The world of eCommerce is one of the fastest growing markets today. Many consumers find online shopping to be more convenient and efficient. But what about B2B customers and having a B2B eCommerce site you’re selling goods and products to other businesses rather than to broad consumers on the market?
Although these customers may be similar in many ways, they do require a different approach. The fact of the matter is that B2B customers are oftentimes more difficult to handle than general consumers. That’s why it may be challenging to get them to use your eCommerce site.
In most cases, these customers usually find some sort of an excuse not to use your platform, whether it’s about the inconvenience, the pricing or they claim that they’d rather prefer if you didn’t have a platform, to begin with; there’s always some kind of issue standing in the way. With that in mind, here are a few ways to get your customers to use your B2B eCommerce site.
Promote Your Site Early On
Launching a B2B eCommerce site differs from launching a B2C one. The main reason is that you’re not dealing with average consumers. In fact, you have to go that extra mile to get your customers interested in the first place.
You can use email promotions to inform your customers prior to the launch and gather their feedback and their opinions on the matter. Getting customers involved in the project can make them more willing to explore it once you launch your site. As an example, you can educate your customers about what’s coming but you should also ask them about their needs.
It’s important to understand that B2B customers will pay closer attention to details such as alignments between functional areas, communication features, resources and the information available. Therefore, asking clients for feedback will be a good opportunity not only to get them interested and involved but also to improve your site based on customer needs before you actually launch it.
Focus On The Functionality
One of the things B2B and B2C customers have in common is that they have expectations when website functionality is involved. If your platform isn’t performing well, you shouldn’t expect from customers to use it.
That’s why you should focus on ensuring that your eCommerce site is fast, responsive, accessible, available and user-friendly, among other things. You must also ensure that you’re able to provide a seamless and exceptional customer experience in order to encourage customers to use your platform. What’s more, functionality isn’t just about website performance, per se.
It’s also about the browsing experience of your customers while they’re on your website or platform. That said, ensure seamless navigation and access to any relevant information for your customers. That way, they can easily find what they need and without any inconveniences, which will make them more eager to use your platform regularly.
Communication Is the Key
It’s no secret that customers may have difficulties navigating your eCommerce site at first even if you made your site to be easy to navigate. It’s crucial to communicate with customers in such scenarios in order to avoid losing them.
Therefore, ensure that your customers can contact customer support easily by implementing proper communication methods, such as live chat, for instance. Aside from that, communicating with customers is essential, both on and outside of your eCommerce platform.
You can implement a reliable B2B sales management solution that will allow your staff to generate and nurture leads through outbound calls, tailor specific offers based on customer needs and educate customers about your offers across various media channels. The point of fact is that B2B customers require a bit more convincing and encouragement compared to average B2C customers. In other words, you need to be able to provide more value to B2B customers in order to encourage them to use your site.
Improve The Business Processes
Every B2B customer is skeptical about new systems. They commonly fear that by implementing your system, i.e., using your eCommerce site, they’ll need to make significant changes to their existing business operations and processes.
Instead of trying to make changes, you should focus on providing value by improving their business processes. If your B2B customers see value in your offers they’ll be more willing to utilize them. As an example, make sure that your customers can easily track their orders through your platform so that they won’t have to make an extra effort to do so.
In addition, provide them with a logistics solution so that they won’t have to take care of that process themselves. If you can save them time, money and effort on mundane yet necessary tasks, you can ensure that more B2B customers will be not just interested but also willing to give your eCommerce site a shot.
Developing a B2B eCommerce site can be quite difficult mainly because B2B customers can be a tough nut to crack. You must tailor your site to their specific needs and meet their expectations in order to encourage them to use your site, in the first place. Aside from that, if you focus on delivering value through your offers, you can be sure that more B2B customers will be willing to explore your offers further.
About The Author
Raul Harman is the editor-in-chief at Technivorz blog. He has a lot to say about innovation in all aspects of digital technology and online marketing. Connect with hi
