B2C and B2B Consumer Decision-Making Process: A Comparative Analysis

This assignment delves into the intricacies of consumer decision-making processes in both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) contexts. It explores the key differences and similarities between these two approaches, highlighting the impact of customer perception, personality, and self-motivation on purchasing decisions. The assignment also examines the strengths and weaknesses of cognitive and behavioral approaches to consumer learning, emphasizing the influence of cultural factors and relevant factors on consumer behavior. Furthermore, it investigates how organizations leverage an understanding of buyer behavior to influence decision-making processes in both B2C and B2B environments. The paper concludes by evaluating the use of digital audience research developments in understanding and influencing consumer behavior.

B2C and B2B Consumer Decision-Making
Process
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Comparison between B2C and B2B decision making process........................................................3
Approaches and methods of Market research for considering B2C and B2B decision making
process.............................................................................................................................................4
Impact of customer perception, personality and self-motivation on decision making process.......5
Evaluation of Cognitive and behavioural approaches to consumer learning..................................6
Impact of culture and relevant factors over consumer behaviour....................................................7
How organizations use an understanding of buyer behaviour to influence B2C and B2B decision-
making process................................................................................................................................8
Evaluation of use of digital audience research developments to influence and understand
consumer behaviour.........................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Reference.......................................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
The following assignment is based on the consumer decision-making process in the business-to-
business and business-to-consumer decision-making process. The business-to business refers to a
concept, which involves selling of goods and services for use in manufacturing of products or for
common use of products in business operations and for resale to wholesalers or retailers, from
one business organization to another business organization. B2C is an acronym of business-to-
consumer that is concerned with activities involving sale of goods and services directly to the
end-consumers. The task introduces comparison between business-to-business and business-to-
consumer decision-making procedure. The task introduces impact of customer perception on the
decision-making. There are various approaches as well as methods of considering the decision
making process in B2B and B2C contexts. There are various strengths and weaknesses of
behavioural and cognitive approaches to wards consumer learning. There has been an elucidation
of how culture and other factors influence consumer behaviour. The assignment introduces about
the way the organizations use an understanding of buyer behaviour to affect the decision making
of the B2B and B2C contexts. The task also acknowledges about the research developments of
digital audience.
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Comparison between B2C and B2B decision making process
The business-to business and business-to-consumer are two different concepts having different
roles though having some similarities in the consumer decision-making process.
B2B is an acronym of business-to-business. Business-to business is defined as an activity that
subsists offline as well as online. The business-to business refers to a concept, which involves
selling of goods and services for use in manufacturing of products or for common use of
products in business operations and for resale to wholesalers or retailers, from one business
organization to another business organization (Acquisti et al., 2015).
B2C is an acronym of business-to-consumer that is concerned with activities involving sale of
goods and services directly to the end-consumers. This has been used for description of online
assortments. Business-to-consumer is referred to an activity that subsists offline as well as
online.
There are several differences and similarities in decision-making process of consumers in
business-to-business and business-to-consumer. They are as follows:
Purchase Decision
The difference occurs in case when both business organizations and consumers make a
judgement to purchase goods and services. Decision committee involving a long process for
purchase is taken in case of business makes the decision. The consumers take buying decision
after consulting with relatives and friends, which is a short process.
Indentifying Need
The procedure initiates with identifying need of consumers in both cases, of business-to-business
and business-to-consumer. However, there is more orientation of identifying customers need in
business-to-consumer since the products are sold to the end customers according to this concept
(Anderson, 2016.).
E-commerce
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The business-to business and business-to-consumer are two various varieties of electronic
commerce. The business-to-consumer e-commerce refers to a procedure that involves selling of
goods and services unswervingly to the end consumers for use by a website. Whereas, business-
to business-to-business is a form of electronic trade that follows the procedure of selling of
goods and services at a lower cost to business consumers such as wholesalers, retailers, etc by a
website.
Business System
In case of business-to-consumer, the business system is easy as compared to that in case of
business-to-business. For purchasing a product or service, the end consumer simply needs to
place its address data and select on of the offered delivery options on the website. Whereas, in
case of business-to-business, the business system should be able to allow orders in various
formats namely electronic orders, emails and many more.
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Approaches and methods of Market research for considering B2C and B2B decision
making process
There are several methods and approaches of market research for considering business-to-
business and business-to-consumer. They are as follows:
Several categories of research are involved in B2B and B2C decision-making process.
In the B2C process, only a specific methodological approach is used. However, in case of B2B
process different methodological approaches are followed.
B2B often addresses a premeditated business need in comparison to the B2C process.
There decision-making process is more complicated in the B2B than in Business-to-consumer
process. In business-to-consumer, the decision making process is done from a single approach,
the decision making process in Business-to business is done from diverse angles. Different
parties are involved in the decision making process of B2B.
The Pareto principle factors more in research in business-to business than that of business-to-
consumer.
