What do you mean by product life cycle? Explain the major stages of product life cycle.

Answer
Product Life Cycle Concept
We have a life cycle, we are born, we grow, we mature, and finally we pass away. Similarly, products also
have life cycle, from their introduction to decline they progresses through a sequence of stages. The major
stages of the product life cycle are - introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Product life cycle
describes transition of a product from its development to decline.
The time period of product life cycle and the length of each stage varies from product to product. Life
cycle of one product can be over in few months, and of another product may last for many years. One
product reach to maturity in years and another can reach it in few months. One product stay at the
maturity for years and another just for few months. Hence, it is true to say that length of each stage varies
from product to product.
Product life cycle is associated with variation in the marketing situation, level of competition, product
demand, consumer understanding, etc., thus marketing managers have to change the marketing strategy
and the marketing mix accordingly.
Product life cycle can be defined as "the change in sales volume of a specific product offered by an
organisation, over the expected life of the product."

Stages of the Product Life Cycle

The four major stages of the product life cycle are as follows :1. Introduction,
2. Growth,
3. Maturity, and
4. Decline.
Introduction Stage
At this stage the product is new to the market and few potential customers are aware with the existence of
product. The price is generally high. The sales of the product is low or may be restricted to early
adopters. Profits are often low or losses are being made, this is because of the high advertising cost and
repayment of developmental cost. At the introductory stage : The product is unknown,
The price is generally high,
The placement is selective, and
The promotion is informative and personalized.
Growth Stage
At this stage the product is becoming more widely known and acceptable in the market. Marketing is
done to strengthen brand and develop an image for the product. Prices may start to fall as competitors

enters the market. With the increase in sales, profit may start to be earned, but advertising cost remains
high. At the growth stage : The product is more widely known and consumed,
The sales volume increases,
The price begin to decline with the entry of new players,
The placement becomes more widely spread, and
The promotion is focused on brand development and product image formation.
Maturity Stage
At this stage the product is competing with alternatives. Sales and profits are at their peak. Product range
may be extended, by adding both withe and depth. With the increases in competition the price reaches to
its lowest point. Advertising is done to reinforce the product image in the consumer's minds to increase
repeat purchases. At maturity stage : The product is competing with alternatives,
The sales are at their peak,
The prices reaches to its lowest point,
The placement is intense, and
The promotion is focused on repeat purchasing.
Decline Stage
At this stage sales start to fall fast as a result product range is reduced. The product faces reduced
competition as many players have left the market and it is expected that no new competitor will enter the
market. Advertising cost is also reduced. Concentration is on remaining market niches as some price
stability is expected there. Each product sold could be profitable as developmental costs have been paid at
earlier stage. With the reduction in sales volume overall profit will also reduce. At decline stage : The product faces reduced competition,
The sales volume reduces,
The price is likely to fall,
The placement is selective, and
The promotion is focused on reminding.
Question - What do you mean by Service Marketing? Discuss Nature of Services, and Service Marketing
Mix
Answer
Service Marketing
What is Service Marketing?
A Service is an economic activity, that is intangible or not be touched, not be stored, and not be owned.
Postal service Delivering mail is a Service, and the use of expertise like person visiting a doctor is also a
service. A service is consumed at the point of sale and does not result ownership.
A product is material or tangible in nature, can be touched, can be stored, and a product can also be
owned, but it is not so in case of a service.
Nature of Service
1. Lack of ownership
One cannot own or store a service as it can be done in case of a product. Service is consumed at the point
of sale and does not result ownership. Services are used or hired for a period of time. For example buying
a movie ticket the service lasts for two or three hours, but customer want and expect complete
entertainment and excellent service for that time period.
2. Intangible
Services are intangible in nature, you cannot touch it, cannot see it, cannot taste it. You cannot touch or
hold a service as you can do with a product. For example one cannot touch or hold the services provided

