Would you charge B2B and B2C differently?

[Dukenukem117]

So we do window and wall coverings for residential and businesses. These are all end-use products and not for resell. I want to create separate check out portals with some specific features that are relevant to each group. For example I want to keep the check out process as simple as possible for residential, but give businesses a little more customization if I think its reasonable to expect them to know it, or possibly faster response times for contacts since its more likely time sensitive. So it would seem like I should charge businesses more since it might cost me more to provide these things, but businesses also place larger orders, whereas residential may place more service calls and need more hand-holding for installation.

Since most people here do signs presumably for B2B, is there anyone who has done both B2B and B2C? Would you charge them differently or the same?

 

[Gino]

How do you prevent people from stretching the truth and just going the cheaper route ??

 

[Dukenukem117]

How do you prevent people from stretching the truth and just going the cheaper route ??

The goal isn't to charge different prices for the exact same thing, rather that we don't have enough data to know which customer type is willing to pay more for what extra warranties or benefits (we just launched as a company). Hypothetically lets say our corporate prices are a bit higher because we will guarantee the delivery time. If a residential customer wants that, I don't really care if they want to make a business account. And if a business doesn't think that's important and wants to pay as little as possible, they can order through the residential portal and it makes no difference to me. But that one is more obvious since its basically the same as upgrading shipping. Less obvious would be like if we had to develop a system to make sure that the logo is the right size every time.

I just don't want to have a bunch of optional surcharges that might make people feel like they are being nickle and dimed. So I was wondering if anyone here has noticed any general patterns selling to each type of customer.

 

[Billct2]

I used to "retail" paying higher prices than "commercial". You model sounds like you are complicating the process.

 

[Reveal1]

It sounds as if by having a 'checkout portal' you are creating some sort of web-based business. If that's the case, it would seem there would be very few service-related differences that would make an operational/cost difference whether business or not; if you need it quicker and are willing to pay , what difference does it make if you are a business or consumer?


As a 'conventional' sign business that focuses heavily on those same products, if anything the consumer business generates more cost in the transaction. That's because they are usually pickier, less decisive, and the focus is on personal gratification rather than achieving a business requirement. Plus, they tend to have less knowledge of graphic requirements and very little repeat or add-on potential. I charge the same, but make sure that those areas are reflected in hourly costs and setup charges that generate more revenue for smaller orders or time-consuming design transactions.