8 B2B eCommerce Resources You Need To Bookmark Now

8 B2B eCommerce Resources You Need To Bookmark Now

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”Jeff Bezos, Amazon

eCommerce juggernaut Jeff Bezos knows the importance of the customer experience better than anyone. How does Amazon continue to innovate in this area year over year and lead the pack? For one thing, Amazon acts quickly to move on to new trends in buyer habits. For B2B eCommerce companies, being late to the party means losing authority and customers to competitors.

 

The most pressing questions we get from clients and partners are: How can B2B companies differentiate themselves from the competition? How do these companies attract and retain customers? What trends in the industry should we be aware of and take advantage of? If you share these concerns, look no further!

From eCommerce features that make revenue explode to areas B2Bs are investing for the year ahead, we’ve compiled our top tips and insights from 2020 in our latest B2B Round-Up! Take a look.

 

5 Must-Have B2B eCommerce Features of 2020

 

must have b2b eCommerce features

 

“According to TrustRadius, 45% of the B2B buyer demographic is 25-34 years old. This makes them the single largest demographic of B2B buyers today. But what does this mean for you, the B2B seller?

As buyers grow more accustomed to better customer experiences provided by top eCommerce platforms, there’s a growing number of features this new generation of B2B buyers has come to demand from their suppliers. In order to grow your sales pipeline, retain, and attract these buyers you should seriously consider these 5 must-have B2B eCommerce features.” — Read More Here

 

10 On-Site Search Practices to Boost Your B2B eCommerce Business

 

 

“As far back as 2014, 60% of B2B buyers said an on-site search was one of their top three features, with a further 48% of B2B sellers citing enhanced search as a top technology priority. Shoppers who interact with on-site search are typically 216% more likely to convert and generate up to 14% of all revenue. Make sure you’re paying close attention to the way your B2B operation caters to this profitable segment.

This guide will walk you through 10 ways enhanced on-site search can be used to help B2B retailers earn outstanding ROI.” — Get The Full Guide Here

 

7 Ways B2Bs are Investing In Digital During the COVID-19 Crisis

 

 

“While stock market experts work to price in risk, today’s largest retailers, wholesalers, and distributors are doing the same. What are the risks of doing nothing while we ride out the COVID-19 storm? Where and how can enterprise companies re-focus their efforts to guarantee growth once this is all over?

From remote-teams to supply chain automation and even augmented reality, the value of digital enablement has never been more apparent. In fact, only 12% of B2B companies are taking a “wait-and-see” approach to eCommerce as COVID-19 plays out. Here’s what the other 88% are doing today to ensure success down the line…” — View This Report Online Here

 

How to Stay Competitive in the Shifting B2B eCommerce Landscape

 

how to stay competitive in the shifting b2b eCommerce landscape

 

“B2B eCommerce sales are growing 7X faster than any other electronic channel. Yet, only 73% of B2B sellers sell through eCommerce or online marketplace portals today…

What does this all mean? It means there’s still some room for companies to begin their digital transformation, adopt eCommerce, or build industry-specific online marketplaces… B2B’s digital leaders in eCommerce are vastly outperforming their competitors. Digital B2B leaders who adopted online buying opportunities have reported up to 5x revenue growth, 8x operating profit growth, and up to double their return on shareholder growth.” — Find Out More Here

 

3 eCommerce Technologies B2B Sellers Need

 

3 b2b technologies sellers need

 

“In 2019, customers became bolder with their demands and expectations. You may have learned how to satisfy them with evergreen content, site optimization, and fraud protection. However, as 2020 picks up, merchants need to stay one step ahead of the competition by studying trends and going beyond customer expectations.

These 3 new eCommerce technologies help B2B companies boost sales and improve shopping experiences…” — Learn more about all 3 technologies here.

 

2020 B2B Industry Trends: Marketplace, Customer, and Business IT Insights

 

2020 b2b trends webinar

 

In a webinar hosted by CEO Adam Morris, he helps B2B Digital Leaders determine the new buyer personas they must tend to in the shifting B2B eCommerce market. Also, he demonstrates the newest trends threatening to disrupt B2B companies in 2020 and beyond.

