Master of Management Studies (M.M.S) Business to Business Marketing Syllabus - Mumbai University 2026

Course objectives

• 1 To familiarize students with unique principles and strategies of business-to- business (B2B) marketing.
• 2 To equip students with practical skills for segmentation, targeting, and relationship management in B2B markets.
• 3 To develop analytical capabilities for assessing industrial buying behaviour and decision-making processes.
• 4 To foster understanding of strategic pricing, sales processes, and supply chain dynamics in B2B contexts.
• 5 To cultivate insights into contemporary trends, digital innovations, and effective communication strategies in B2B marketing.

Course outcomes

• CO1: Understand the key factors in B2B segmentation, role of DMU’s in organisation purchases, and value creation in B2B markets
• CO2: Apply the concepts learnt in the course to develop an appealing value- proposition for business customers
• CO3: Analyse the buyer value system to identify opportunities
• CO4: Evaluate the competitor’s strategies, position in the ecosystem / network and identify the most suitable position for the firm.
• CO5: Create a business plan for launch of a product/solution from theories learnt in the course

Unit 1 CO1, CO2 · 4 hours

Nature of Business markets, key differences between B2B and B2C markets; Global or cross‐border B2B contexts - export/import.

Unit 2 CO1, CO2 · 6 hours

Assessing market opportunities, industrial market segmentation, targeting, and positioning; fit between product variables and target segment; account-based marketing; segmentation and hyper‐focused targeting on high‐ value accounts; refining B2B segmentation and positioning; Coordinating marketing and sales for customized pitches.

Unit 3 CO1, CO2 CO3 · 5 hours

Decision Making Units – roles in purchase decision, composition, priorities and interests, size and formal organization, power structure, Global teams and virtual DMU’s, cultural issues

Unit 4 CO1, CO2, CO3 · 6 hours

Types of products – straight rebuy, modified rebuy, new tasks, B2B benefits typology – economic, tangible benefits; non-economic, tangible benefits; economic, intangible benefits, non- economic intangible benefits; Industrial Product Lifecycle Analysis; solutions marketing v/s product marketing; product/service bundling

Unit 5 CO2, CO3 · 5 hours

New Product Development Process, impact of technology, diffusion of innovation; AI role in product/solutions innovation, predictive analytics, personalization, big data analytics

Unit 6 CO2, CO3, CO4 · 6 hours

Value Proposition in B2B markets – resonating focus, deep understanding of customer and priorities; B2B branding, sustainability and ESG as emerging consideration in purchase decisions

Unit 7. CO3, CO4 · 6 hours

Business ecosystems – network of independent niches; co-evolving roles and responsibilities, shape co-evolution of innovation; keystone, Landlord and nicher strategies in the business ecosystem

Unit 8. CO3, CO4 · 6 hours

Platform Business Model – network effects, role of platforms, platform decisions, coring of platform,

Unit 9 CO3, CO4 · 4 hours

Pricing strategies – determinants of price, competitive bidding, price negotiations; value-based pricing and subscription models; linking price to ROI and outcome metrics

Unit 10 CO3, CO4 · 4 hours

Managing Logistics, channels of distribution, channel design decisions, identification of cost centres; digital channels and e-commerce, B2B procurement online portals, self‐serve SaaS signups.

Unit 11 CO3, CO4 · 4 hours

Managing the sales force – design, structure – product, market, geography, key account management, planning the sales organization; use Martech to track and monitor sales

Unit 12 CO3, CO4 · 4 hours

Promotions – trade fairs and exhibitions; social media in B2B markets, use in various stages of the sales cycle, use in customer service to create positive feedback loops, sales funnel and social media tactics

Text Books

• 1 Industrial Marketing: Analysis, Planning and Control. Robert Reeder, Edward Brierty, Betty Reeder. 2e. Prentice- Hall India Edition
• 2 Business to Business Marketing. Ross Brennan, Louise Canning. 3e, Sage

Reference Book

• 1 Business to Business Marketing Management. A Global Perspective. Alan Zimmerman, Jim Blythe. Routledge.