I've worked both sides: consumer apps with millions of users and enterprise software sold to Fortune 500 companies. They're both called "product management," but the day-to-day reality is dramatically different.
Here's what nobody tells you about the B2B vs B2C divide—and how to figure out which one fits you.
The Core Difference
B2C (Business to Consumer): You're building for individuals. Users pay for themselves. Success is measured in engagement, retention, and conversion. You ship to millions and watch graphs move.
B2B (Business to Business): You're building for companies. Buyers are often different from users. Success is measured in revenue, retention, and expansion. You talk to specific customers and solve their specific problems.
Same title, different jobs.
How the Day-to-Day Differs
B2C PM Life
- •Launch a feature, watch the metrics dashboard obsessively for the next 48 hours
- •Run A/B tests constantly; most experiments fail
- •User research means surveys, usability tests, and behavioral data
- •Talking to individual users happens, but you can't build for any single person
- •Ship fast, iterate faster
- •Your success = did the graph go up?
B2B PM Life
- •Spend significant time with specific customers (calls, visits, QBRs)
- •Buyers (executives) have different needs than users (employees)
- •Sales team brings you feature requests that are "deal blockers"
- •Deal with procurement, security reviews, and enterprise requirements
- •Ship bigger releases, longer cycles
- •Your success = did customers renew? Did we close deals?
The Sales Pressure Question
Let's address the elephant in the room: in B2B, the sales team will pressure you.
"This customer needs X feature or they won't close."
"Our competitor has Y, we're losing deals."
"We promised Z in the sales process."
You'll hear this constantly. Some of it is valid signal. Some of it is noise. A good B2B PM learns to distinguish between the two—and learns how to say no without destroying relationships.
In B2C, the pressure comes from metrics and executives, not from sales reps with quotas. Different kind of pressure, equally intense.
If sales dynamics sound exhausting to you, that's worth knowing. If you enjoy the strategic game of balancing customer needs with product vision, B2B might be your thing.
Skills That Matter More in Each World
B2B
- •Customer empathy for business problems, not personal problems
- •Ability to navigate complex organizations (who's the real buyer?)
- •Comfort with longer sales cycles and indirect feedback
- •Understanding of security, compliance, and enterprise requirements
- •Willingness to do customer calls regularly
- •Working closely with sales and customer success teams
B2C
- •Data analysis and experimentation expertise
- •Consumer psychology and behavioral design
- •Speed and comfort with ambiguity
- •Growth and funnel optimization
- •Working closely with marketing and design teams
- •Understanding of consumer trends and cultural moments
The Money Question
Let me be direct: B2B PM roles often pay better, especially at the mid-to-senior level.
Why? Enterprise software tends to generate more revenue per customer, and PMs are closely tied to that revenue. When a feature helps close a $500K deal, the value creation is obvious. In B2C, attribution is murkier.
That said, consumer PM roles at top companies (Meta, Netflix, Spotify) pay extremely well. And equity at a successful consumer company can be more valuable than salary at an enterprise startup.
Don't optimize purely for compensation—but don't ignore it either.
The Career Path Implications
B2B PM careers often lead to:
- •Enterprise software companies (Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday)
- •Sales-led organizations with strong PM/Sales alignment
- •Founder roles at B2B startups (the network effects are strong)
- •Product leadership at companies with complex buyer journeys
B2C PM careers often lead to:
- •Consumer tech (Meta, TikTok, Netflix, gaming)
- •Consumer startups and DTC brands
- •Product leadership at companies focused on user experience
- •Growth-focused roles and teams
Switching between B2B and B2C is possible but not trivial. The skills transfer partially, but you'll need to demonstrate you understand the differences.
How to Choose
Consider B2B if:
- •You enjoy understanding business problems and workflows
- •Customer conversations energize you (not drain you)
- •You're comfortable with longer timelines and less immediate feedback
- •You're interested in the strategic side of sales and pricing
- •You like building things that make people's work lives better
Consider B2C if:
- •You love consumer products and think about them constantly
- •Data and experimentation excite you
- •You want to see fast feedback (metrics moving in real-time)
- •You're interested in psychology, design, and user behavior
- •You like building things that are part of people's personal lives
Questions to ask yourself:
- •What apps do I obsess over—work tools or personal apps?
- •Do I enjoy talking to customers or prefer looking at data?
- •How important is seeing immediate results?
- •Am I energized or drained by sales conversations?
The Nuances: B2B2C and Prosumer
The B2B vs B2C framing oversimplifies things. There are middle grounds:
B2B2C: Companies like Stripe, Twilio, or Shopify. You're selling to businesses, but their end users matter too. You need both skill sets.
Prosumer: Products like Notion, Figma, or Slack. They spread through individual users but monetize through businesses. Consumer-style growth with enterprise-style revenue.
SMB B2B: Small business software (think Square, Gusto) often feels closer to B2C because the buyer and user are often the same person.
If you're unsure which path fits, these hybrid categories can be good experiments.
My Honest Take
Both paths are valid. Both can be rewarding. Both can make you a better PM.
The mistake I see people make: they choose based on company prestige rather than fit. They take a B2B role because the company is hot, but they're miserable talking to enterprise customers all day. Or they take a consumer role because they idolize the product, but they get frustrated by the slower pace of individual feature impact.
Think about what energizes you in the day-to-day work. That's the better filter than company brand or compensation.
And if you're early in your career? Try both if you can. You won't really know your preference until you've experienced the reality of each.