B2B & B2C ~ What do they really mean?

When Jessica was looking to market her line of flannel baby diapers, and to find potential buyers and customers, she was astounded by the net lingo thrown around.

I was familiar with all the internet terms around, but I stumbled when I kept coming across B2B and B2C. The "2" was clear, just not the rest," she says. And a further net search just revealed more B2B and B2C sites without clearing defining what the term meant.

B2B stands for Business to Business, while B2C stands for Business to Consumer. The terms are used on the internet to define the type of business.

For instance, if Jessica decided she wanted to sell her diapers exclusively to resellers, such as both traditional retail baby stores and online baby stores, she would be considered B2B, or business to business. She is seeking out other businesses as customers, businesses that would then sell her products to consumers.

But if she decided to sell her diapers directly to moms through her website, or through online auctions, she would be considered B2C, or business to consumer.

Another way to look at it is if Jessica's diaper business was a retail business or a wholesale business, which traditionally refers to a bricks and mortar business, but terms that most people are familiar with. B2B is a wholesale business, while B2C is a retail business.

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