Four Ways to Win at Convenience in B2B eCommerce

Four Ways to Win at Convenience in B2B eCommerce

by | Apr 16, 2021 | Commerce Strategy, UX/UI Design

Megan Wenzl

Megan Wenzl

SEO Content Manager

Megan Wenzl is the SEO Content Manager at Linnworks, a total commerce solution that connects, manages and automates commerce operations. Megan enjoys creating useful, informative stories to help businesses succeed. When not writing, Megan enjoys spending time with her family.

 

 

In the world of enterprise B2B eCommerce, ever-changing consumer trends continue to cling to one constant — convenience. 

 

In fact, a convenient buying journey has become the cornerstone for success in B2B eCommerce. But what makes a buying journey effortless?

 

Keep reading for four ways to win at convenience in B2B eCommerce to increase conversion rates and revenue.

 

 

Focus on a Frictionless Customer Experience

 

frictionless customer experience with advanced search

 

According to research on total commerce by Linnworks, convenience is defined by a frictionless online buying journey. In fact, 58% of consumers have stopped using a website altogether if they find it difficult to navigate, and 90% prioritize a trouble-free experience. 

 

So what can be done to create a frictionless CX? Every interaction a user has with a brand needs to be smooth and quick to avoid abandonment. Two of the most critical touchpoints are search and check-out. (Two out of three consumers have abandoned a purchase over complicated search and check-out touchpoints.) Offering smart, advanced search and check-out features will encourage buyers to stay on your site at the beginning of their journey and complete their transaction near the end. 

 

Speed is also a significant player in the eCommerce experience. No one wants to wait for pages to load. To increase speed, it’s essential to upgrade software, consolidate integrations, and minimize extensions. 

 

It’s also critical to increase product traceability and avoid human errors like over-selling by automating inventory management and similar processes. Automating inventory management will speed up the user experience and minimize errors across all channels, creating a more frictionless CX. (Read more about the importance of inventory management here.) 

Personalization is Key 

 

 

Ultimately B2B decision-makers are searching for solutions to a problem they’re experiencing. The buying journey needs to be as personalized as possible for them to feel like your company has the exclusive and best answer to their problem.

 

Employing AI technology to extract data can help automate this process. AI software gathers analytics from search, recently viewed, and purchase history. It can also collect demographics like location, company, email — and more to determine what problem a B2B consumer is trying to solve. Then, this data is used to create the most customized web-based experience possible that provides a solution. 

 

During a recent website migration, B2B enterprise company Sea Bags added a new AI feature to their website that collects data from previously visited pages and recent purchases to help consumers find recommended products. The addition of AI technology to personalize the buying journey was a significant contributing factor to an astounding 53% growth in revenue in just three months. 

Upgrade the Mobile Experience

 

mobile online shopping buying experience b2b

 

With the upsurge of easy-to-navigate eCommerce platforms, consumers have come to expect a seamless omnichannel experience. According to the research from Linnworks, 81% of consumers want a buying journey to begin on one device and end on another — without interruption. And to increase traffic and conversion rates, this seamless omnichannel experience undoubtedly should include updated mobile channels. 

 

The current expectation is that mobile purchasing should be as effortless as desktop. To optimize the mobile experience, focus on sleek minimalist design with features that surprise and delight your users — more specifically, micro-interactions. These seemingly insignificant moments pack a big punch when it comes to keeping buyers engaged (and coming back). 

 

High-end coffee giant Jura Coffee saw a hefty increase in mobile traffic and conversion rates after updating its mobile channel design. After creating an experience that closely measured up to that of the desktop, they saw a 55% increase in traffic and a 44% boost to their mobile conversion rate! With statistics like that, most companies can’t afford to continue offering archaic mobile buying experiences. 

Offer Innovative Features

 

innovative eCommerce features shipping inventory

 

At its core, consumer convenience is rooted in innovation. To keep up with the competition and trends in buyer habits, companies have to capitalize on innovation at every turn. Luckily, the fluctuating landscape of eCommerce affords the opportunity to continually offer buyers new and convenient ways to examine products and make purchases with the push of the button. 

 

B2B distributor The Binding Source worked hand-in-hand with Redstage Business Analysts to create a convenient buying experience for their customers with innovative features. Some of the additions to their website that capitalized on convenience were custom product filtering, advanced shipping options, customer segmentation, and payment storage. The addition of these convenient and innovative features helped increase their conversion rate by 170% in just one month! 

2021 MARKET SURVEY

2021 State of eCommerce Report

Answer 5 quick questions for our 2021 State of eCommerce Report to receive a free usability assessment from Redstage!

Learn More

Conclusion

 

To win at convenience in B2B eCommerce, the primary focus needs to be keeping up with innovation and subsequent consumer demand. If you don’t create a personalized and frictionless buying experience or offer innovative features to meet B2B decision makers’ needs, another company will. Contact Redstage to start maximizing convenience for your buyers today. 

Download the Latest Research from Linnworks for More Insights

 

How to Meet B2B Customers New Expectations in a Self-Service World

How to Meet B2B Customers New Expectations in a Self-Service World

by | Mar 25, 2021 | Commerce Strategy, Web Development

In the age of self-checkouts and one-click online shopping, how many B2B companies are still forcing their customers to order and reorder materials and products through an offline, sales rep only model? The answer will surprise you: 37% of B2B companies are primarily selling through in-person means. Meanwhile, only 41% sell primarily through online, eCommerce buying options.

 

Whether over the phone, through fax, or email, the friction of your buying process is losing customers and revenue. In the rapidly evolving and almost entirely online world, how important is it to allow your customers to serve themselves online with eCommerce?

