B2B eCommerce

Posted On May 31, 2019 by bubyr
B2B

Business-to-business represents a big part of the market that includes services and goods transferred from one company or retailer to another. B2B eCommerce is a driving force and merchants are looking for ways to improve and expand their services.

In 2018, online B2B reached a figure of $900 billion and specialists expect this number to reach $1.1 trillion in 2020.

At this moment, less than 50% of B2B companies own an online store. Most sellers are focused on shifting offline customers to the online environment by investing in new platforms, web design and content, multichannel and mobile commerce and search engine optimization.

Another major point of focus for B2B is to build a better analytics stack, allowing them to learn more about how customers interact with their brand and optimize their marketing strategies.

Advantages of B2B eCommerce:

  • Lower search costs for buyers
  • Reduced inventory levels and costs
  • Lower transaction and administrative costs
  • More collaboration opportunities with suppliers and distributors
  • Price transparency
  • Improved the quality of the products
  • Reduced quality issues
  • Increased production flexibility

B2B Infrastructure

The B2B infrastructure for more complex websites can offer groups of products personalized for different customers. When a customer logs in, the system selects and displays the appropriate products. This is a commonly used method to facilitate the user experience and present relevant items to the buyers. You also have the option to integrate systems with your suppliers and logistic partners in order to manage the purchasing, stockholding, and distribution more efficiently.

Are B2B customers different than the B2C ones?

The B2C client is looking for the best price, does online research before purchasing but tends to become a returning customer once the trust is established.

The business buyer is more sophisticated, looking for a long-term relationship and making sure the products or services can benefit their company.

The B2C market is complex when it comes to adaptability, flexibility and improved customer experience. B2B companies are successfully implementing B2C strategies and see excellent results while doing this.

The key to a successful B2B company is to relate to your clients and offer them what they need. By personalizing their experiences, your clients will be more inclined to become loyal.

B2B online presence and development of web stores have eliminated the middleman, which is another bonus point when it comes to engaging to your customers, getting to know them, provide them with personalized services and working towards a long-term business relationship.

An efficient personalization strategy must include these main factors:

  • Customized catalogs, contracts, workflows to facilitate the purchasing process
  • Accurate website content
  • Custom search
  • Guided selling – tell your customers more about automatic configuration, prices, quotes.

The B2B customer experience ratings are considerably behind compared to the retail ones. B2C companies usually score in the 65 to 85% range, but B2B companies average less than 50%. It might not seem like a big difference, however, as the consumer expectations rise, so will the gap between the two sectors.

Using a mobile phone and digitization, in general, has set new industry standards and customers expect a seamless, efficient and easy experience. Real-time responsiveness and user-friendly apps are setting an even higher bar when it comes to doing online business. All of these expectations are migrating over to the B2B customers as well.

Optimizing and facilitating the B2B experiences doesn’t mean just keeping up with your competitors and customers, but also a great impact on the company’s performance.

B2B companies that redid their customer experience processes had similar benefits as the B2C ones, such as an increase in revenue, higher client satisfaction scores, better employee satisfaction and a significant reduction in the operational costs.

Changing the traditional structure of B2B is beneficial to all involved parties, as adaptability and embracing the market tendencies are the key to succeeding for any business.

Helix Solutions is constantly focusing on providing excellent services to a wide variety of clients. Our B2B module is a popular choice for many companies and you could be one of our successful clients as well!

The Helix Solutions B2B solution includes the following key features:

  • Vendor store with specific prices and products, available for all or specific employee group or companies
  • Subsidy displayed for all employees once logged in
  • Companies have their own URLs and logos once the employees log in
  • B2B owner can create new stores and perform basic customizations (logo, store name, shipping address override)
  • Store owner account which allows the management of shipping and payment methods
  • Purchase history view
  • Employees management (set up subsidy and payroll deduction amounts)
  • Create on-demand custom reports
  • Add users to certain groups
  • Create orders for employees
  • Manage shopping cart options

Contact us to learn more about our B2B eCommerce solution!

Looking to improve your eCommerce UX and increase your revenue?
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