Should you sell to consumers or businesses?

Hey there, I’ve been asking myself, should I be building for consumers (B2C), or should I be building for businesses (B2B)? Each of them has their pros and cons, and there isn’t a “better” answer, I realized that it mostly comes down to what type of person you are, what your background is, and where you see yourself down the line.

What is B2C & B2B, and why does it matter?

Simply, B2C is when a business (you) are building for everyday consumers, and B2B is when a business (you again) are building for other businesses.

Why does this matter? It matters a lot actually, when you decide to build for either consumers or businesses, this changes how your business functions as there are pivotal differences in main areas such as your marketing approach and revenue generation.

When to Choose B2C

When you’re B2C, you’re selling directly to individual consumers, and so the sales cycle is typically quicker, you can market off of emotional appeal, and your churn is higher. If you have an existing audience or enjoy making posts (X, Reddit, Instagram, etc.) to gain traffic to your website, then B2C may be for you.

An important thing to note for B2C is that even though you’re the business in this situation, outside of that you’re also an individual consumer, and so it’s easier for you to think in the mind of a consumer because you already are one. With that being said, generating business ideas for B2C is going to come off easier than B2B because you’re familiar with the idea of what a consumer would want versus what a business would want (Unless you have experience being in a business already and can spot pain points).

The Pros of B2C

• Shorter sales cycles — Consumers usually make decisions faster than businesses.

• Emotional appeal works — Marketing can rely on storytelling, lifestyle, and brand vibes.

• Easier to start solo — Less need for sales teams or complex onboarding.

• More channels to experiment with — TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, etc.

The Cons of B2C

• Lower average revenue per customer — You often need volume to make real money.

• High churn risk — Consumers can be fickle or price-sensitive.

• Harder to build long-term relationships — Less loyalty, more transactional.

• Support can scale poorly — 1000 customers = 1000 support tickets if you're not careful.

When to Choose B2B

Now for the other side of the coin, when do you want to choose selling to a business? B2B ideas don’t grow on trees, one of the ways to generate ideas is through experience. At your current or previous job, did you realize something that was a pain point to yourself and coworkers? That could be a business idea you take on to sell to other businesses. While having experience is a great way to generate ideas, it’s not the end all be all, you can still generate ideas without having experience or being an expert in your industry, it just doesn’t come naturally because you yourself aren’t a business, and so you don’t know exactly what other businesses need without the prior experience.

A big thing to note for B2B is that businesses typically aren’t very money cautious, they of course want value from what they’re buying, but they aren’t like consumers where they hesitate on buying a $10 product even if its good for them. They don’t mind paying $200/month if it brings them value, and that value is easier to identify as well, most of the time it will either bring them in more money, save them money, or save them time.

The Pros of B2B

• Higher average revenue per customer — Clients often pay hundreds or thousands per month.

• More predictable revenue — Longer contracts and lower churn.

• Relationships matter — Trust and value lead to strong retention and referrals.

• Less price sensitivity — Businesses pay for ROI, not emotions.

The Cons of B2B

• Longer sales cycles — It can take weeks or months to close a deal.

• More stakeholders involved — Decisions often go through multiple people.

• Need for credibility — Businesses want to see case studies, proof, and stability.

• Smaller total addressable market — Especially if you go deep into a niche.

Which One Is For Me?

Now you’re probably thinking, which one is for me? If you look at the pros and cons of each, you can identify what things you value a lot and what things you’d really wouldn’t want to deal with.

For example, if I value higher average revenue per customer and don’t mind a longer sales cycle, I would want to go B2B. On the other hand, if I can’t stand decisions having to go through multiple people and enjoy simple onboarding, I’d want to lean towards B2C. If you’re just starting out, generating B2C ideas might come easier to you and so you should start there, but if you have experience and want to start B2B, that works as well.

It really is situational as of which decision you go with, but don’t worry about it too much, as your business grows from either B2C or B2B, you could always pivot and add the option of the other one. For example, if I start as B2C and realize that there are small businesses (10-100 people) that are interested in what I offer, I could offer another pricing tier specifically for businesses that would address that market. If I start with B2B and realize that I have solopreneurs (Entrepreneurs going solo) that want to use my product, I could make another tier that fits individuals going solo and address that audience as well.

Closing Remarks

That’s it from me, I hope you read something that resonates and helps you in your own journey.

If you want to know how I got my first customers without a huge launch, check it out 👇

Otherwise, make sure to subscribe for more content, and hope you have a great rest of your day 😁

— Michael