The size of sample is slighter in business-to-business concept than that of B2C.
Quantitative research
The quantitative research used to be conducted by B2B and B2C marketers refers to the research,
which collects statistical data such as figures of turnover and questionnaire over mobile phones
or through online communication, financial trends, sales quantum of products of industry so that
factors affecting consumers can be identified (Smith et al.,2018).
Qualitative research
The qualitative research is a type of research that does not involve numerical data. The following
research is concerned with the collection of attitudes and views of the participants involved in
the research. In qualitative research the researcher, takes information regarding the views of
rivals towards their goods consumer service practices, views of customers regarding their
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satisfaction level from the goods and services marketed by the B2Band B2C marketers (Clark et
al., 2016).
Exploratory research
This is a type of research used B2B and B2C and that involve clarification of the problem
statement and conducting additional research to verify the proposition.
Descriptive research
This research helps to assist the B2B and B2C marketers to portray and solve the marketing
problem.
Causal research
This type of research assists the B2B and B2C marketers to discover a definite aspect that cause
an impact in the place of market.
There are different sources of data help in market research:
Secondary data
The secondary data refers to the data that has already been collected previously for other reasons
and not exclusively for which the research is being executed. The secondary data includes data
through internet, present data of market research, and figures of respective lists of stock,
database, and data through agencies.
Primary data
The primary data is defined as the data that has been composed by B2B and Business-to-
consumer currently by conducting interviews, surveys, direct observations, etc. This helps in
healthy decision making in gaining an insight of consumer behaviour of B2B and B2C contexts.
Data Analysis
After collecting all the data from universal sources, the B2B and B2C marketers analyse and
interpret the data, compare it with those of its rivals for decision-making.
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These approaches can be used for identification of the tastes and preferences of customers,
recognizing their interests, evaluation of the opportunities for sales growth as well as
improvement of service provided to consumers.
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Impact of customer perception, personality and self-motivation on decision making process
There are several factors that influence the decision making process of B2B and B2C, which are
as follows:
Customer perception
The perception of consumers acts as one of the crucial factors that affect the decision making
process in business-to-business and business-to-consumer. The mindset of the customers varies
from one product to another that is sold through B2B and B2C. For example, if a customer is
attached to a particular good there will be an increase in the demand for the product. It refers to a
procedure through which consumer makes sense of the data he or she collects. There are
different perception of different customers on same thing. This kind of distortion can affect
decision-making process.
Personality
The consumers buy goods and services according to their personality. The personality factors
include age, economic situation, and many more. If they are slim figured they, will buy non XL
dresses, etc. This affects the decision-making in B2B and B2C. Hence, the consumers should
form decisions for purchasing goods keeping in view about their personality.
Self- motivation
This involves the analysis of Maslow’s Theory. Self-motivation is also a crucial factor that
affects the decision making process in business-to-business and business-to-consumer concepts.
For increased profitability, these buying habits of customers are needed to be analysed by
marketers of B2B and B2C. Different consumers have varied motivations when they own a
product. The selection criteria of customers differ from one product to another. For example,
some customers buy foods in a hotel to gratify their hunger and some people buy food just to
avail the facilities of the hotel.
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Evaluation of Cognitive and behavioural approaches to consumer learning
Cognitive approach and Behavioural approach are the important theories for consumer learning.
Behavioural approach
Behavioural theory does not involve so many processes to analyse the consumer learning. The
behavioural approach concentrates on the output and input. It involves the product that has been
marketed as an input or stimuli and the behaviour of the customers as the output or response. The
behavioural approach includes two main theories such as Instrumental theory and Classical
theory. The classical theory implies that when the two inputs are connected together to give a
particular output. Even if one input is absent, another can provide same result. The instrumental
theory involves that one input could produce better result (Romiszowski, 2016).
Strengths
 The behavioural approach uses technical techniques of research since the experiments are
purposeful, computable and discernible. For example, Bandura’s bobo doll study of
aggression
 It has effectively applied on the operant and classical conditioning to its approaches. It is
very useful for the treatment of phobias
Weakness
 Since the behavioural approach uses the concept of animals in its experiments, it has been
considered as an ethical issue. For example, Pavlov’s dogs.
 This approach concentrates very much on the nurture part of nurture debate. It implies
that unanimous behavioural have been learned but the cognitive elements are verified to
influence behaviour
Cognitive Approach
The cognitive approach provides a detailed concept on the process of the information processing
and way customers accumulate, preserve as well as recover information. This theory describes
that learning occurs as an effect of customer thinking.