by his financial adviser. This makes it difficult to evaluate the quality of service prior to consuming it
since there are fewer attributes of quality in comparison to a product.
3. Inseparable
Service is inseparable in nature means to say that it cannot be separated from the service provider. A
product when produced can be taken away from its producer whereas a service is produced at or near the
point of purchase. For example visiting a restaurant, you order your meal, wait for the meal, meal
delivered to you and services provided by waiter/waitress are all part of service production process and is
inseparable.
4. Perishable
Service last for specific time period, it cannot be stored as like a product for future use. Service
production and utilisation goes simultaneously. For example watching a movie in cinema hall, service
will only last the duration of the show. Again because of this time constraint consumers demand more.
5. Heterogeneous
It is very difficult to make each service experience identical, for example you travelling by plane the
service quality may differ from the first time you travelled by that airline to the second, because the air
hostess is less or more experienced. Systems and procedures are followed in service production process to
minimise this heterogeneity and to provide consistent services all the time.
Service Firms
Customer Service in a service firm is highly interactive in nature. Customer interacts with the
firm physical facilities, personnel, tangible elements like the price of the service. The success of any
service firm depends on how its performance is judged and perceived by the customer. Today, Service
Firms are becoming highly competitive, so, it is essential for service firms to provide high quality
services for their survival.
Marketing Mix for a Service Firm
An expanded marketing mix for services was proposed by Booms and Bitner (1981), consisting of the 4
traditional elementsproduct, price, place, and promotion and three additional elementsphysical
evidence, participants, and process. These additional variables beyond the traditional 4 Ps
distinguish customer service for service firms from that of manufacturing firms.
Physical Evidence
Physical Evidence such as infrastructure, interior, decor, environmental design, business card, etc that
establishes firm's image and influences customer's expectations. Tangible clues help customer judging the
quality of service before service usage or purchase. Before service usage the service is known by the
tangible elements that surrounds it. In product marketing quality of product is judged by the product
itself.
Participants
Participants in service environment also provides clues about what the customer should expect. There is
more variability among service outcomes in labour-intensive services than in machine-dominated service
delivery; bank customers who use human tellers will experience far more service variability than those
using automatic teller machines. Training the personnel adequately is a major factor influencing the
provision of quality service. Hence, providing customer service in a service industry depends not only on
recognising customer desires and establishing appropriate standards, but also on maintaining a workforce
of people both willing and able to perform at specified levels.

Process
The how of service delivery is called the process or the functional quality. The attitudes and behaviour
of service personnel influence perceived service performance. These behaviours are usually associated
with what is called the process. For example, when things go wrong in a service encounter, employees
frequently attempt to sooth disgruntled customers by apologising, offering to compensate, and explaining
why the service delivery failure occurred. Any of these behaviours may influence customer attributions
about the firms responsibility for the failure and the likelihood of it occurring again
7 Ps of the Service Marketing Mix
The customer service for a service firm cannot be explicitly divided into pre-transaction and posttransaction elements, because production and consumption of a service occurs at the same time. The
service provided can prove effective in terms of satisfying the customer, only if the gap between expected
service and perceived service is bridged. The wider this gapthe more the number of disappointed
customers; and disappointed customers may cause the image of the firm to deteriorate.
1. Product/Service
Most services are intangible because they are performances rather than objects, precise manufacturing
specifications concerning uniform quality can rarely be set. Because of this intangibility, the firm may
find it difficult to understand how consumers perceive their services. For developing a good customer
service, the service marketer should stress on tangible cues and also create a strong organisational image.
This can be done by communicating clearly to the customers the features of the service being provided.
2. Price
Because of the intangible nature of the serviceprice becomes a pivotal quality indicator in situations
where other information is not available. It is essential, therefore that the service firm engage in
competitive pricing. Being an important tangible cue, price of the service is an area in which the service
marketer can concentrate to get a competitive edge. In the case of pure services, as in the present context,
like medical services or legal services price is an important factor because it is a basis for the customer to
make a final choice among several competing service organisations.
3. Place
Because services are performances that cannot be stored, service businesses frequently find it difficult to
synchronise supply and demand. Also, services cannot be inventoried for the same reason. Consequently
the service firms must make simultaneous adjustments in demand and capacity to achieve a closer match
between the two. Also, the firm could use multisite locations to make the service more accessible to the
users. If the service is located in a remote area, regardless of the other advantages of the service,
customers would not be motivated to use the service.
4. Promotion
The service marketer should constantly simulate word-of-mouth communications apart from using
regular advertising. If customers in an existing market, for some reason or another have an image of the
firm which does not correspond with reality, traditional marketing activities can be expected to be an
effective way of communicating the real image to the market. Communication includes informing the
customers in a language they can understand. Specially in services post-purchase communication is very
important, because retaining existing customers is as important, or even more important than attracting
potential customers.
5. Physical Evidence
Physical evidence, as already discussed under the services marketing mix, like the environmental decor
and design significantly influence the customers expectations of the service. Since services cannot
be readily displayed, firms should create a conducive environment that help the customers to develop a
positive perception of the service. For example, people would not like to wait for a medical service or a

