The rise and rise of digital B2B

Kath Brameld at Oracle NetSuite describes the factors that will enable business-to-business ecommerce to succeed

 

The global business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce market is projected to reach $26.65 trillion by 2028, marking the clear value of digital investment in the space.

 

For all the business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce growth we’ve seen in recent years, B2B sales have also gone digital, marking a fundamental change in how business has traditionally been conducted.

 

Previously, different business models required different strategies, with B2B and B2C models primarily differing in their buying cycles. B2B companies tend to take longer to make decisions, dealing with bigger budgets and multiple stakeholders.

 

When it comes to selling products and services to consumers, it is usually dependent on rapidly shifting trends, so the cycle is faster and more transactional.

 

However, the high standard of customer experience in consumer businesses now feeds into B2B business decisions. This has driven more B2B businesses to adopt features like omnichannel platforms, personalisation, and flexible payment options.

 

So, how can new technologies and strategies help B2B ecommerce succeed?

 

Frictionless customer experience

B2C ecommerce is largely a frictionless customer experience. B2B customers are expecting the same for their business purchases. Offering a frictionless shopping experience means identifying and solving any bottlenecks that may impede the customer from completing their journey.

 

Friction points that need to be addressed by a business include a lack of real-time inventory, sites that don’t follow B2B ecommerce website design best practices, and a lack of self-service or customer service help for when issues arise.

 

It may seem obvious, but with any customer-facing platform, a well designed user experience is fundamental. It not only represents your brand but enables you to optimise conversion rates. Assets such as product images, informative descriptions, and video content make the customer experience more intuitive and engaging, ultimately increasing sales revenue.

 

Fast load times are also essential, with customers’ patience wearing thin when their experience is compromised. For instance, a global analysis by Google of 900,000 mobile ads’ landing pages found that the probability of visitors leaving a page significantly increased with every second of page load time.

 

A reliable and efficient ecommerce platform is vital to mitigate slow loading times that deter potential customers and reduce sales.

 

And remember that the B2B buying journey is much more information intensive than a consumer purchase. Turn your website into an educational hub by providing relevant information on your product or service, as well as the industry itself – in various engaging formats. This can draw new buyers in and even convince current customers to buy more. Blogs, webinars, eBooks, videos and podcasts are all good options to raise awareness among prospects.

 

Harmonised data drives better insights

Having separate systems and siloed data can disrupt the seamless and frictionless customer experience that businesses want to achieve. Off-the-shelf tech products do not often meet the varied and unique requirements of SMEs, creating a fractured landscape of different solutions and providers.

 

In the fast-moving ecommerce space, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems offer a centralised hub to manage different streams of activity like accounting, supply chain operations, and procurement.

 

ERP unifies operations, integrating data and informing insights allowing leaders to spend more time on developing strategy and gaining a competitive edge in today’s market.

 

AI is more than just a buzzword

Artificial intelligence (AI) may still be considered a buzzword, but this should not detract from its value to B2B distributors in saving time and costs. In customer service, companies can leverage AI to feed into services like chatbots, giving customers rapid responses to simple enquiries and saving agent time for more complex or value-add cases.

 

Levelling up the self-service aspects of your platform can give customers the answers they need on the channel they prefer, empowering their shopping experience.

 

Personalisation is also key for B2B customers. If companies can tap into customer behaviours and habits, it stands as a huge opportunity to build brand loyalty. Instead of manually surveying customers and manually selecting products of interest, AI can provide upselling opportunities by automatically assessing previous purchases and suggesting product recommendations tailored to each customer.

 

Manage customer data effectively

Business growth is dependent on the ability of businesses to establish long-lasting customer relationships. A customer relationship management (CRM) system enables companies to manage relationships with existing and prospective customers all in one place.

 

Gathering customer data in this way makes it easier to identify service issues, with businesses able to work on points of friction like faulty webpages, payment issues, or limited stocks to create a more seamless experience for customers.

 

A CRM system also enables a referral economy, which incentivises customers to share positive experiences to attract new customers.

 

Level up inventory management

Compared to B2C fulfillment, B2B fulfillment tends to be more complex due to the larger quantities involved, and because products can be larger, bulkier, and, at times, subject to strict regulation. Having the right inventory management system can help businesses to effectively track stock levels, sales, and shipments, increase the speed of fulfilment and ensure service-level agreements are met.

 

Inventory errors could be producing unnecessary costs that affect your bottom line. In the current recession every penny matters, especially for small businesses, so finding ways to minimise costs wherever possible is crucial. Automated inventory management systems account for human error, ensuring accurate reporting and enabling better planning for disruption.

 

As B2B ecommerce grows, a new generation of tech-savvy business leaders are forging a new path to success. They recognise the obsolescence of old sales models, and the subsequent need for new technologies. This momentum will continue building in 2023, and these technologies are here to lead the way.

 

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Kath Brameld is Industry Solutions Advisor – Retail and Wholesale at Oracle NetSuite

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com