B2B eCommerce is an enormous and growing industry. B2B eCommerce sales amounted to $1.39 trillion in the United States alone in 2020. That’s a 10% increase from the year prior.
Considering how important b2b eCommerce is, businesses sure have a funny way of showing it. Presently, b2b businesses do not delegate enough of their budget to marketing.
To help set the record straight, we’ve compiled a short list of b2b eCommerce tips to help you make the most of your efforts!
What Is B2B eCommerce?
At its most basic level, b2b eCommerce is simply one business selling goods or services to another via the internet. Even this simple distinction makes b2b far different from b2c business models.
B2B eCommerce places special emphasis on keeping track of pricing, availability, and product information. It may require customized solutions for your customers to fit their needs, as well.
B2B eCommerce has gotten even more nuanced in recent years. There are now B2B2B or B2B2C business models emerging, also. This is when a business sets up and operates a digital store for another business or brand. This can quickly get quite complex.
B2B eCommerce Vertical
Every industry engages in b2b, yet some use it more often than others. Here are a few of the industries making the most of digital transformation.
Manufacturing
Over 50% of manufacturing businesses plan on expanding their b2b eCommerce efforts in the next 2 years. This industry has been evolving rapidly, and b2b manufacturing businesses are shifting to meet these changes.
Customers are driving interactions more than ever before. Brand loyalty is influencing purchase decisions more than it used to in the past. Customers’ expectations are higher than they used to be, also.
These changes mean that b2b manufacturing eCommerce is beginning to resemble more traditional b2c models. Customers are turning to their search engines and actively looking for b2b providers. B2B manufacturers will need to take these changes into consideration to survive this sea change.
Distributors
Distribution has been blowing up for a number of years, as well. Providers like Amazon Business have created unprecedented shifts in business models and the way businesses operate. Enormous distributors like Grainger or Ferguson have been investing heavily in eCommerce to meet these growing needs.
Distribution eCommerce adoption increased by 26.3% from February 2019 to 2020. eCommerce sales accounted for 10% of total revenues.
Audiences using these new eCommerce channels are skewing younger than previous eras. This influences their expectations, especially in regards to things like UX. B2B customers expect an integrated Amazon-like experience that employs the latest automation, collaboration, analytics, and inventory management.
This means you’ll need a reliable inventory management solution. You can find out more here about that.
Consumers
Consumer brands have also experienced unprecedented changes in the last few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes mean that even regular consumers are turning to b2b providers as physical retail remains challenging.
These shifts mean that even traditional physical retailers and brands have had to pivot to providing a complete digital experience. These may be augmented by physical experiences at some point, like pop-up stores or brand experiences. Many of these changes may prove to be permanent, however.
Physical retailers and brands are at a disadvantage compared to businesses that have always operated entirely in the digital realm. These b2b eCommerce trends could be a rich new source of potential revenue for the savvy b2b provider who knows how to tap into it.
B2B eCommerce Goals
The main goal of b2b eCommerce is to gain new customers and increase revenue streams. Creating better interactions and streamlining the buying and selling process goes a long way towards achieving these goals.
Increasing Revenue
Make no mistake, a b2b eCommerce solution needs to add to your bottom line. While other industries may benefit from more intangible goals like increasing brand recognition, this is less important when it comes to a b2b business plan.
One of the main b2b eCommerce tips we can provide is to make sure that your b2b eCommerce solution drives your ROI. You should do everything in your power to make sure your solution is scalable and able to meet whatever demand is thrown your way.
You need to make sure you’re delivering a solid UX, all the while.
Increasing Customers
Adding new customers to your eCommerce portal is vital to its success. This audience comes from two main sources. First, you should tap your existing customer base to get them to adopt your eCommerce platform.
The second is more akin to more traditional marketing models. Content marketing, in particular, is especially important for b2b eCommerce brands.
To increase customer adoption of your eCommerce platform, start off by offering some sort of incentive for your existing customers. You might even offer an additional incentive for them to promote your business, which begins to evolve into marketing at that point.
Meanwhile, you should begin a thorough content marketing campaign. Develop a keyword strategy around pertinent keywords to your industry and vertical. Develop blog posts, whitepapers, video content, and any other form of exclusive media you can think of.
You should also look for good b2b eCommerce examples to model your efforts after. This lets you see what’s working and what isn’t.
The worlds of b2b and b2c are quickly colliding. This could be a major opportunity for the b2b providers that are poised to act. Get started now and start putting your plans into motion and you’ll be ready to thrive in this coming year!
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These are exciting times to be in business! Things are evolving quickly in all sorts of unexpected ways. Now that you’ve learned about b2b eCommerce, take some time to browse the rest of our site and learn how to make your business flourish.
