Nothing is sadder than a gorgeous, well-designed website with outstanding content targeting the wrong audience. It makes the entire effort utterly pointless. Regardless of how gorgeous your design is, if you made it to cater to the needs of the wrong type of audience, it won’t bring you any results. One of the biggest mistakes new owners make is to create a B2B website for a B2C audience or vice versa. For your content to work and reach its massive potential, you need to target your audience properly. You must know who you will talk to, their demeanor, and how you should address them.

Finding your tightly-niched audience is anything but easy. You must invest time, effort, and resources in researching your audience’s specifics and customer behavior. However, before you get there, you need to look at the bigger picture. You must decide whether you will communicate with other businesses or end clients. This decision entirely depends on your product, service, and business model. Your business model will determine your website’s design and content. Unsurprisingly, content dedicated toward businesses is not as persuasive when used on end customers. Vise Versa, businesses won’t engage in the same numbers if you have built your website with end-customers in mind. But before we get to how the designs differ, let’s determine your business model.

What’s the B2B business model

At the heart of the Business-to-business (B2B) model are commercial transactions conducted between two companies. In simple terms, this means your company will sell its products or services to another company. These types of businesses can be found in almost every industry, as most often, B2C companies need suppliers and other vendors to conduct their business. For example, imagine you produce vital components for making microscopes. Your primary clients will be companies that make microscopes or large laboratories that need the component to fix their own microscopes.

Of course, you may occasionally get an end-customer looking for that particular component, but that’s not your target audience. With such a tight niche, you need to target the audience that can bring you the most benefits. Thus, you need to create a B2B website. The same goes for any type of machinery that’s used in production. Sure, anyone can look for a hydraulic bending machine, but those who can order in bulk are manufacturers rather than amateur DIY enthusiasts.

Here, we need to address the elephant in the room. If you are creating a website for your freelance services, in most cases, you need to make it with a B2B look. It does have some specifics for being a freelance website. Still, the design and content should generally follow the B2B model.

Also, Some large companies sell their products to end customers and businesses alike. Such are high-tech companies like Intel, HP, Dell, and others. In most cases, these companies have two separate divisions that operate independently, with their own budget and often with their own websites. If you have such a product and can capitalize relatively equally from end customers and businesses, building two separate websites, even if one is a subdomain like business.businessname.com, would be best.

What’s the B2C business model

As you can imagine, the business-to-client model is entirely dedicated toward the end customers. This means you are offering a product or service that is already good enough for end customers to use. The main goal of the business is to cater to the needs, preferences, and behaviors of individuals rather than businesses. This is the most common type of business as it is the driving force behind the global economy. Most commonly, e-commerce websites are dedicated to end customers.

Usually, the B2C business model has a lot more competition and enjoys much more sales. However, the driving force behind each purchase is vastly different, which makes B2C communication a true art form.

Predominantly, the B2C model is related to higher-volume sales but of much lower-value products. Prices are rarely negotiable, but discounts and coupons often incentivize individuals to convert into customers.

The B2C business model has much more to do with catering to the customer’s emotions than the product’s capabilities. Still, the B2C model can be highly profitable, as some of the wealthiest people, like Bernard Arnaut and Jeff Bezos, gained billions precisely with B2C business models.

What are the differences between the two models?

As you can imagine, the two models have some crucial differences. Though we can probably list 50, 7 can be considered key differences. They will play a vital role in building your website and narrative.

The Type of Buyer

While we already established that B2B sales to businesses and B2C operates with end-customers, we can’t pretend that, in the end, we are not dealing with people. However, those we communicate with have vastly different objectives and motivations. B2B customers are often represented by mid- or high-level managers with experience and are highly knowledgeable about your product or service. They know precisely what they are looking for, and they make decisions without emotional attachments to the product.

B2C customers, on the other hand, often do not know the product. What they have is a problem, and they seek a solution. If your product or service can solve their problem at a reasonable price, they are likely to become your customers. Naturally, this is extremely oversimplified, but the main idea is that the types of people you are communicating with are vastly different.

Audience range

As we mentioned earlier, deciding whether you will be dealing with customers or businesses is just the first step. Unfortunately, these steps will open significantly different doors to finding a niche audience.

Finding a niche is important as it helps you filter your messaging and make it much more personalized. Moreover, it will significantly help you with designing your website. But more importantly, it will help you upgrade your product to cater better to your customers’ needs.

Finding a niche when you are operating a B2B website is a bit more complicated. You must target needs rather than specific behavior characteristics.

Moreover, when you have a B2B business, you must choose your audience based on your production capabilities. For example, if you run a small textile operation with limited production capabilities, you can’t target Walmart, Target, New Yorker, or similar brands. Instead, you need to find smaller boutique establishments or even online stores.

