What is B2B?

B2B describes the commercial relationship where one business is the customer of another. Examples include a law firm that bills other companies for legal services, a SaaS platform that sells project management software to enterprise teams, a wholesale supplier that sells to retailers, or a marketing agency that serves business clients. The buyer is a company — and typically a committee of stakeholders — not an individual consumer.

B2B marketing and sales have distinct characteristics shaped by the buying process. Decisions involve multiple stakeholders (a champion who wants the product, a financial approver, often a technical evaluator, sometimes legal and procurement). Sales cycles are longer — weeks to years for enterprise deals. Purchases are justified by ROI and business outcomes, not emotional impulse. And relationships and trust play a larger role than in B2C transactions, where brand and convenience often dominate.

B2B marketing channels reflect these realities: LinkedIn is the dominant social platform, content marketing and thought leadership build credibility with decision-makers over time, SEO drives inbound discovery, and outbound sales (cold email, LinkedIn outreach, phone) plays a larger role than in B2C. Metrics differ too — the focus is on pipeline value, CAC, LTV, and sales cycle length rather than the traffic, conversion, and retention metrics that dominate B2C analytics.