Definition
Business-to-business (B2B) describes companies that sell products or services to other companies or organizations rather than to individual consumers — think enterprise software, cloud services and industrial goods.
Meaning and usage
B2B transactions typically involve long decision chains and high deal sizes, lean on dedicated sales teams and multi-year contracts, and are judged by buyers on return on investment, reliability and support. Related labels such as B2C and B2B2C describe businesses aimed at other customer types.
Usage
SaaS, cloud computing and professional services are largely B2B industries. Conversations about customer acquisition cost, sales cycles and enterprise contracts usually start by clarifying whether the business is B2B.
Related and confusable terms
B2B is the counterpart of B2C, which sells directly to individual consumers and leans on brand and conversion. Many SaaS companies run B2B and B2C motions side by side, and the playbooks differ.