The rise in technology is removing the blurring lines between B2B and B2C models.

Business-to-Business (B2B) model often defines as the process where all companies that create products and services geared toward other businesses. It is no wonder that buyers of any business product long rely solely on sales contacts to receive information regarding the products and services they want. However, with the rise of technology, especially mobile and social channels, the roles of sales teams have drastically changed in the business purchasing process. Since B2B is often contrasted with the business-to-customer (B2C) model, buyers of business products now have a myriad of information right at their fingertips.

As the current generation of buyers has complete access to the Internet and always be informed with new product developments, these digital native customers are now transforming the B2B buyers' purchasing processes. This means businesses need to involve customers at all levels of the buying journey. According to the report, involving Millennials in the B2B product buying process will have a significant impact on B2B customers purchasing decisions.

The report reveals that about 73 percent of B2B buying decisions are made by executives, age groups of 20 to 35 years. This is significantly vital when researching B2B products or services for purchase, most millennials head straight to the Web. Now, as the B2B buying journey is changing rapidly, companies are adopting a new marketing approach called Business-to-Everyone (B2E). Introduced by Adobe, this new approach allows businesses to deliver personalized customer experience to individuals that make up buying decision teams.

Increased Focus on B2E Marketing 

Typically, B2B marketing models are more complicated, involving buyers with unique business requirements and manifold buyers from the same company. On contrary to this, B2C models are more personalized and customer-centric, creating customer loyalty and repeat purchasing. B2B deals with multiple sellers and different stores, whereas B2C, is usually just one supplier.

Given the rise of technology, B2B buyers are now increasingly expecting B2C-like personalized experiences. This increased expectation is now forcing B2B companies to shift their focus on the B2E approach. In an interview, Steve Lucas, current Adobe senior vice president of digital experience said, “We often have a divergence in terms of how we approach marketing from B2B and B2C. The reality is that the divergence makes it difficult to connect the individual profile that we build to the account.”

Adobe perceives B2E as being business to everything, everyone and everywhere, with customer experience being the core. Companies like Adobe and Amazon are pioneering innovative business models where the consumer and industry sales all will be on the same page. While Adobe is increasingly merging its consumer and industry sales channels, Amazon has long positioned itself to serve both audiences as a retailer, hosting provider, and more.

Some industry experts contemplate that integrating the B2E model in e-commerce, self-service options need to enable potential shoppers to quickly and easily find, configure and purchase the right products and services at the right price. It also must integrate with traditional selling processes.

As some businesses are more rapidly turning to the Business-to-Everything model, a Forbes article noted that technology, customer experience, and leadership are the main drivers of businesses’ transitions to it.