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Strengths
 This approach possesses a lot of practical applications
 The cognitive approach relies primarily on the experiments as prime research method
Weakness
 The cognitive approach is extremely dependent on assumption
 The cognitive approach refers to cognitive processes that cannot be unswervingly
scrutinized
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Impact of culture and relevant factors over consumer behaviour
There impact of cultural factors and other factors over consumer behaviour are as follows:
Cultural factors
Culture involves thoughts, traditions, lifestyle, attitudes, tastes, preferences, customs, beliefs and
habits of the consumers’ together results consumer behaviour. Some foreign traders assume that
the consumers use me type of goods and avail same type of services but this is not the truth since
every customers possess different tastes and preferences. These factors are required to be
interpreted in B2B and B2C in order to analyse the behaviour in market segmentation and market
their goods according to that. For instance, four, and four times are considered as unfortunate in
Japan since majority of the commodities are traded in five leads. This has a great impact on the
B2B and B2C marketing. Hence, in order to trade in foreign markets the cultural factors are
needed to be understood (Newman, 2017).
Personal factors
Every consumer prefers goods according to its age, economic situation and lifestyle. The
products are also purchased as per the factors of the consumers. These personal factors are
needed to be understood by the B2B and B2C marketers in order to analyse consumer behaviour
and attract those towards their goods and services (Hamari et al.,2016).
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How organizations use an understanding of buyer behaviour to influence B2C and B2B
decision-making process
The small organizations address the factors that affect the buying behaviour of the consumers
and their decision-making such as the personal factors, social factors, and cultural factors in
order to perform towards the innovation of their product accordingly so that organizations can
attract the targeted consumers accordingly. Every consumer prefers goods according to its age,
economic situation and lifestyle. The products are also purchased as per the factors of the
consumers. These personal factors are needed to be understood by the B2B and B2C marketers
in order to analyse consumer behaviour and attract those towards their goods and services.
Culture involves thoughts, traditions, lifestyle, attitudes, tastes, preferences, customs, beliefs and
habits of the consumers’ together results consumer behaviour. Some foreign traders assume that
the consumers use me type of goods and avail same type of services but this is not the truth since
every customers possess different tastes and preferences. These factors are required to be
interpreted in B2B and B2C in order to analyse the behaviour in market segmentation and market
their goods according to that. They can influence the decision making process of Business- to-
business and business- to- consumers. For example, if the customers are health conscious, the
organizations should promote more healthy food in order to attract them towards their product.
In order to influence the consumer decision-making process in both B2B and B2C contexts, the
organizations need to focus on the factors and fulfil the demands of consumers (Edel, 2017).
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Evaluation of use of digital audience research developments to influence and understand
consumer behaviour
The digital audience refer to those people who are influenced by the online promotion of goods
and services by the organizations. Online promotion of the goods and services can be done over
company’s official websites, emails, and social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and many more. The advertisements of innovative products have a great influence on
the consumers or digital audience. These kinds of developments help the organizations to attract
the customers by providing goods and services keeping in view of their tastes and preferences.
This influences the customer buying decisions and increases the sales volume and customer
satisfaction (Cortez et al.,2017).
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Conclusion
The assignment concludes that the business-to business and business-to-consumer are two
different concepts having different roles though having some similarities in the consumer
decision-making process. There are several methods and approaches of market research for
considering business-to-business and business-to-consumer. The behavioural theory does not
involve so many processes to analyse the consumer learning. The behavioural approach
concentrates on the output and input. The behavioural approach uses technical techniques of
research since the experiments are purposeful, computable and discernible. For example,
Bandura’s bobo doll study of aggression. The cognitive approach is extremely dependent on
assumption. The cognitive approach refers to cognitive processes that cannot be unswervingly
scrutinized Culture involves thoughts, traditions, lifestyle, attitudes, tastes, preferences, customs,
beliefs and habits of the consumers’ together results consumer behaviour. These factors are
required to be interpreted in B2B and B2C in order to analyse the behaviour in market
segmentation and market their goods according to that. Every consumer prefers goods according
to its age, economic situation and lifestyle. The products are also purchased as per the factors of
the consumers. The advertisements of innovative products have a great influence on the
consumers or digital audience. These kinds of developments help the organizations to attract the
customers by providing goods and services keeping in view of their tastes and preferences.
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Reference
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Food Choices of Alaska Natives Living With Chronic Diseases in the Anchorage Metropolitan
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for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. John Wiley & Sons.
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prospective analysis. Industrial Marketing Management, 66, pp.90-102.
Edel, A., 2017. The theory of business enterprise. Routledge.
Hamari, J., Sjöklint, M. and Ukkonen, A., 2016. The sharing economy: Why people participate
in collaborative consumption. Journal of the Association for Information Science and
Technology, 67(9), pp.2047-2059.
Newman, T.P., 2017. Tracking the release of IPCC AR5 on Twitter: Users, comments, and
sources following the release of the Working Group I Summary for Policymakers. Public
Understanding of Science, 26(7), pp.815-825.
Romiszowski, A.J., 2016. Designing instructional systems: Decision making in course planning
and curriculum design. Routledge.
Smith, S., Ferguson, C.J. and Beaver, K.M., 2018. Learning to blast a way into crime, or just
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