Learn more about how to tend to millennial buyers, how B2B marketplaces are taking over, and insights from real merchants on centralizing and decentralizing data. This webinar is a can’t miss opportunity for growth. — Watch this Insightful Webinar Here

 

2020’s Biggest Threat to B2B Companies

 

 

“In manufacturing and distribution, digital is no longer a nice-to-have, but an absolute necessity to stay competitive. In a digitally optimized organization, front-end customer experiences can connect seamlessly with back-office operations. This produces an extremely fast and efficient business environment that customers prefer. A ‘wait and see’ approach is no longer a viable option. It’s an invitation to customers to abandon ship, and an invitation for the competition to outpace you.”

With insights into the biggest B2B verticals from experts with real-life experience, learn more about how doing nothing to enhance your digital capabilities during the Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest threat to B2B companies in 2020. — View the Report Here.

 

39 Genius Ways Manufacturers and Distributors Can Supercharge Their 2020 Pipeline

 

digital sales enablement guide eCommerce b2b

 

In this huge and in-depth sales guide, we’ve outlined 39 easy and genius ways B2B companies can enable their sales teams with digital back-end processes that better serve their customers and make their sales teams’ job much easier.

“A report published by Forrester in 2015 titled “Death of A (B2B) Salesman” justifies its title with a few key statistics. Forrester’s data illustrates a growing trend wherein 59% of B2B buyers prefer to research potential suppliers online, rather than talk directly to a sales rep. Most buyers prefer not to interact with sales reps because they believe salespeople focus primarily on the sale itself (and the commission), rather than providing value and a solution to problems customers face.” Learn how you can use automation and data to supercharge your sales pipelines in 2020. —Get the Full Guide Here.

 

Final thoughts

 

Throughout 2020 and beyond, Redstage is helping B2B companies become digital leaders in their industries. How? With automation, optimization, customization, and elite B2B eCommerce feature sets. If you’re not matching up to new standards, and not looking for the next big trend to elevate your eCommerce initiatives, you’re already behind on the times.

 

Here’s the fastest way to get your own eCommerce channel up and running: Redstage’s B2B Accelerator

2800+ Magento 1 merchants were left open to a massive cyber-attack in September that compromised the data of thousands of customers. If B2B merchant’s biggest drawback for migrating off Magento 1, or simply getting onto Magento 2, is time and cost, then let Redstage help. Read more here about the robust feature set included in our B2B Accelerator Suite, as well as look at the responsive and optimized theme. Contact us today to get started now.

 


 

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5 Must-Have B2B eCommerce Features for 2021

5 Must-Have B2B eCommerce Features for 2021

In the past few years, B2B companies across industries have been adopting eCommerce as the main channel for selling products. B2B eCommerce alone accounts for $1 Trillion in sales today and continues to grow. According to TrustRadius, 45% of the B2B buyer demographic is 25-34 years old, making them the single largest demographic of B2B buyers today. But what does this mean for you, the B2B seller?

As buyers grow more accustomed to better customer experiences provided by top eCommerce platforms, there a growing number of features this new generation of buyers has come to demand from their suppliers. In order to grow your sales pipeline, retain, and attract these buyers you should seriously consider these 5 must-have B2B eCommerce features.

 

B2B eCommerce Features Your Store Needs

 

1. Advanced Site Search

 

site search

 

Advanced on-site search is crucial for making sure your customers can find exactly the products they need quickly and easily. Typically, B2B products have a lot of specific parameters, (weight, length, height, size, shape, etc.), make searches easy by allowing customers to search by these parameters or SKU numbers.

“We’ve seen the conversion rate of users who search be 6-8x that of visitors that don’t use search,” says Redstage CEO Adam Morris. “Utilizing search shows intent and having a powerful search is crucial to capturing high converting customers. If a user can’t find the exact product they’re looking for due to slow, out-of-the-box, and not customized for market searches, you will lose the sale.”

A powerful advanced on-site search can make all the difference. Smart search features reduce the likelihood of expensive returns, refunds, and abandoned carts. In Klevu’s new report, they found that shoppers who interact with on-site search are 216% more likely to convert. This group also accounts for 14% of all revenue. For these reasons, it’s critical to provide the best search experience possible. Don’t let a sub-part search experience keep you from unlocking guaranteed sales. See the rest of the report here.

