Don’t Let B2B2C Fool Anyone—We All Know It Well

You don’t bat an eye when you hear B2B2C, but explaining the concept to others—perhaps your board whose support you need for a project—can be dicey. If you look online, you’ll find numerous articles explaining the B2B2C business model, some of which  make it sound mysterious and complex, like this one describing it as, “…a strategic approach within ecommerce that is distinguished by its intermediation between companies and end consumers.”

YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

While correct, this definition is needlessly complicated when you can simply provide an example that absolutely everyone is familiar with—Amazon. Here’s a simple, lucid breakdown you can share: Let’s say you buy your new Asics running shoes on Amazon. Asics is the first “B” in B2B2C, Amazon is the second “B,” and you with your brand-new shoes are the “C.” Now your board is getting it.

Here’s another: An example of B2B2C that all of us are familiar with are restaurant-delivery services. You want a pizza from your favorite pizza joint, Mellow Mushroom. You don’t, however, want to leave your house. You hop on your DoorDash app (the second “B”), pick your favorite toppings from Mellow Mushroom (the first “B”), and in an hour your pizza arrives at your door (“C”). Now your board is really understanding.

Speaking of your DoorDash app, you didn’t get that from DoorDash, did you? As in, you didn’t go to the DoorDash website and download their app. Of course not. You got the app the same way you get all of your apps, on the Apple App Store. Guess what that is another example of? You got it—B2B2C. Now your board members won’t bat an eye the next time they hear the term. Let’s not make it more obscure and complex than it needs to be. Everyone knows what B2B2C is, because they interact with it every day.

WHY THE SECOND B?

Just because your audience now understands B2B2C doesn’t mean they’ve bought in to the idea. But if you’ve described it using the examples mentioned above, it’s easy to explain why a business would want to squeeze another “B” in B2C. There are benefits for everyone involved.

• Faster Company Growth
  Asics already has many loyal customers, but let’s say you’re a new shoe brand. You don’t have anywhere close to the reach of Amazon, so why not let them help you?
• Lower Overhead
  Your favorite restaurant probably doesn’t want to pay for a fleet of cars and delivery drivers, and with DoorDash, they don’t have to.
• Core Expertise
  You might be great at innovation and new-product creation. Why waste your time figuring out shipping and tracking when Amazon is already good at it?
• Credibility
  Are you going to download an app from a random website? That’s just asking for trouble. But if it’s on the App Store, that means it’s already been vetted. It must be safe.
• Customer Convenience
  Who doesn’t want food delivered to their door?
• New Customers
  Chances are that when you looked for your Asics running shoes, there were some other brands that popped up on your Amazon search, as well. Some may have been brands you had never heard of and would have never heard of if it weren’t for Amazon. Now you’re thinking about trying them as well.
• Customer Data
  Working with other businesses gives you insights into customer behavior that you wouldn’t otherwise have.

WHAT ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE?

While Amazon and DoorDash are great for explaining B2B2C, most of us aren’t an Amazon or a DoorDash. Our needs are more nuanced, and the needs, skills, and time constraints of our customers are varied. That’s why we want to highlight some amazing B2B2C examples that our ecommerce software partners at Znode have worked on. They’ll give you a better idea of how setting up a B2B2C model can be beneficial to a wide range of organizations.

Designer Uniforms

Did you know that some high-fashion brands design school uniforms? One well-known premium lifestyle brand relies on its main distributor and licensee to sell to schools. The distributor, however, was frustrated. Each school chooses their colors and styles, and many have different styles based on grade level. Creating each unique catalog was a heavy lift, and it took months to onboard a new school.

Znode provided the distributor with a much easier way to handle catalogs for every school program. They can now manage pricing and logos and apply filters for gender and age requirements. They no longer have to get outside technical support to make changes, and onboarding has gone from months to days.

Each school gets its own bespoke catalog, ordering is faster and easier, and the end consumer (parents) is happier!

Branded Merchandise Solutions

Companies with recognition and incentive programs rely on other businesses to deliver their programs and offer branded merchandise solutions. One such provider was struggling with their legacy ecommerce system: they had to build every single storefront from scratch.

Znode helped the organization simplify its B2B2C model with storefront configuration options that are applied globally. All possible storefront features can now be easily enabled or disabled for each individual storefront. Templates and widgets make it easy for administrators to design what they need without help from an outside developer.

The results have been a decrease in cost per storefront and much higher speed to market.

Dexter

Dexter is a leading manufacturer and supplier of trailer components, specializing in axles, brakes, and suspension systems. The company has transformed its customer experience by developing an ecommerce website that consolidates legacy systems into a single, unified platform.

The Dexter Index provides a modern, user-first experience while also driving organizational growth and fostering innovation. Built on the Znode platform, the website leverages out-of-the-box B2B features to enhance functionality and connect dealers, OEMs, and consumers with the products and resources they need. Znode’s B stores and store-configuration capabilities will enable Dexter to build on its B2B2C strategy and further support growth and expansion.

WRAPPING UP

Znode is an ecommerce platform that can help companies scale growth no matter what model or channel they use. Znode empowers the middle “B” in B2B2C, making store creation and management easy. We’re proud to have them as a partner!

If you’re interested in learning more about how OX can help you develop your own B2B2C model on Znode’s platform, reach out to briley@officeofexperience.com.