legal service, if the atmosphere of the place they are made to wait is unpleasant. Customers can be put off
by a mere change in the layout of the service facility or even the absence of clear signboards.
6. Participants
Most services are highly labour intensive; the behaviour of the personnel providing the service and the
customers involved in production (due to the inseparable nature of services), have an effect on providing
efficient customer service. To achieve customer-oriented personnel, the organisation needs to recruit and
select the right people, and offer an appropriate package of employment, in order to enhance their skills
and encourage them. Because of the constant interaction between the employees involved in the service,
and the customersthere is a mutual dependence between the two. If the customers are dissatisfied,
employees experience discomfort working with unhappy customers, and customers are unhappy because
the employees were not trained in customer satisfaction. The extent of this mutual dependence
influences the customers perception of the service.
7. Process
In the how of the service delivery is extremely important because the service and the seller are
inseparable. The functional quality, or the how of service delivery is especially important to service
industries, as it is difficult to differentiate the technical quality, or the what of service delivery. Previous
experience with a service also influences the expectations of the customer. If the customer has had a bad
experience with the
service on any previous occasion, it will influence his or her future perceptions of the service. It is
essential to train the front line employees, whose actions and behaviour influence the customers opinions
of the organisation and the actual service provided.
Conclusion
What the customer actually gets out of the service, and how he or she perceives the service may not
always match. So the customers judgement or evaluation of the service is the crucial factor in the
delivery of a service. But service marketers can influence these perceptions to a large extent by
controlling favourably the service marketing mix variables. It is all the more difficult because a service
cannot be broken down into logical steps or sequences.
If service organisations pay more attention to their employees as well as their customers, it would
increase both employee motivation as well as customer satisfaction.
1.Product
Intheserviceindustry,theproductionandconsumptionoftheproductaresimultaneousandtheproductisintangible,diverse
andperishable.Thenatureofthisproductallowsforonthespotcustomization.Thisalsomeansthatthepointatwhichthis
activityisoccurringbecomesveryimportant.Ideally,toensurerepeatexperiencesofsimilarqualityandaconsistentlygood
userexperience,mostserviceprovidersaimtogivesomecustomizationwithinanoverallstandardizedmodeofdelivery.
2.Pricing
Sinceaservicecannotbemeasuredbywhatmaterialgoesintoitscreationnoristheactualtangiblecostofproduction
measurable,itcanbechallengingtoputapricetagonit.Therearesometangiblesofcourse,suchasthelaborcostsand
overheads.Butadditionally,theambiance,theexperienceandthebrandnamealsofactorintothefinalpriceoffering.
3.Place
Asmentioned,theserviceisproducedandconsumedinthesameplace.Itcannotbeownedandtakenawayfromthelocation.
Thisiswhytheplaceatwhichthistransactionoccursisofvitalimportance.Thelocationoftheserviceprovisioniscarefully
analyzedtoalloweaseofaccessandthedesiretomaketheefforttoreachit.Fastfoodrestaurantsandsalesandservicecenters
maybelocatedinbusymainstreetstoallowwalkincustomers,whileafinediningrestaurantmaybelocatedinaquietstreet
tomaintainexclusivityandprivacy.

4.Promotion
Promotionfulfillsthesameroleasitdoesinanyothermarketingcontext.Aservicemaybemoreeasilyreplicatedthana
physicalproduct.Topreventaservicebecominginterchangeablewithitscompetitors,itbecomesvitaltocreateadesirable
brandimageandnameinthemarket.Differentiationbecomesakeygoalinordertoattractbothnewandrepeatcustomers.