With B2C, finding a niche is much easier. You can target customers based on their gender, age, hobbies, needs, professions, education level, and anything in between. For example, if you are a bike manufacturer, you must consider the type of bikes you are making. Are they for men, women, or children for road, mountain biking, or commuting? Are you targeting avid cyclists or just casual riders? There are many aspects to consider, and you can target a very narrow niche of people.

Making decisions

The decision-making process is another aspect that is vastly different depending on your business type. Businesses rarely make emotional decisions. They follow strict plans and budgets and don’t purchase products that they won’t transform into profits later on. This means that businesses will strive to buy only as much as they need, but at a discount price, so they can maximize their profit.

Customers, on the other hand, often buy emotions rather than benefits. Their driving force is vastly different. Customers can buy products to feel better, improve their health and fitness, or boost their ego. The latter is most commonly known as status purchases, and those are usually luxury products or services. In a sense, most commonly, the driving force behind a purchase is one of the seven deadly sins – pride, gluttony, envy, sloth, lust, greed, or wrath. This driving force is impossible when it comes to businesses, as the managers do not operate under their own will but rather under the corporate interests.

Average order price

Naturally, when a business buys products or services, they do it in bulk. This drives the order prices significantly higher. Naturally, there are variations from product to product, but in general, businesses will get a lower price per unit but order huge quantities, making the deal much more beneficial for the vendor.

On the other hand, end-customers will pay more for a single unit but will order much less in quantity. For example, if you are making T-shirts with a specific print, you can sell one shirt for 20 dollars to a customer and get 20 dollars. Or you can sell 1000 shirts for 18,000 dollars to a retailer. This way, despite getting a 10% less profit per unit, you will earn much more money in a single deal.

So, when choosing the B2B or B2C business model you prefer, you need to consider how you will ensure getting the right amount of orders to keep your treasury full. This can be done with minimum order quantities, flexible pricing, or discounts on higher quantities.

Marketing strategies

B2B and B2C companies have vastly different marketing strategies. They have different messaging, different channels of communication, and different tactics. For example, while a B2C customer can be won by selling emotions, a B2B buyer will never fall for that. Mostly because they are following a plan and are not swayed by their personal feelings.

Moreover, B2C companies target their audience where they dwell. In the past decade, this has been predominantly social media platforms. So, B2C companies must find the right social media and allocate enough budget to create a message that will stand out from the rest.

As you can imagine, business owners and managers won’t look for solutions to their business problems in their Facebook feeds. B2B communication goes through entirely different channels, and more often than not, the sales process requires much more effort than simply posting an ad on TikTok.

Relationships building

Every business goal should be to create a relationship with its customers, regardless of whether they are end customers or other businesses. However, the B2B and B2C models strive for entirely different relationships. B2B businesses should build long-term relationships with their business customers. That’s why, most often, these clients are called partners, not customers. This emphasizes collaboration, mutual growth, and shared success. Of course, to achieve such long-term partnerships, you need to be trustworthy. B2C relationships are much more transactional. They are predominantly short-termed and should strive to achieve emotional rather than beneficial connection. The main goal is to gain brand loyalty, encouraging the customer to repeat their experience.

In simple terms, as a B2B business, you are trying to build a partnership or a network of partners, while as a B2C business, you strive to build a fandom.

Customer Journey

Regarding your website, however, the most important difference between the two models is the customer journey. The B2B customer’s journey starts with a specific business need, challenge, or opportunity. The B2C customer journey begins with a personal desire, a need, or a problem. Though they may sound similar, the driving force behind them is vastly different. The business customers have a specific strategic goal, while the end customers are often driven by emotions and aspirations.

The B2B journey is often much longer. Often, the decision-making involves several shareholders. Thus, you need to cater to several needs and preferences at the same time. Often, the journey requires a demonstration and a lot of formal requests and proposals. But most importantly, the B2B customers are well aware of their needs and do their research.

The B2C customer journey is typically much shorter. The decision can be spontaneous and with minimal research. The journey’s end typically doesn’t involve a presentation, and the relevant information is given in short or persuasive content.

Knowing these differences, we can now discuss the main differences between a B2B and a B2C website.

What are the main differences between a B2B and a B2C website?

As the first point of contact, your website should cater to the needs of its audience. As it has become evident, B2B and B2C customers have different needs, motivations, and requirements. So, naturally, your website should address these differences. There are 13 main differences that you need to take into account when creating your website.

The Product Page

The product page is the one the customer first ends up on, especially when it’s your ad’s landing page.

Traditionally, B2B sales tactics were related to a lot of handholding and guiding. Recently, especially during and after the pandemic, a notable shift occurred. Today, B2B websites try to give the most essential and tailored information to potential business customers. This means that your product page must have in-depth product videos, comprehensive guides, many accompanying and explanatory blog posts, and fast and uninterrupted access to sales reps and support.

