5 B2B Ecommerce Mistakes to Avoid

B2B Ecommerce Revisited.

If you think that Ecommerce for consumers is big business, you would be right. But, B2C is a fraction of the market that B2B ecommerce.

According to research by BigCommerce, 72% of buyers would prefer to research a purchase using an online buying portal rather than deal with a sales representative, and 93% would prefer to complete the transaction this way – But… only 22% of B2B companies offer this ability.

Why the discrepancy? Well – B2B Ecommerce is relatively hard. Customer pricing, financial instruments, supply chain considerations and other factors that are specific to B2B have not been well served by ecommerce platforms in the past.

5 B2B Ecommerce Mistakes to Avoid.

The following tips are from our B2B Ecommerce Fundamentals Online Training Course.

1. Don’t Assume that B2B Buyers don’t want to Buy Online

Think about the last time you made a considered purchase – a car, house, holiday or credit card. Where did you begin your customer journey? Chances are you went to a search engine like Google and started your research there.

Why would B2B purchasing journeys begin differently? This is especially true for the large numbers of Millennials who are entering management positions with responsibility for purchasing. This is a buyer persona who has never known a world with printed brochures or price-lists or order forms.

2. Don’t Ignore How B2C Ecommerce Sites Focus on CX

When those Millennials, now buyers look at an ecommerce website, they are using sites like Amazon as a benchmark. Platforms like Shopify have enabled merchants to have user-friendly, mobile responsive, intuitive customer experiences (CX) and functionality.

Buyers are also consumers. Your B2B Ecommerce site needs to look, feel and behave like a best-of-breed consumer online store. This included functionality like recommendations, comparison, promotions, reviews, how-to videos and wish-lists and advanced search.

3. Don’t Assume Your Buyers are on a Desktop Computer

Think about the following user journey. Your potential customer sees your brand on a presentation at a conference or walks past your stand at a trade-show. They ‘Google’ you and arrive at your site for the first time on their phone.

61% of B2B buyers use smartphones to research work purchases and 60% say that mobile has a significant role in purchases. Think of the WhatsApp generation – adding Live Chat to your B2B Ecommerce site can make a massive difference.

Much of B2B Ecommerce is about re-ordering. To that end, perhaps you need an app. Not just a customer app, but an app that supports channel partners, field
sales and internal teams. Integrate your ERP and CRM systems and include everything from bar code scanning and product information to customer-specific pricing and ordering capabilities.

4. Don’t Ignore Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

73% of traffic to B2B company sites comes from a search engine like Google. Let’s go back to our customer journey – your buyer begins by typing a non-branded search term.

Most buyers are looking to solve a problem or find an answer to a question. E.g. “How do I comply with the new VAT laws?” or “How do I reduce my fleet management costs?”

Do you know what your keywords are? Not just your product names, but what benefits they provide. What is your value proposition? Have you considered the ‘Long Tail’?

Once you’ve done that, you have to create content. A lot of it. B2B ecommerce requires white papers, case studies, ebooks, product videos, webinars, training, technical manuals and more.

5. Don’t Think Thank Social Proof is only for B2C.

There is a reason why sites like Uber, AirBnB and Tripadvisor are so popular. Reviews and testimonials are a way for the market to be regulated through the feedback of buyer and sellers experience.

You could pay to get an analyst firm to put their badge on a white paper, but many buyers are growing sceptical of such methods to prove credibility and quality. Buyers are much more likely to accept the word of other customers or peers rather than bought promotional materials.

The new breed of buyer places special importance on their peers’ advice on social
Media. From Twitter to Linkedin to WhatsApp – professionals are asking others for advice, tips and honest feedback.

Learn More

These are just some of the insights that we cover in our B2B Ecommerce Fundamentals Training Course – a 1 Day, Instructor Led, Online program designed specially for B2B companies looking to grow sales through ecommerce.