Question- What are the advantages and challenges of B2C?

Ans.

Advantages and Challenges of B2C

Following are the advantages of B2C-

1. Saves Time and Money : B2C application can save time and money by doing business electronically.

2. Easier Marketing : B2C is much easier to market to individuals than to other businesses. These businesses can use social media and content marketing to easily boost sales, bring in new customers, all while advertising.

3. Easier Expansion : B2C is much easier to expand to other niches and markets- be it vertical or horizontal expansion.

4. Data Drivers : B2C has no shortage of data, if implemented properly. 

processes between trading partners and is performed in much higher volumes than business-to-consumer applications. B2B electronic commerce can be a supplier-centric, buyer-centric, or an intermediary-centric. EC is market maker and directory service providers, who assist in matching buyers and sellers and striking a deal. The business application of B2B electronic commerce can be utilized to facilitate almost all facets of interactions among organizations, such as inventory management, channel management, distribution management, order fulfillment and delivery, and payment, management. In the supplier-centric model, a supplier sets up the electronic commerce marketplace. Various customer / buyer businesses interact with the supplier at its electronic commerce marketplace. Typically, it is done by a dominant supplier in the domain of products it supplies. The supplier may provide customized solutions and pricing to fit the needs of buyers, businesses. The supplier may also institute different pricing schemes for buyers. In buyer-centric electronic commerce, major businesses with high volume purchase capacity create an electronic commerce marketplace for purchase and acquisition by starting a site on their own. The online electronic commerce marketplace is used by the buyer for placing requests for quotations and carrying out the entire purchase process. This kind of facility may be utilized by high volume and well recognized buyers, as they may have adequate capacity and business volume to lure suppliers to bid at the site.

In intermediary-centric electronic commerce, in the B2B context, a third party sets up the electronic commerce marketplace and attracts both the buyer and seller businesses to interact with each other. The buyers and sellers, both benefit from the increased options in terms of pricing, quality, availability and delivery of goods. The third party e-commerce marketplace acts as a hub for both suppliers and buyers, where buyers place their request for the quotations and sellers respond by bidding electronically, leading to a march-and ultimately to a final transaction.

B2B e-commerce facilitates inter-organizational interaction and transaction. This type of electronic commerce requires two or more business entities interacting with each other directly, or through an intermediary.

B2B e-commerce, also known as E-Business, is experiencing an explosive growth rate on the Internet. Companies of all sizes and types are now mutually buying and selling products and services on the Internet.

Benefits of B2B

B2B E-commerce is already well accepted in the business community, that the potential return of doing business on the Internet is far greater than the investment. The bottom line is greater profits for the business. B2B e-commerce can save or make money. Some ways companies have benefited from B2B e- commerce include-

Cutting the cost of paperwork
Reigning in rogue purchases
Obtaining lower prices on some supplies
Managing inventory more efficiently
Adjusting more quickly to customer demand
Getting products to market faster.

B2B also offers unique benefits such as less human intervention, less Each individual is a data-trove and this data, when used properly, can help the B2C company gain quite the edge over others.

5. Vast & Varied Market : The B2C market is quite large and varied. B2C companies have the advantage of targeting a larger number of consumers. This number is quite high.

6. Other Advantages : Some other of B2C are as under-

(i) Call centers can be integrated with the website.

(ii) Broadband telecommunications enhance the buying experience.

(iii) Shopping becomes faster and more convenient.

(iv) Offerings and prices can change instantaneously.

Challenges faced by B2C

Some major challenges / problems / drawbacks faced by F2C e-commerce are building traffic and sustaining customer loyalty. Due to the winner-take-all nature of the business-to-consumer electronic commerce structure, smaller firms find it difficult to enter a market and remain competitive. It is to be noted that online shoppers are very price-sensitive and are easily lured away, so acquiring and keeping new customers is difficult.

1. Low Margins : The products sold and their prices are minuscule in B2C. So, one way of making back on the lost revenue is by focusing on quantity over quality. This increases the risk of not being able to make back enough to run the businesses in case of lowered sales numbers.

2. Segmented Market : The B2C market is very segmented. This hinders quick decision making due to the sheer number of segments present for businesses to consider.

3. Middlemen : The B2C sector is riddled with middlemen who sell for a higher price. This leads to consumers having to pay a larger rate than intended.. Other than that, this causes a disconnect between customers and businesses. It also makes it harder for businesses to collect customer data.

4. Competition : B2C is among the most common type of businesses started. This is due to less overheads present in starting and running a B2C. This means that there is a lot of competition within the same field for the same product.

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