Build A Successful B2B Ecommerce Strategy By Employing These 6 Tactics

Build A Successful B2B Ecommerce Strategy By Employing
These 6 Tactics

More Than 2.14 Billion Digital Buyers Have Surfaced In 2021 — Almost 900 Million
More Than The Previous Year. This Speaks Volumes About The Trend Of Businesses
Swiftly Turning To Ecommerce As A Viable Means Of Channel Sales And Finding
Success With It. Even Brick-And-Mortar Businesses Have Realized That Ecommerce
Channels Could Act As A Force Multiplier To Improve Their Conversions, Increase
Online Sales, And Reduce Operating Costs.

However, Success In The Ecommerce Industry Is More Than Just A Matter Of
Playing The Numbers Right. It Depends On How Well Businesses Can React To
Their Inherent Challenges And How Well They Can Differentiate Themselves From
Their Respective Competitors.

To That End, Any “Successful” Ecommerce Strategy Will Ensure That The Business
Has The Means To Withstand The Inevitable Threats Posed By The Rapidly
Changing Market — From The Growing Adoption Of Technologies (Like Machine
Learning) To The Rising Concerns Related To Data Privacy.

And To Ensure The Success Of Ecommerce Strategies, B2b Companies Need To
Keep Things In Perspective. Here Are A Few Pointers That Could Help Them Do
Just That.

Keep The Customer Experience Front And Center

B2B eCommerce with businesses as “consumers” entails adhering to top-notch
customer experience standards at various customer touchpoints, such as website
UX, omnichannel, etc.

B2B buyers differ from their B2C counterparts as they explicitly engage with your
business on a transactional basis. And only if all their queries have been answered
to their satisfaction and they’re right in adjudging your credibility, they’ll
preferably move forward with the deal.
So, it’s essential to invest time and money in enhancing the customer experience
with high-grade website UX, intuitive landing pages and processes, clear value
propositions that resonate with organizations’ pain points, and highlighted
product differentiation to ensure greater ROI.

Recent Research By Southampton Business School Reveals That:
1. Customer satisfaction is directly proportional to consumer spending
2. E-service quality is directly proportional to e-satisfaction and e-loyalty
Thus, it is advisable that top eCommerce companies focus on the little things that
could make a big difference in how their customers perceive their business.

Don’t Neglect Product Descriptions

For B2B buyers, it is important to select the most appropriate products with
precise specifications. It is, therefore, essential to ensure that the eCommerce site
has detailed product descriptions that help the buyers make more informed and
accurate decisions.

At the same time, it is also critical to have a robust Master Data Management
strategy in place because the same product descriptions can be used by multiple
stakeholders like retailers, distributors, or even in product brochures. Having a
centralized repository of product data can help in avoiding multiple versions of
inaccurate information.

Invest In SaaS Tools

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Time is money.” And let’s face it — no one can
afford to waste time investing in eCommerce strategies. Besides, deviation from
the recommended route could prove more costly for the company in the
prolonged run.

Therefore, it is imperative that B2B sellers invest in SaaS tools that can enable
them to run their eCommerce processes smoothly yet effectively. This is
accomplished through the ability of SaaS tools to:

● Optimize and help ease the complexity of running an eCommerce business.
● Reduce common operational inefficiencies when companies try to run their

eCommerce processes in-house.
● Scale easily as per market demand and gain access to future technologies.
● Empower teams to increase revenue and reduce costs by facilitating better

supply channels, improving business intelligence, and enabling faster
decision-making.

For example, some of the popular tools like BigCommerce can integrate ERP
and CRM with a single click and empower automation via APIs — all while
maintaining a server uptime of 99.99%.

Stay Ahead Of The Data Privacy Threat

eCommerce companies need to realize that data generated through B2B
eCommerce is precious because it is so much more actionable and precise. And, if
it’s not managed well, it can prove disastrous for both parties.

Sana’s 2018–19 B2B eCommerce report ranks security as the #1 obstacle to an
effective B2B eCommerce strategy. More than 70% of the respondents allege that
their technological infrastructure is highly prone to cyberattacks.

Unsurprisingly, B2B buyers are much more sensitive about their personal
information and data privacy issues. It is, therefore essential that B2B sellers
ensure that they uphold the highest standards of data protection. They also need
to ensure that all relevant information is removed when it is no longer needed for
the purpose(s) for which it was collected.

However, even when organizations follow the recommended data protection
standards, they still need to be prepared for the unforeseen. This is because the
market is increasingly becoming prone to data breaches and ensuing
consequences.

As such, companies must adhere to these:

● Understand regulatory compliances and prioritize consumers across
every touchpoint.

● Keep note of the latest technologies offering robust security and
necessary safeguards.

● Build a system that can provide timely alerts to mitigate any potential
threat to the organization’s reputation, brand value, etc.

● Monitor the Marketplace Dynamics and stick to the privacy-first
approach.

Emphasize Mobile eCommerce

Mobile eCommerce is in vogue. Data from Google’s and BCG’s analysis showed
that more than 50% of the B2B search queries were made via mobile. The analysis
anticipated the number to surpass 70% in 2020, and rightly so.

In fact, the mobile audience has surpassed the desktop by leaps and bounds.
Keeping this in mind, it is crucial for eCommerce sellers to facilitate a seamless
experience via mobile applications.

As such, responsive design is a must. This is because users will have an even
greater opportunity to engage with your business via mobile devices, especially
those on the go. You could also leverage planning opportunities and web layouts
that are optimized for mobile devices.

Identify the Factors that Define “Success”

Success within B2B eCommerce isn’t subjective. In fact, it can be realized by
identifying the factors that clearly contribute to the eCommerce strategy yielding
desired results. It’s noteworthy that each of these factors belongs to a high-level
theme that determines a strategy’s path.

For instance, Technology is a high-level theme, and factors like security, scalability,
stability, reliability, etc., are the sub-themes that help the eCommerce strategy
align with technological needs. Likewise, Marketing is a high-level theme. Factors
like profitability, cost per lead/sale, churn rate, brand image, pricing, market
position, market segment, etc., are sub-themes that can make your B2B
eCommerce strategy effectively marketing-centric.

In the same vein, business management is a high-level theme. Factors such as
strategic partnerships, value proposition, supply chain value creation, etc., are
sub-themes that can determine the business model for your B2B eCommerce.

The point to understand here is that any eCommerce strategy can benefit from a
holistic perspective of high-level themes and their associated factors. This
perspective is what drives the notion of success and helps to ensure that the B2B
eCommerce strategy doesn’t fall short of the mark.

Conclusion

B2B eCommerce is soaring through the ranks, and it’s important to remember that
your B2B eCommerce strategy can only achieve success if a well-maintained
technological infrastructure and streamlined customer service back it. After all,
the virtual sales environment needs to be as seamless as possible for buyers and
sellers to conduct transactions accurately and efficiently.

While eCommerce solutions providers can be of great help, B2B retailers must
understand the need to create a sustainable business model that will instill trust
and confidence in buyers, help drive customer loyalty, and improve the odds of
achieving success.

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