 

 

“We’ve seen the conversion rate of users who search be 6-8x that of visitors that don’t use search” – Redstage CEO Adam Morris

 

 

2. Custom Product Filters

 

product filters

 

Giving your customers the ability to filter by different product parameters allows them to quickly find what they’re looking for on the category page. Custom product filters allow merchants to display more information about a product’s qualities or attributes and allow customers to more easily refine product searches.

AI-driven dynamic filters on your category pages can automatically display the most relevant attributes to customers, making the buying process even easier. Adding images in product filters can make the process even faster and remove another chunk of friction from the process.

One of our Redstage’s platform expert Solution Engineers, Aidan McKnight, had this to say, “If evaluating an eCommerce system, consider what options are available for custom product filters. Does the platform natively support this? Does the native search work well with custom filters? Are there third-party options available? Choose a system that meets your unique requirements or that can be built-to-suit if required.”

These can make all the difference between your customers finding the exact product they need or abandoning your site for a competitor.

 

3. Customer Segmentation Groups and Profiles

 

b2b customer profile

 

Segmenting different buyers into customer groups allows you to create profiles for certain kinds of buyers. This allows you to ensure different customers get the right pricing, see the products most relevant to them. It also enables you to utilize upselling and recommendations to increase average order value (AOV). Keeping your customer groups in mind when setting up site search and custom filters is key to helping the right customers see the right filters and results.

Using segmentation, separate customers into categories by company size, company needs, and industry. This can help you provide another layer of personalization and more value to different kinds of customers. A report done by Econsultancy and IBM Watson Marketing showed that customer segmentation is a top priority to 72% of executives in B2B marketing and eCommerce. If you are not part of that figure, it’s likely your competitors are.

“Successful B2B eCommerce includes considering customers individually and as groups.” says McKnight. “Consider setting aside time to evaluate your current Customer Group/Segmentation strategy and review the data of both customer groups and individual customers. Segmenting your customers is an opportunity to drive additional revenue through your eCommerce platform and provide your marketing team with valuable insight into customer behavior.”

 

4. Advanced Shipping Options

 

advanced shipping options

 

Some B2B buyers want fast shipping, even if it’s not cheap. At the same time, others want shipping to be as cost-effective as possible, no matter how long it may take. Keeping customer groups in mind, B2B sellers must provide advanced shipping options for all their buyers and serve their individual needs. Many B2B companies have complex shipping needs, like delivery to multiple locations or drop-shipping from different warehouses to keep inventory down.

Utilizing fulfillment software, such as ShipperHQ, can increase productivity and decrease headaches. The right shipping software can help build a shipping strategy that aligns with your business goals and these customer demands. Provide automatic checkout that considers what they’re ordering, how frequently, and how much volume every time to increase reorder rates. And provide order tracking and tailored shipping rates to customers with discounts and other arrangements automatically, all within one system.

 

5. Product Information Management software

product information management

 

Due to complex product catalogs and new buyer habits, it can be difficult for online merchants to keep product information updated and consistent across multiple selling channels or sites. Think about how complex information gets across Amazon listings, Walmart, local retailers, and DTC channels. A product information management solution (PIM) can help. These solutions provide a single dashboard to collect, manage, and enrich your product information. 

PIMs save you money by lowering product enrichment costs up to 5 times. They can also reduce returns by as much as 40%, and increase conversion rate by more than 400%, according to Akeneo. Imagine what you could do by empowering your team with a PIM, allowing them to update or change product info in one place and automatically update it wherever it appears on the web? The ability to update product attributes on the fly will only strengthen the power of custom filters and your advanced search. Altogether, these features can pack a punch and give you a serious edge over the competition.

 

Why You Need To Implement Now

 

B2B distributor The Binding Source saw huge gains after optimizing their B2B buying experience with the features mentioned above. They implemented strong custom product filters on their category pages, integrated ShipperHQ for advanced shipping options and optimizing fulfillment, and built customer profiles and groups to segment buyers for custom pricing and product rules. The result? Within 1 month of launching these new features, The Binding Source conversion rate skyrocket 170% and saw transactions grow 33%!

These B2B features aren’t simply “nice to have,” they’re must-haves. The stats speak for themselves. If your B2B eCommerce site doesn’t have all the features the new generation of buyers are expecting, they’ll find a competitor of yours that does. Contact Redstage to implement one or more of these features today!

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