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Differences between B2C and B2B buyer behaviour

Major differences in buyer behaviour exist between the B2B and B2C markets, and these 

must be accommodated in digital marketing communications. The main differences are:

1 

Market structure

2 

Nature of the buying unit

3 

Type of purchase

4 

Type of buying decision

5 

Communication differences.

One of the main differences between business-to-business and business-to-consumer is the 

number of buyers. As Kotler (1997) points out, in B2B there tend to be far fewer but larger 

buyers. This means that the existence of suppliers tends to be well known, so efforts to pro-

mote the website using methods such as banner advertising or listing in search engines are 

less important than for consumer brands.