93% of B2B buyers prefer to purchase online versus using a sales rep.*
Buyer behavior is changing, and it’s not just B2C buyers.
B2B buyers are rapidly moving to a digital-first approach and are increasingly looking to transact online, on their own time. This, combined with the growing expectation of consumer-level customized shopping experiences, has altered the B2B landscape.
With an easy-to-use, robust and native B2B eCommerce platform, you’re empowered to deliver your B2B customers exactly what they demand: an experience as personalized and efficient as those they enjoy on consumer sites.
While it’s true that, for the most part, B2B users are not interested in being dazzled by custom website themes and cutting-edge design, that doesn’t mean they don’t want to use a functional, easy-to-use website. A B2B consumer is still a consumer. And 48% of consumers say that web design is the #1 determiner of the credibility of a business.
If you make the effort to build a B2B website, you should also invest in a functional, attractive, and intuitive layout. Simply building a website that works isn’t enough.
Consider this…
68% of B2B customers prefer to research independently online and 60% would rather not talk with a salesperson*. This means your online content (including search engine results) and experience can make or break your sales.
* Lori Wizdo, The Ways And Means Of B2B Buyer Journey Maps, Forrester Research, August 2017
This may have been true in the past, but not today.
With a native, robust B2B suite built into Adobe Commerce Cloud, you can be up and running in 4-6 months, depending on the complexity of your sales process and products.
Creating a B2B website used to require heavy customizations and web development costs could quickly spin out of control.
This is no longer the case. Adobe Commerce Cloud comes out-of-the-box with a full set of B2B features and functionality, without the need to purchase an additional platform. You can expect a competitive initial investment and the ability to choose the plan that fits your budget.
The Adobe Commerce Cloud B2B suite is designed to fit your business structure and work in parallel with other B2B products and services, such as:
“Our new B2B platform has helped us attract new business and stay one step ahead of our competition. Our current B2B customers are loving it too. They can manage their own account and place orders without a rep, which has reduced our costs. Now that our entire catalog is online, new customers find us, they buy more and they buy more often. The increase in revenue has been significant.”
“Creating custom catalogs and pricing is a breeze. I can even do it myself and don’t have to involve IT anymore. I use the business intelligence to segment data, track interests and retarget after purchase. Bulk ordering has never been easier with CSV file uploads, entering SKUs or pre-set requisition lists. To top it off, I can manage multiple websites from one dashboard. The launch of our B2B platform has been a game-changer.”
“Having an online catalog makes it easy to show customers our products. My customers love direct purchasing which helps them buy quickly, whenever they want and easily re-order. The hours I save not having to fill out order forms I can now spend making more sales.”
“Before we had an online B2B system, I couldn’t help a customer in need because I didn’t have relevant information available. With our B2B connected to our CRM, I can log in to a client’s account and see their entire communication and purchase history and immediately offer help when they reach out.”
Empower your buyers with self-service tools, lower error rates, streamline internal workflows, and reduce inventory and fulfillment costs.
Offer 24×7 access, fast, friction-free purchasing, inventory transparency and rapid fulfillment times.
Increase customer spend, boost sales team productivity, enable expansion into new markets, and offer easier access to insights that can drive your business forward.
Deliver a seamless, customer-centric experience. Differentiate your business and enable smarter faster operations.
True. Some MAY be too complicated, but MOST can fit into an online format.
Any questions your sales team asks can be put into an online workflow. Buying wizards – tools or widgets within the eCommerce platform – can be configured to help online customers choose the right product by asking the same questions your sales team asks over the phone.
B2B eCommerce platforms today are extremely customizable and can be modified to fit your sales, shipping or other processes.
Your company can specify rules that dictate actions to be set in motion based upon your specific process needs.
Use case 1: If a customer located in Territory 1 orders 100 of SKU 1234 to be shipped to their plant that is located in Territory 2, that SKU will be shipped from your warehouse A by a specified date.
Use case 2: Mike owns a national chain of auto part stores, which he operates out of his office in New Jersey. He places an order with your company for 1,000 brake pads to be shipped to his regional distribution center in Madison, WI and 1,000 brake pads to be shipped to a regional distribution center in Reno, NV. When the order is placed, it will be processed and shipped as dictated by specific rules put in place by your company. These rules can determine which warehouse to ship from, method of shipping and date.
Sales teams may think that moving to an online B2B will mean less commission or losing commission.
The reality is, an online system works to a salesperson’s advantage. With a CRM, the entire sales history can be seen, creating more sales opportunities and accountability.
All of this gives sales teams more time to focus on high value relationship building activities.
Plus, when they’re out in the field, they will have your entire catalog at their fingertips on a tablet or laptop.
You’re probably thinking: “High-touch” customer service has been a hallmark of our company. It keeps customers coming back. Moving to a “faceless” online ordering system will scare away customers.
The reality: The new generation of purchasers are used to doing everything online. They want the convenience of placing orders after hours and the ease of online buying.
Increased AOV.
Increased order frequency.
The benefits of an easy-to-use, sales-focused eCommerce platform speak for themselves.
Regardless of your B2B business needs, we can create a solution.
It’s all included in Adobe Commerce (Magento).
It’s all waiting for you.