B2C vs B2B Identity Resolution: What Is the Difference?
B2B identity resolution matches visitors to companies. B2C identity resolution matches them to individual consumers. See how they differ and which one ecommerce brands need.
By IntentWave · Published · 3 min read
Key takeaways
- B2B identity resolution matches visitors to companies and business contacts, mainly for sales outreach.
- B2C identity resolution matches visitors to individual consumers, mainly for marketing, retargeting and personalization.
- The tools, data and consent expectations differ, so pick the one built for who you sell to.
- IntentWave is B2C identity resolution for ecommerce: Shopify and Shopify Plus brands that sell to consumers.
The short answer
If you sell to businesses, you want to know which company is on your site. If you sell to people, you want to know which shopper is on your site. The first is B2B identity resolution. The second is B2C identity resolution. Both connect anonymous visits to a known identity, but the unit is different: a company in one case, a person in the other.
B2B vs B2C identity resolution compared
| B2B | B2C | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is identified | A company, and sometimes a role | An individual shopper |
| Typical buyer | A sales or demand generation team | An ecommerce or growth team |
| Common data | Company, industry, size, contact role | Email, device, browsing and purchase behavior |
| Main use | Outreach by sales, account-based marketing | Email and SMS flows, ad audiences, personalization |
| Sales cycle | Long, many stakeholders | Short, often a single session or a few |
| Consent focus | Business contact rules | Consumer privacy rules, which vary by state and country |
Why the difference matters
A tool designed to tell your sales team that "Acme Corp visited your pricing page" does little for a Shopify store that needs to know which shopper left a jacket in their cart. And a consumer tool will not tell a software company which accounts are researching it. Pick for your model.
What B2C identity resolution does for ecommerce
- Recognizes a returning shopper across devices
- Connects a consented visit to an email so you can follow up
- Ties the products viewed or added to cart to the profile
- Sends audiences to Meta and profiles to Klaviyo
Our guide to what identity resolution is covers the mechanics, and anonymous visitor identification on Shopify walks through the setup.
Where IntentWave fits
IntentWave is built for B2C ecommerce. Our customers are Shopify and Shopify Plus brands that sell to consumers, and the people IntentWave identifies are those brands' shoppers, with consent. It is sold to businesses, which is why you will sometimes see it described that way, but the identities it resolves are consumers.
Which should you choose?
- Selling software or services to companies: look for B2B identity resolution.
- Selling products to consumers online: look for B2C identity resolution.
- Doing both: you may need two tools, and you should keep their data and consent practices separate.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between B2B and B2C identity resolution?
B2B matches visitors to companies and business contacts for sales and account-based marketing. B2C matches visitors to individual consumers for retargeting, email and personalization.
Is IntentWave B2B or B2C?
IntentWave is B2C identity resolution for ecommerce. It is sold to Shopify and Shopify Plus brands, and it identifies those brands' consumer shoppers, with consent.
Can one platform do both B2B and B2C identity resolution?
Some platforms try, but the data, consent rules and workflows differ. Choose the one built for the customers you actually sell to.
Do ecommerce brands need B2B identity resolution?
Usually not. Ecommerce brands that sell to consumers need to recognize individual shoppers, which is B2C identity resolution.