As eCommerce continues to grow in popularity among B2B buyers, manufacturers must adapt their online selling strategies to meet the demands of a new generation of shoppers.
Consumerized buyers, who are accustomed to fast, easy, and personalized online shopping experiences, based on the experiences they have in their B2C purchases, have distinct preferences when it comes to purchasing from B2B manufacturers.
Because of these preferences, there are three main approaches and strategies you should be considering when building out your eCommerce experience:
- The importance of high-quality user experience (UX)
- The value of product, pricing, and shipping transparency
- The lift from guided selling
By understanding and leveraging these strategies, B2B manufacturers can attract and retain buyers more effectively, drive revenue growth, and stay ahead of the competition.
The Importance of UX
A well-designed eCommerce UX can help streamline the purchasing process and make it as easy and intuitive as possible for consumerized buyers to find perfect-fit solutions. Strong UX design includes everything from simple site navigation menus to clear, accessible product descriptions and easy, low-touch checkout processes.
Confusing navigation and ineffective search options can leave buyers struggling to find what they’re looking for, unsure of what options are truly available, and frustrated in the overall experience. When you’re trying to sell, frustration can’t be part of the equation.
The right UX also bolsters your overall brand image, which can be critical to both your overall reputation and market differentiation. Incorporating your unique brand colors, icons, and logos can increase the level of familiarity a buyer feels when engaging with your storefront, increasing both the time they spend on your site and their chances of returning as a repeat customer.
Buyers are used to seamless and personalized digital experiences in their personal lives, and expect the same level of experience when it comes to B2B purchasing. Making the investment to align your tech stack with market preferences now puts you farther ahead of competitors relying on legacy solutions that weren’t built to adapt.
The Value of Information Transparency
When it comes to eCommerce, product transparency is key to building trust with consumerized buyers. They want to know that they can trust the companies they are buying from – hopefully, you – and that they’re getting an honest, fair deal. Providing clear pricing, shipping, and delivery information without the buyer having to ask or poke around to find it helps establish this trust.
If a buyer sees a product they are interested in, but they can't find relevant information about modification prices, shipping costs, or delivery times, they are more likely to abandon their purchase and find a comparable alternative being sold by a more upfront retailer. In this day and age, there’s no excuse for vital information like that being kept behind a curtain.
Consumerized buyers have notoriously high expectations, and readily available information can help mitigate these expectations throughout the buying process. When buyers know exactly what to expect and when to expect it, they are less likely to be frustrated or disappointed upon delivery.
In the event of shipping delays or supply disruptions, being transparent about new timelines or courses of action keeps buyers on your side, as they don’t feel like they’re being kept in the dark and know their orders will still be accommodated as intended.
Creating a space for customer reviews and ratings in your eCommerce architecture can provide external perspectives for your buyer to consider, lending additional credibility to your brand through transparency.
Guided Selling Support
Guided selling can help create a personalized shopping experience for each individual buyer by focusing on their needs, preferences, and constraints. Using internal product logic, guided selling allows you to gather inputs on a buyer’s needs or requirements, and helps manufacturers recommend specifically-tailored products and services, which can increase the chances of a successful sale.
Consumerized buyers will always favor low contact with sales representatives, instead preferring to complete as much of the buying process on their own. The most effective guided selling experiences mimic the expertise and guidance a physical representative would provide in these scenarios, but without introducing another person or channel of communication necessary to complete the order.
For manufacturers that offer complex or customizable products, guided selling can ensure that each buyer is presented with all possible and relevant options and configurations, leaving nothing to fall through the cracks.
Use Case Scenario
A B2B manufacturer of industrial machinery parts recently realized that their eCommerce site wasn't meeting the expectations of consumerized buyers, or keeping up with their competitors. Their legacy website, once satisfactory, was now seen as difficult to navigate, lacking transparency regarding pricing and shipping information, and without guidance to help buyers select the right products for their needs.
As a result, many potential buyers were abandoning their carts and turning to competitors with more user-friendly eCommerce platforms, even after spending a decent amount of time on the home site.
How could this manufacturer better serve those buyers and keep them around to order?
They decided to invest in improving their website's UX, increasing transparency, and incorporating guided selling tactics.
They worked with a UX design agency to create a more intuitive and user-friendly interface that made it easy for buyers to find and purchase the parts they needed. They also added clear and detailed pricing and shipping information on each product page, helping buyers make informed decisions earlier on in the funnel.
Finally, they implemented guided selling tactics, such as offering product recommendations based on the buyer's previous purchases or searching behavior, and providing detailed product information to help buyers compare features and benefits.
They even included an interactive product configurator that allowed buyers to customize products to their exact specifications.
The results were impressive: the company saw a significant increase in online orders and revenue, as well as a reduction in cart abandonment rates. Their customer satisfaction scores also improved, with many buyers commenting on the improved user experience and the helpfulness of the guided selling features.
By investing in UX, transparency, and guided selling, the manufacturer was able to successfully appeal to their consumerized buyers and stay ahead of the competition.
This proof of concept can – and should – be referenced by manufacturers looking to stake their claim in competitive selling territory. Wanting to know the reality of how modern B2B manufacturers fare when it comes to meeting consumerized buyer preferences, we took a look at 250 leading eCommerce sites and the experience they provide.
What we found clarified major obstacles and concerns facing modern manufacturers, and gave us unique insight into the early innovators, evolving strategies, and commonalities emerging in the market.
To get the full scope of our data, supported by expert commentary and suggestion, download your free copy of The State of B2B eCommerce for Manufacturers from the Logik.io Resource Library at https://learn.logik.io/state-of-b2b-ecommerce.
