Over the last 15 years, our shopping experience has changed and arguably improved ten-fold; we are no longer limited to shops that exist within a 20 mile radius of our homes. We can buy clothes, books, groceries and just about anything we could possibly want within a few minutes with just a click of a button. Why should this experience differ in the workplace? Our expectations of online retail don’t change at work, and B2B retailers need to ensure they are delivering against today’s customer expectation of a ‘great experience’.
Forrester research has predicted that B2B retailers will have more than 50% of their customer base buying online from them within the next three years*. Competition is hotting up: Amazon recently launched Amazonsupply.com in the US, which supplies a range of wholesale products and Google is also getting in on the act, its Google Shopping for Suppliers beta site carries a wide range of electronics, mechanical and measurement products. Increasingly, too, stakeholders across the whole supply chain, from manufacturers to wholesalers are selling directly to your customers. Forrester research has also shown that 41% of B2B companies surveyed are now selling directly against these other notches of the supply chain.
The first step in identifying an opportunity is finding out what your customers really value. Do this by talking to those who regularly interact with them; account managers and sales teams who engage with these people every day. Make sure your content is interesting and unique. Whether that’s through whitepapers, newsletters or webinars, it needs to set you apart from your competitors. Remember it’s easier to sell products online when your website is easy to use, attractive, as well as providing all the necessary information and delivering a service your customer wants.
Large customers and organisations may value a more efficient interaction with you, which is likely to include online order management, pricing, logistics and accounting, accessible 24 hours a day from any digital device. Smaller businesses might simply want to make an order from their van. Screwfix, for example, is leading the way with its mobile catalogue app and changing the way its customers, who are often on the road, can order products. Tradesmen all over the UK can select the products they want to buy and are immediately shown the closest stores that have all of the items they need in stock. To call it a success wouldn’t be doing it justice; it has received over 500,000 downloads in the UK, the number of mobile sales has risen by 98% this year and turnover has grown by 25.5%.
There is clearly a demand for this type of service and the opportunities in B2B ecommerce need to be taken seriously. The best B2B businesses will rise to the challenge and integrate B2B ecommerce within their larger omni-channel strategy to rival the best B2C offerings. Otherwise, they will be left behind.
By Hedley Aylott, Founder & CEO of Summit.
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