Remain Relevant with The Right B2B E-Commerce Solution: Adapt and benefit in the face of change

Ever since COVID-19 changed everyone’s lives and purchase patterns last year, B2B e-commerce has become more important than ever. And while salespeople still have to be able to reach customers, and capture demand as it happens, B2B businesses have to execute their e-commerce channels and digital marketing efforts with excellence. 

Today’s B2B Customers Expect B2C Customer Experiences 

In the wake of the pandemicthe economy is still adjusting to new realities. Nearly all businesses have been forced to transform, especially in the B2B world. ManB2B companies have pivoted their businesses in order to continue to provide great customer experiences, even in these uncertain times. Historically, B2B companies have not been overly eager to adopt new technologies that promise to reshape how they approach their customer experience. However the COVID-19 crisis, a catalyst for this changeis accelerating the adoption of technology and is forcing B2B companies to adapt to the needs of their customers by offering B2C-quality experiences within their digital channels.

B2B companies have embraced the importance of investing in (long-term) customer relationships and loyalty, while at the same time accelerating innovation. The changes in customer behaviour are part of an acceleration in digital trends that were already set in motion before the pandemic hit. Traditionally, the main role of B2B e-commerce ito deliver great shopping experiences to business customers, in addition to accommodating back-office processes such as shipping, ordering calculations, evaluating system integrations, the digitization of pricing, and addressing customer needs for omnichannel and self-service experiences. But times have changed.   

Facing change head on 

B2B companies face many challenges. Adapting to your customers increasingly elaborate needs and wants demands more than occasionally adding new digital tools to your arsenalTo truly enable your company to overcome gaps in the customer experience, better serve your customers, and increase your market share, you need to think about changing the way people engage across the entire value chain.

This is relevant for both your own people in sales and marketing, as well as your customers.  The line between B2B and B2C experiences is disappearing, and customer expectations regarding options and quality are spilling over from B2C to B2BFaced with the need to explore new routes to market since the pandemic, B2B organizations are either building or speeding up their B2C capabilities, resulting in a hybrid of the two also referred to as B2E (business to everyone). Companies are becoming increasingly interested in doing both, and they’re looking for technology platforms that support this ambition.   

Intelligent automation becomes mandatory 

There is an untapped potential in the B2B world when it comes to fuelling a CX transformation with the capabilities of artificial intelligence. Automation is the name of the gameFor example, B2B organizations benefit greatly from anticipating or predicting customer orders and automated e-commerce fulfilmentrequiring access to the right data when interacting with customers. Your e-commerce system needs to be able to automate manual processes to be truly successful at improving selling efficiency Fortunately, there are positive side effects to the impact of COVID-19 on businesses. It accelerated innovation and automation around B2B, increasing efficiency and reducing costs. 

With automation done rightyou can build more agility into your business and supply chain. And while B2B organizations may never aim to become completely zero touch, theshould certainly embrace a more ‘low touch’ approach wherever they can. Intelligent automation, such as chatbot technology, makes it easier for people to find content and interact with it, and helps customers with basic product, service, or aftermarket support.

B2B companies are rapidly embracing data and AI to predict future disruptions. A couple of the biggest distributors are already exploring the best ways to leverage COVID-19 data to uncover early indications of outbreaks and predict the kind of demand they generateBusinesses able to embrace the kind of churn and bumps that are likely to occur over the next 12 months will continue to do well.   

B2B customers get hyper-segmented 

Customers nowadays value the quality of their shopping experience over price and product quality. B2B customers want personalized shopping experiences, whenever or wherever they make a purchase. Personalization has long been a focus for B2C brands, but now B2B customers are also looking for an empathic and problem-solving approach from their business suppliers. The challenge B2B companies face is successfully shifting focus to a more human approach, putting the customer experience first

It’s no longer just about the value proposition; the cultural proposition is taking precedenceB2B buyers want to work with partners who understand their wants and needs, and actively try to solve their biggest pain points.

To provide a high level of personalization, some B2B organizations are using?customer data?to add more?segmentation?to their customer base and, in many cases, micro-segmentation.    

Enterprise agility at the core of transformation 

Before the coronavirus outbreak, many B2B buyers bought directly from salespeople. Now that this number has dropped significantly, many B2B companies have been forced to make fundamental changes in an extraordinarily short amount of time. A transformation of this magnitude requires significant employee training, automation, IT support, and more than anything, agility. Combined with experience management we call this the business experience technology space  It’s worth noting that many B2B organizations are embracing design thinking, or lean start-up principles like agile methodologies, to accomplish this. 

They’re breaking down business challenges and seizing new opportunities through features such as customer collaboration portals or voice assistants, creating entirely new experiences in the process. Good CMOs are creating closed feedback-loops for product, brand, and customer experience innovation. This allows for the democratization of data access and insights, and the scaling of a test-and-learn approach.  

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Overview of valuable B2C features that have found their way to the B2B market 

Relevant product information and content  With B2B customers shifting to online channels, it’s important that all product information and content is relevant, fact-based, and up to date. Rich content can be of great help when deciding on the right product without the interaction with a salesperson. The B2B platform needs to ensure products are discoverable through search and cross-selling, in addition to availability and stock details for customers who do not typically order from these categories. Therefore, products have to be connected to accurate data, to ensure they come up in the right searches. By having all this content and information available online, B2B customers are empowered by complete product transparency and seamless purchasing experience. In other words, they are given all the tools needed for browsing, buying, and everything in between, all in one place.

Accurate stock information   Items have to be clearly marked and can’t be ordered when out of stock.?This might seem obvious, but not all B2B systems are as properly integrated as they should be. Having products still appear in search and category listings, marked with ‘Sold out’‘Back ordered’, and ‘Expected on xx-xx-xxx’ provides a better service to your customers than simply omitting them from the results. Total transparency of your inventory will save customers time and aggravation. And while it may feel counterintuitive, B2B companies can even consider helping customers locate these products outside of their own ecosystem, from a competitor digital channel. Offering this level of service, and showing confidence in your own company and products, builds goodwill and can go a long way in establishing a long-lasting relationship

Collaboration  B2B customers usually expect some kind of structural collaboration with you as a B2B company. Offering B2C features makes the B2B customers’ experiences and interactions with your business more efficient and enjoyable. These features can include cross-sell