End-customers usually buy products on a whim and rarely do their decision depend on another party. Thus, your B2C website should cater to their impulsive behavior and enforce their hype. Naturally, a B2C website needs clear and high-resolution images, social proof in the form of reviews and ratings, the product’s features and highlights, and some flashy signs like “Discount,” “Best Seller,” etc.

The Homepage

Though not the first page the customers land on, the homepage gives your website authority and inspires trust. Customers will often check your homepage to see if you are a genuine vendor and if you have other products.

The B2B homepages strive to be as minimalistic as possible. There shouldn’t be any clutter or fluff. Remember, you are not trying to convey emotion, just information. Thus, the design is straightforward, and the content is highly informative. The Hero section should feature the main products or services. Adding a quick purchase option at the very top is essential, as customers who are already familiar with the product won’t have to go through the entire journey.

The B2C homepage should be more flashy. It should grab the attention, be it through its images, special offers, discounts, or sales. It should feature the most bought products or services and use more catchy clickbait headlines that convey positive emotions.

The Pricing page

Regardless of whether you are offering products or services, you need to share the price at some point. However, when you are operating a B2B website, it’s wise not to show your pricing upfront since pricing is often negotiable and customizable based on what the customer wants. You can create specialized pricing offers for users with an account on your website. However, when it comes to new customers, the best course of action is to add a “Request a Quote” CTA or refer them to a sales rep.

B2C pricing is much more straightforward. Usually, each product has an end price, but you can offer discounts, coupons, loyalty discounts, or special offers. Needless to say, you need to be transparent in formulating this price and keep it consistent.

The CTA

The Call-to-Action (CTA) usually drives the customer forward on their journey. At the end of the journey, there is usually a “Buy” button, but there is a difference depending on your target customers.

B2B CTAs are usually more straightforward. They often offer free demonstrations or transfer the lead to a sales team. There, the deal’s price, terms, and other features can be negotiated.

B2C CTAs are usually more creative and in tune with the overall mood of the website. For example, while “Become awesome” will work for B2C customers, for B2B, it would simply discourage the buyer from interacting.

The Checkout design

Usually, the last step in your website is the most important one. This is the place your customers will separate from their money, so it needs to be persuasive and authoritative.

If you have a B2B website, the checkout should include automated, pre-programmed checkout steps and some viable human assistance on demand. This is important, as there is usually a lot of money involved in such deals. Thus, the buyer, who uses company money, needs the human reassurance that they are doing the right thing and nothing will go wrong. Moreover, there should be options for delayed, partial, or credit payments. Most importantly, however, B2B websites should always have a one-click reordering system, enticing the partners to order again.

The B2C checkout page is much more straightforward. It should have the ability to add additional products. You can go a step further and advertise complementary products on your checkout page. Furthermore, the B2C checkout page should have a system to remind the user they have an abandoned cart. The more payment methods the checkout page has, the better. Still, make sure to at least have a debit and credit card option. Lastly, adding coupons or referral codes should also have a visible place on your checkout page.

Customer support

Customer support is essential for any business regardless of its target audience. Still, there are some nuances that differ depending on whether you are targeting businesses or customers.

As mentioned, the B2B sales practice involves much more holding hands. Thus, your support should be far more extensive. There should be such support throughout the entire checkout process. Moreover, the customer assistance should be highly knowledgeable about the customers’ business models and prepared to answer niche business FAQs. Finally, the after-sale customer support should be able to handle reorders and any concerns fast and flawlessly.

B2C customer support can be a bit more relaxed. In most cases, self-help support or a well-done FAQ section covers most of the questions. Still, the B2C customer support should be able to handle the main issues and be ready to respond 24/7. The post-sales support should be focused on returns, exchanges, and complaints. Still, with the rise of AI, adding a chatbot could limit the need for actual customer support for about 90% of all cases.

Is there a difference in your hosting needs?

Whether offering your products or services to end customers or businesses, you need a fast, secure, and stable website. This is where we can help you get in front of the competition. Our cloud-based web hosting allows for the lightning-fast loading speed of your website, 99.9% uptime, and state-of-the-art security for your data. Naturally, however, you must choose a plan that will work best for you. This is where there is a slight difference. If you are operating a B2B website, you don’t expect a massive influx in your traffic. However, having at least a VPS server would be wise, as its security is much more prominent than that of shared hosting. Nonetheless, you can start with a relatively inexpensive shared Web Warp, and as your business grows, you can upgrade to Web Voyager or Web Raider.

On the other hand, if you are a B2C customer, you should expect much higher traffic. Thus, the bare minimum is the Speed Reaper option. Once your business grows, you can go either for the Site Carrier option or even for the Low Orbit Dedicated server option. Check out our plans and see what will fit your needs best. Naturally, if you need some additional help, our support team is here to assist you. Just give them a call.