The New Elements

5.People
Thisisavitallyimportantelementoftheservicemarketingmix.Whenaserviceisbeingdelivered,thepersondeliveringitis
notuniquefromtheserviceitself.Whendiningatarestaurant,ifarudewaiterisencountered,theentireexperiencewillbe
labeledasbadservice.Thisiswhymanybusinessesinvestindefiningtherightkindofpersontofilltheirserviceroleandthen
makingeffortstofindortrainpeopletofitthisdefinition.
6.Process
Sinceserviceprovisionneedstostrikeabalancebetweencustomizationandstandardization,theprocessesinvolvedinthe
activityrequirespecialmentionandattention.Aprocessneedstobeclearlydefinedfortheserviceprovider.Thisbasicprocess
shouldensurethesamelevelofservicedeliverytoeverycustomer,atanytimeofday,onanyday.Withinthisprocess,there
shouldbedefinedareaswhereacustomerpreferencecanbeaccommodatedtoprovideauniqueexperience.
7.PhysicalEvidence
Thelocationoftheservicedeliveryalsotakesonsignificance.Thelevelofcomfortandattractivenessofaservicelocation
maymakealotofdifferencetotheuserexperience.Acalmandsoothingenvironmentwiththoughtfulcomfortmeasures
mayprovideasenseofsecuritytoanewcustomerwhichwillmakethemreturn.

Market Segmentation
Market segmentation is the identification of portions of the market that are different from one another.
Segmentation allows the firm to better satisfy the needs of its potential customers.

The Need for Market Segmentation

The marketing concept calls for understanding customers and satisfying their needs better than the
competition. But different customers have different needs, and it rarely is possible to satisfy all customers
by treating them alike.
Mass marketing refers to treatment of the market as a homogenous group and offering the same
marketing mix to all customers. Mass marketing allows economies of scale to be realized through mass
production, mass distribution, and mass communication. The drawback of mass marketing is that
customer needs and preferences differ and the same offering is unlikely to be viewed as optimal by all
customers. If firms ignored the differing customer needs, another firm likely would enter the market with
a product that serves a specific group, and the incumbent firms would lose those customers.
Target marketing on the other hand recognizes the diversity of customers and does not try to please all of
them with the same offering. The first step in target marketing is to identify different market segments
and their needs.
Requirements of Market Segments
In addition to having different needs, for segments to be practical they should be evaluated against the
following criteria:

Identifiable: the differentiating attributes of the segments must be measurable so that they can be
identified.

Accessible: the segments must be reachable through communication and distribution channels.

Substantial: the segments should be sufficiently large to justify the resources required to target
them.

Unique needs: to justify separate offerings, the segments must respond differently to the different
marketing mixes.

Durable: the segments should be relatively stable to minimize the cost of frequent changes.

A good market segmentation will result in segment members that are internally homogenous and
externally heterogeneous; that is, as similar as possible within the segment, and as different as possible
between segments.
Bases for Segmentation in Consumer Markets
Consumer markets can be segmented on the following customer characteristics.

Geographic

Demographic

Psychographic

Behavioralistic

Geographic Segmentation
The following are some examples of geographic variables often used in segmentation.

Region: by continent, country, state, or even neighborhood

Size of metropolitan area: segmented according to size of population

Population density: often classified as urban, suburban, or rural

Climate: according to weather patterns common to certain geographic regions

Demographic Segmentation
Some demographic segmentation variables include:

Age

Gender

Family size

Family lifecycle

Generation: baby-boomers, Generation X, etc.

Income

Occupation

Education

Ethnicity

Nationality

Religion

Social class

Many of these variables have standard categories for their values. For example, family lifecycle often is
expressed as bachelor, married with no children (DINKS: Double Income, No Kids), full-nest, emptynest, or solitary survivor. Some of these categories have several stages, for example, full-nest I, II, or III
depending on the age of the children.
Psychographic Segmentation
Psychographic segmentation groups customers according to their lifestyle. Activities, interests, and
opinions (AIO) surveys are one tool for measuring lifestyle. Some psychographic variables include:

Activities

Interests

Opinions

Attitudes

Values

Behavioralistic Segmentation
Behavioral segmentation is based on actual customer behavior toward products. Some behavioralistic
variables include:

Benefits sought

Usage rate

Brand loyalty

User status: potential, first-time, regular, etc.

