Week 4 EOC: B+B vs. Consumer Marketing

Though there are many avenues of consumer marketing that ultimately drive a person to purchase a product; the very same thing could be said about business-to-business marketing, only, the stakes are much higher. "Did you know that GE’s consumer products contribute less than one-third of the company’s total $183 billion in annual sales? To the surprise of many, most of GE’s business comes not from final consumers but from commercial and industrial customers across a wide range of industries."(Marketing: An Introduction. Armstrong/Kotler pg. 158). Consumer marketing tends to be on a much smaller scale relatively to business marketing.  A customer goes to buy a new television or stove and the purchase, whether for better-or-worse will last for several years before needing to find a replacement product. When businesses turn to each-other for goods and services they will often invest millions of dollars into that business that they are working alongside. "Also, with GE’s business customers, buying decisions are much more complex. An average consumer buying a refrigerator might do a little online research and then pop out to the local Best Buy to compare models before buying one. In contrast, buying a batch of jet engines involves a tortuously long buying process, dozens or even hundreds of decision makers from all levels of the buying organization, and layer upon layer of subtle and not-so-subtle buying influences."(Marketing: An Introduction. Armstrong/Kotler pg. 158). While one might presume that businesses are just trying to get that "quick sale" from consumers, its evident that they truly care about creating value with the consumer otherwise they would stop selling to the public and make businesses their priority.  I believe these two uses of marketing are very different in scale, but one of these without the other would cause a firm to crumble.  Companies work together with each-other to create a similar value that a business strives for with their consumers. "More broadly, people throughout the entire GE organization know that success in business-to-business markets involves more than just developing and selling superior products and technologies. Business customer buying decisions are made within the framework of a strategic, problem-solving partnership. “We love the challenge of a customer’s problem,” says the company on its GE Transportation Web site." (Marketing: An Introduction. Armstrong/Kotler pg. 159). While a company may gain more profits from a business relationship, it would mean nothing without its greater goals and vision which are achieved through promoting value to everyone.