BUMAR301A Business to Business Marketing In Business to Business marketing (also known as B2B or industrial marketing), products and services are sold to other businesses rather than to the general public. The products may be as familiar as office supplies and coffee, or as complex as computer systems and aircraft. Businesses use these products and services as components of their own goods for sale, to support their operations, or to re-sell. Key players in the field include manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, farms, construction firms, service industries, the government, and non-profit organizations. The business to business market is larger than the consumer market, since a single demand in the consumer world creates a ripple effect within the supply chain. According to the Business Marketing Association, business to business marketers in the US spend about $85 billion a year promoting their goods and services. Some of the largest outlays are spent on trade shows and events, Internet and electronic media, magazine advertising, public relations, direct mail, and telemarketing. The traditional four P’s of marketing — Product, Price, Promotion, and Place – are used in business to business marketing, but the sector differs from consumer marketing in several key ways. B2B sales often involve a higher number of decision-makers in each purchase, but there is a significantly higher dollar-amount-per-purchase ratio. In other words, each sale is more complex, but often significantly more valuable. Much business-to-business marketing depends on well-established relationships, and some marketers argue that purchase decisions are motivated more by rational considerations than emotional factors, as in the consumer market.