Readiness to buy

Occasions: holidays and events that stimulate purchases

Behavioral segmentation has the advantage of using variables that are closely related to the product itself.
It is a fairly direct starting point for market segmentation.
Bases for Segmentation in Industrial Markets
In contrast to consumers, industrial customers tend to be fewer in number and purchase larger quantities.
They evaluate offerings in more detail, and the decision process usually involves more than one person.
These characteristics apply to organizations such as manufacturers and service providers, as well as
resellers, governments, and institutions.
Many of the consumer market segmentation variables can be applied to industrial markets. Industrial
markets might be segmented on characteristics such as:

Location

Company type

Behavioral characteristics

Location
In industrial markets, customer location may be important in some cases. Shipping costs may be a
purchase factor for vendor selection for products having a high bulk to value ratio, so distance from the
vendor may be critical. In some industries firms tend to cluster together geographically and therefore may
have similar needs within a region.
Company Type
Business customers can be classified according to type as follows:

Company size

Industry

Decision making unit

Purchase Criteria

Behavioral Characteristics
In industrial markets, patterns of purchase behavior can be a basis for segmentation. Such behavioral
characteristics may include:

Usage rate

Buying status: potential, first-time, regular, etc.

Purchase procedure: sealed bids, negotiations, etc.

Q. Difference between Selling & Marketing?

SELLING

MARKETING

1.

Emphasis is on the product

Emphasis on consumer needs wants

2.

Company Manufactures the product first

3.

Management is sales volume oriented

Company first determines customers needs and

wants and then decides out how to deliver a
product to satisfy these wants
Management is profit oriented

4.

Planning is short-run-oriented in terms of

todays products and markets

Planning is long-run-oriented in todays products

and terms of new products, tomorrows markets
and future growth

5.

Views business as a good producing process

Views business as consumer producing process

satisfying process

6.

Stresses needs of seller

Stresses needs and wants of buyers

7.

Emphasis on staying with existing technology

and reducing costs

Emphasis on innovation on every existing

technology and reducing every sphere, on
providing better costs value to the customer by

adopting a superior technology

8.

Different departments work as in a highly

separate water tight compartments

9.

Cost determines Price

10
.

Selling views customer as a last link in business

All departments of the business integrated

manner, the sole purpose being generation of
consumer satisfaction
Consumer determine price, price determines cost
Marketing views the customer last link in
business as the very purpose of the business

Q. Difference between Buying behavior B2B and B2C?

B2C & B2B Buyer Behavior the difference

Many B2B marketers keep stressing the importance of using online tools and
techniques to influence B2B buyer behavior. Even worse, many make the mistake of
assuming that some of the tools and techniques used to engage B2C buyers can be
used for B2B buyers online. In reality, however, B2B buyer behavior is diametrically
opposite to the way a B2C buyer behaves.
The reasons are detailed as follows:
1. Different decision making processes: Consumer decisions are quite simple. A
consumer will unhesitatingly purchase a beverage or food without thinking too
much about the decision. Thats because theres very little monetary risk given the
low prices of individual goods. On the other hand, a B2B buyer is usually very
cautious since the item is probably high-priced and theres a vetting process in
place within his organization.
2. Buying process differences: A consumer process of evaluation when hes
buying a product is very simple and fast. A B2B buyer on the other hand has to
coordinate a big-ticket purchase within other members of his organization including
the users, quality control, EH&S, finance etc. Theres more at stake since such B2B
purchases tend to be vital to the buying organization by that, I mean that the

purchase will either be product raw material or plant machinery or even services, so
naturally, from a financial and political perspective, theres more at stake.
3. Different buying behavior for different products and target groups: Just
as a B2C consumer will act differently when he purchases an item (e.g. food vs a
camera), in the same way, a B2B buyer exhibits different behaviors depending on
the nature of the product involved. There will be lesser organization involvement for
administrative purchases or travel as opposed to a major software contract for tools
aimed at increasing organizational efficiency.
4. Different influencers: Simple consumer goods like food and beverages are
bought very spontaneously and their consumers are influenced by mass market
advertising and product presentation. Au contraire, B2B transactions are more
personal in nature and people at all levels of the organization (right from the user to
the CEO) get involved with the purchase especially if its a big-ticket purchase.
From an online perspective, the above logic applies as well. The only similarities
online are during the product research phase or discovery when both B2C and B2B
consumers will spend time researching the product involved. Even there, B2B buyer
behavior varies as most B2B buyers would have received printed material from all
the sellers of the products theyre interested in.
5. Post Purchase: Good after-sales service is a key component of selling to both
businesses and consumers. Business customers are usually regarded as longer-term
buyers. Typical business purchases, such as computer networks or machinery,
require maintenance, follow-up and spare parts. As a result, the level of customer
care offered by a supplier is a major part of a business's decision to purchase. If
there are problems, the business will want to work with its supplier to resolve them.
Consumers, on the other hand, will usually access after-sales support only if there is
a problem or they want to complain. With the advent of social media, it is now very
easy for consumers to make public their dissatisfaction with a company. So
businesses selling to consumers need to be able to react to complaints quickly and
effectively in order to preserve their reputations.

