2. Situational Analysis in the Marketing Planning Process82 2.5 Comparing B2B and B2C Markets Areas of difference between the business and consumer markets can be summarized as follows (see Table 2.2). The Internet is playing an increasing role in both B-t-B and B-t-C markets. Web sites enable organisations to promote brand values, reduce printing costs, attract and qualify prospects and leads, and foster customer loyalty. Sites can also expand the customer database, provide customer service, and showcase and sell products. Online purchasing, often called e-procurement, is growing rapidly. E-procurement gives buyers access to new suppliers, lower purchasing costs, and hastens order processing and delivery. In turn, business marketers can connect with customers online to share marketing information, sell products and services, provide customer support, and maintain customer relationships (Kotler and Armstrong, 2009). 2.6 SWOT Analysis Successful SWOT analysis is basically a process of finding the optimum fit between the firm’s controllable strengths and weaknesses and uncontrollable opportunities and threats of the firm’s environment in which it operates; and not just today’s environment, but also that of the predictable future. This explains why charting a SWOT profile (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) is by one of the most popular marketing planning tools. It provides a means by which all the key internal (company- B-t-B market B-t-C market Market structure Geographically concentrated• Relatively few buyers • Oligopolistic competition • Geographically dispersed • mass markets (often millions) Pure competition • Size of purchase Often extremely large • Usually small • Buyer behaviour Functional involvement • Rational/task motives prevail • Stable relationships • Professionalism, expertise • Family involvement• Social/emotional motives • prevail Less buyer-seller loyalty• Less trained, often inexperi-• enced Buying influences Committees, technical • experts, and management are all involved in decision • making (buying centre) The individual, household • members, or friends and relatives Decision-making Distinct, observable stages• Often group decisions • Vague, mental stages• Usually individual decisions • Supplier relationship Long-term contracts and • supplier involvement Many single purchases • Table 2.2: Comparing B2B and B2C markets Kapitel_2.indd 82 03.08.2010 12:46:36 Uhr