A high-level overview: a value-based perspective on the practice of business-to-business (B2B) marketing

This chapter provides an overview of the practice of value-based B2B marketing, written for academic researchers, as well as professionals in the practice of B2B. Its intent is to provide a complete and holistic view of the practice of B2B, as well as the elements of a well-crafted B2B marketing plan. Beginning with key definitions and distinctive characteristics of B2B, this chapter is built and sequenced on the "Value-Delivery Framework" developed at the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM), in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State, and expanded by ISBM Fellow Dr. Bob Thomas of Georgetown. This framework has formed the core of marketing practice at many B2B firms, B2B marketing courses for MBA students at Penn State, as well as executive education programs for member firms of the ISBM. It includes important citations from the seminal research literature on B2B marketing up through 2021, and suggestions on research pathways much-needed as we go forward.