Types of Markets

Types of Markets include:

B2B markets - Businesses selling to other businesses.

• Resource Market: Firms involved in primary production (mining, agriculture, fishing)

• Industrial Market: Firms that use intermediate goods to produce more complicated final goods (car manufacturers, shipping manufacturers)

• Intermediate Market: Wholesaling / Retailing firms that act as resellers of finished goods (supermarkets, Amazon)

B2C market - Businesses selling to end users / consumers.

• Consumer Market: Individuals  that consume the goods / services

  • Mass Market: mass production, mass distribution of standardised product to unsegmented market (chips, soft drink)

  • Niche Market: selected market segments of buyers with specific needs or lifestyles (cars, magazines, sporting equipment)

Point of confusion:

There is a difference between what industrial sector (Year 11 Course) a business is in - and the market within which they compete. 

A lot of HSC questions focus upon the market that firms compete in.

A business competes in the market that is DOWNSTREAM to their operation. 

That is, who are the business’ customers? 

They are competing in that market against rival firms for the customer dollar (either a business or end-consumer).

Examples:

• Woolworths is a tertiary service firm (retailer) who competes in the B2C Mass Consumer Market.

• Heinz is a secondary sector firm (food manufacturer) who competes in the B2B Intermediate Market (their customers are wholesalers / retailers).

• John Deere is a secondary sector firm (farm equipment manufacturer) who competes in the B2B Resource Market (selling to farmers).

• BHP Billiton is a primary sector firm (mining company) who competes in the B2B Industrial Market (their customers are manufacturers).