Customer service is among the fundamental units of determining the value of a business. It includes all the services provided to customers during the purchase of goods or services. Customer service that is equally important for each enterprise is also a priority for e-commerce. So, can you provide the same customer service for different customer types? What are the differences between B2B and B2C customer service?
About B2B and B2C Customer Service
E-commerce has B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) commercial services. B2B deals with the sales of services or products by a company to another company, so the target audience is institutions. The main principle here is to enhance companies’ sales and marketing services. B2C is the sales of products by a company to customers directly. Since it is straightforwardly in contact with the last consumer, the target audience is individuals.
B2B and B2C customer services are almost entirely different, besides a couple of similarities. They have different budgets, different expectations, and customer types. We can list the core differences under three titles:
1) Customer Numbers
B2C has higher customer numbers, yet the target audience that B2B provides is broader and more complex. In addition, B2B customer service sells more expensive products. It is possible to say that they share different target audiences as well. Clothes shopping, for instance, is way more straightforward and cheaper according to the purchase of cartwheels by an automotive company to proceed with mass production.
2) Customer Information
B2C companies have a general understanding of customers instead of getting to know them personally. Therefore, there is no close relationship between the seller and buyer. In B2B, companies research to get the products they need, and they are in one-to-one relationships with company managers. Therefore, the sales procedure is shorter in B2C than in B2B.
3) Communication
Communication in the B2C model is primarily digital and usually through social media. Companies can handle their communication with highly automated company channels instead of communicating with people privately. Unlike B2C, the B2B model requires one-to-one communication between customer managers between different companies. The requests in B2B take longer times to have a return. The stock shortage of requested products or their continuing production is one reason that prolongs the process. Since these reasons may not be solved in a short period, the share of emotional wear is higher. An official inter-agency agreement is a must in B2Bs because trading in this model requires high prices.
The Address of Effortless Customer Service: Infoset
Many customers demand to quickly and easily communicate with business owners after purchasing on an e-commerce site. You can manage WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and many other channels across a single dashboard that Infoset provides through an omnichannel experience. That’ll make your customer communication easier. With the reporting feature, you can take measures by realizing the potential risks before a crisis. Start using Infoset today to take your customer satisfaction and sales to the next level!