Four Reasons Why a New Product Fails

Bringinganewproducttomarketrequiresextensiveresearchandpreparation,butonlyoneinfourproductsinthe
developmentpipelineevermakesittoconsumers.Ofthese,oneinthreefailatlaunch.Therearefourmainreasonswhyanew
productfails,allofthemofvitalconcerntoinventorsandentrepreneurswhowanttoachievesuccessinthemarketplace.

Lack of Demand
Youcanbuildaproduct,butconsumersmaysimplyrejectit.A"HarvardBusinessReview"articlethatlookedatthereasons
whyproductsfailedsawtheSegwayasanexampleofaproductthathasn'tcaughton,eventhoughitisstillavailableforsale.
Monthsbeforetheproductcametothemarket,itsinventorraisedexpectationsbysayingthathewasbuildingan"alternativeto
theautomobile."WhentheSegwaymadeitsdebut,consumersdiscoveredthattheproductwasessentiallyamotorizedscooter,
retailingfor$5,000.Today,theproductpricehasbeendropped,butitissoldchieflytopolicedepartmentsandcitytour
guides.ThegeneralpublichasshownnointerestintheSegway.Findaneedtofill,andestablishitbysurveysbeforeinvesting
afortuneinresearchanddevelopmentthatmightgooffacliff.

Marketing Research
"Badestimatesofmarketpotential(orothermarketingresearchmistakes)"wasoneofthepointsaBooz,AllenandHamilton
studyonthesubjectofnewproductsfound.In2004,CocaColareleasedC2,aproductaimedat20to40yearoldmenwho
likethetasteofCoke,butwhommarketersbelievedwouldpreferhalfthecaloriesandcarbsoftheoriginalCoke.Theproduct

failedandresearchconductedafterthelaunchshowedthatmenwantedthefulltasteofCoke,butwithnocaloriesandno
carbs.Hadresearchbeenproperlyconductedtheproductwouldhavenevercometothemarket.Instead,itsreplacement,Coke
Zero,wouldhavebeenintroduced,aproductthatmenwantwithCoke'stasteretained,butfreeofbothcaloriesandcarbs.
Researchfirst,thenrelease.

Target Market
Youcanserveuptherightproduct,butyourcustomerbasewon'treceiveit.AnexampleofthisisfastfoodgiantMcDonald's,
whichhastriedtobringmanyproductstothemarketthroughtheyearsandhasseenquiteafewfail.Amongtheproducts
pronounced"deadonarrival"wasMcLobster,a$5.99lobstersandwichthatwasthewrongproductforitscustomers.Hot
dogs,pizzaandpastawereotherproductsthatweretriedandfailed,asdidtheMcLeanDeluxe,alowercalorieburgerthatalso
provedlowontaste.MostfailedMcDonald'sproductsjustweren'trightforthisburgerlovingcrowd.Knowyourtargetmarket
isthemoral,anddolimitedrolloutstoasegmentofitbeforegoingfullscale.

Flawed Product
TheMicrosoftCorporationhasmanagedtomakebillionsofdollarsannuallydespitebringingtothemarketproductsthatwere
consideredflawedbymanyreviewersandusers,includingitsVISTAoperatingsystem.Microsoftpoured$500millioninto
marketingtheproduct,whichwasdesignedtoreplaceWindowsXP.Instead,consumersfoundtheproducttobeflawedand
downgradedtoXPorswitchedtoApple,acompetingcomputermakerandoperatingsystem.Microsoftcouldhaveavoideda
problemhaditbroughtaproducttothemarketthatwasnotflawed.Thoroughpremarkettestingbyarepresentativecross
sectionofactualpotentialcustomerscanhelpbusinessesavoidthispotentialpitfall.

Difference between B2B and B2C