Business to Business also known as B2B in the business and marketing sectors means transaction between two business entities like a wholesaler transacting with a retailer or a transaction between a wholesaler and a manufacturer.

Business to business transactions are usually of a higher volume than transactions between a business and a direct consumer, mainly because production involves interactions and transactions with several suppliers for raw material components and service providers while a finished product is transacted only once in a Business to Consumer (B2C) final transaction.

In the context of collaboration and communication many companies increasingly use the internet and social media to connect with clients and consumers.  Business to business communication occurs between individuals working for different companies or enterprises in the social media setting like LinkedIn or using applications to share official information like Google Docs.

In marketing, business to business was initially used to describe marketing of capital goods or industrial equipment and machineries.  Business to business marketing evolved to describe marketing of all products and services enterprises procure for their daily operations.  Professional marketing organizations and trade publications generally focus on business to consumer activities than business to business but most of the marketing personnel focus their promotional efforts towards institutional requirements and business from established organizations and business entities.

Because email marketing is perceived as a free form of advertising, it has been abused by many aggressive marketers.  In business to business marketing, executives whose email addresses are usually published online have to come to terms with email overload.  The company emails usually have limited capacities, and if they don’t watch out, email quotas of executives are always exceeded.  Consequently, busy executives almost always delete unsolicited emails and opt out of email marketing lists.  When business to business email marketing becomes too aggressive, or when it uses contractors and consultants without understanding the consequences, the ability of the business to influence, present new concepts and products, nurture business relationships and retain clients get lost.  Email marketing can be efficient and a cheap mode of promotions and marketing if correctly executed and not abused.

Traditional forms of promotions and marketing continue to be overtaken by technological advances and new forms of media.  Business to business marketers have to be innovative and be updated on the latest trends of communications in our evolving global economy.  Marketers have to be exposed to new developments in the areas of market selection, customer management, product positioning, channel management, lead generation, social media, customer behavior and branding.  Learning to assess global markets, customers and segments will make business to business promotions and marketing strategies more effective and focused.