
C2B (Consumer to Business)
When the roles are reversed and it’s the consumer selling a product or service to a business, this would be the consumer to business model. Consumers bring a value to a business and that business purchases that value from them. Examples of this type of practice include photographers selling their stock images to a company. Social media has revolutionized this model with the rising success of social media personalities and the ease of access in which companies can pay them to advertise their products. Personalities are now being sponsored by companies to promote their products to their followers for compensation. Both parties end up benefiting from this model because the company sells products and the social media personality gets paid.
Fortress clients are mainly B2B. Our customers, however, vary between selling to other businesses or to consumers.