Many business to business (B2B) enterprises have successfully grown through direct sales, distribution channels, telesales and product catalogues. As a result they have not yet implemented an ecommerce solution. If they have, they aren’t realizing the full benefits available from their ecommerce platform.
Why aren’t large B2B companies fully embracing ecommerce?
In some cases this might be because of a range of legacy systems, structures, processes and roles that they are reluctant to change. However customer expectations are moving fast. To maintain their position in the market, these companies will need to take this step soon.
Companies that have started their B2B ecommerce journey are already reaching new customers and improving the lifetime value of existing customers. Combined with automation and integration they have also improved margins and enhanced customer service.
However, the next step will be about business-wide transformation rather than implementation to meet fast-changing customer needs.
What is the perfect B2B ecommerce solution?
In an increasingly digital age B2B companies must be ready to meet and exceed their customers’ online expectations. To achieve this the ideal enterprise-scale ecommerce solution needs to be both powerful and flexible, like the Cloudfy Interactions platform.
For effective, secure and scalable ecommerce a Cloud-based solution designed for B2B trading is the right place to start. With powerful pre-built functions, integration with major business systems and an application programming interface (API) for customized requirements, modern B2B ecommerce can now be delivered in weeks rather than months.
What more could you want?
Expectations are high and the ideal B2B enterprise ecommerce solution will deliver a great deal more.
SEO – with seven out of 10 buyers expecting to research half of their purchases online, it’s important that they find your site. Your site needs to be well designed technically and easy to update with valuable, relevant content that will keep you high in the search engine result pages (SERPs).
Search-ability – once buyers have found your site, they will want fast and highly relevant search results. For companies that have large and complex product catalogues this can be a challenge. However, a really effective search function that can also deliver Amazon-style ‘Buyers also selected this’ options and related product suggestions will mean customers won’t need to look any further. Supported by seamless options to speak with sales and customer support staff for any detailed inquiries before returning to their transaction will keep them engaged throughout their purchase process.
Customer-centric services – while B2B buyers are looking for retail quality experiences for their work-related purchases, their needs are very different. An ecommerce site that can easily integrate with your enterprise systems will deliver real-time information about stock availability, previous buying histories and bespoke purchasing arrangements tailored to your customer’s needs. Add an easy way to deliver a configure, price, quote (or CPQ) service for specialist requirements and you will be ticking a lot of boxes for your customers.
Mobile responsiveness – B2B buyers are increasingly using mobile devices for research. To fully meet their needs you will need to deliver super-fast mobile response times with the ability to continue on other desktop or other mobile devices.
Analytics – ecommerce provides a wealth of data about how your customers behave. The challenge has been how to manage such high volumes of information to deliver useful insights. Now machine learning and artificial intelligence can link online activity with back office systems and give you real-time information about stock levels, distribution and customer preferences.
Combine these features with years of professional experience and you will have the perfect B2B enterprise ecommerce solution.
Does this sound too good to be true?
See for yourself with a free Cloudfy demonstration. Contact us today.