 

The answer? Extremely, the shift is urgently imperative and unavoidable.

 

With 46% of B2B buyers being in the 25-34 age range, and expected to grow to 75% by 2025, the new largest group in the workforce demands the features they’ve come to expect from buying and selling online themselves, at work.

 

They don’t want to talk to a sales rep.

They don’t want to use a fax machine.

They don’t want to go through multiple hoops to get a quote.

 

So, how do you service a demographic that wants fast, direct buying options without the friction of the typical B2B buying experience? Why should you work to provide the experiences and features this group has come to expect, as soon as possible? Let’s find out.

 

 

Why do you need self-service options now?

 

b2b eCommerce self service options

 

Changing buyer expectations, both due to COVID-19 and the inevitable shift of millennials in the buying force, is the biggest reason why B2B companies need to start providing online self-service buying options.

 

“During the pandemic, it was revealed that all communications, even purchasing through a business, can be done digitally,”

– Redstage CEO Adam Morris.

 

Now that these faster, easier, and more convenient channels of selling have been proven to be able to be done, they are now the expectation of buyers. What used to be “nice-to-have” features, like advanced site searching capabilities, product filtering, and shipping options, are expectations for the new generation of B2B buyers. Let buyers speak for themselves, as Demand Gen Report’s B2B Buyers Survey found that 67% of B2B buyers surveyed said they wanted easier access to pricing as one of their top desires in the buying process. It’s never been more important to invest in your online buying portal or eCommerce operations.

 

 

2021 MARKET SURVEY

2021 State of eCommerce Report

Answer 5 quick questions for our 2021 State of eCommerce Report to receive a free usability assessment from Redstage!

Learn More

Another one of the biggest things you’re missing out on but not fully utilizing digital self-service buying options is capturing quality, actionable, and insightful data from your customers. Without this extremely valuable data, outlining how your customers move from product to product, how they interact with checkout, when they checkout, and more, you are unable to optimize the sales process to its full potential. 

 

Australian-based, packaged explosives materials manufacturer Orica has its materials in 1,500 explosions per day. Up until very recently, the data for these materials was kept on pen and paper, according to the Harvard Business Review. Orica decided to invest heavily into digitizing this data into one source of truth, allowing for more efficient model development, post-blast measurements, and product analytics. Their new data hub, endearingly titled Blast IQ, is said to provide “benchmarks and insights to ensure sustainable, cost-effective improvements in performance.”

How Do I Get Started?

 

 

Ultimately, in order to provide a buying process with minimal friction, that captures insightful and impactful analytics, and is easily scalable and sustainable you must invest in digital, self-serving buying options through eCommerce. It begins with overcoming what we call “technical debt” and investing in upgrading your current infrastructure, check out this on-demand Q&A our Senior eCommerce Platform Expert put on explaining technical debt here.

 

This paves the way for implementing digital options like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, a Customer Relationship Manager (CRM), or many other digital solutions for complex business operations. Streamlining and automating these processes opens the door to increased flexibility to scale, increased productivity, and revenue growth.

 

 

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5 Things You Need to Know About PayPal’s Magento Migration Loan

5 Things You Need to Know About PayPal’s Magento Migration Loan

by | Dec 11, 2019 | eCommerce Platforms, Web Development

The clock is ticking and Magento 1’s end of life (end of support) is right around the corner. For over a year, we’ve provided webinars, E-books, and security insights to help ease your migration worries. Now, Redstage teamed up with PayPal to provide access to Magento Migration loans for qualifying merchants.

With a “no merchant left behind” mentality, Redstage and PayPal are committed to making sure all business owners can scale further while fully experiencing the power of Magento 2.  Here are 5 ways to get the best out of your migration experience.

1. Why You Should Migrate

 

Hour glass in rocks for countdown to migrate

 

Magento 1 support ends on June 30, 2020. While it may be difficult for some merchants to say goodbye, more revenue is waiting to be unlocked with Magento 2. On average, a Magento 1 Migration takes 6-10 months to complete and with 7 months until the platform sunsets, merchants are running out of time. More importantly, you’re missing out on additional revenues. Migrating to Magento 2 gives merchants access to a newer and more advanced eCommerce platform that provides security, functionality, and flexibility. Grab our free Magento Migration eBook here, or read on for a quick breakdown:

Security

With good reason, we’ve shared many tips on how to help protect your online store from fraud. End of Life means the end of security, and once June rolls around there will be no more Magento 1 security patches to save you. Hackers have familiarized themselves with the platform and broken extensions make their job easier. In the past year, Magento has released over 10 security patches for M1 (that’s at least 1 a month), and developers have stopped upgrading M1 extensions to focus on M2. These constant breaches leave your store, customers, and your bottom line at risk.

A positive customer experience is measured by many things, most notably how safe your customers feel. 41 percent of consumers switch retailers due to poor personalization and lack of trust. Magento 2 shows merchants are taking security seriously as the platform provides security updates with bug fixes, back-end administration protection, and encryption for credit card information.

Functionality

60% of B2B buyers demand a seamless customer experience and 47% expect traditional retailers to be as agile as Amazon. Magento 2 is committed to delivering a better shopping experience that allows merchants to produce a fast, simple, and frictionless checkout experience across all devices. Page loading and checkout speed have increased by 50 percent and 38 percent respectively, compared to the Magento 1 platform. The Magento 2 migration is the perfect recipe for a successful customer experience.

In a world where responsive design is trying to give customers all the same functionality we have on desktop in mobile, there may be a divergence here where we have to start thinking about different mobile experiences. Customers need to be able to go through the entire journey, from the research perspective to pricing, negotiation, approval, and purchase, ALL through their smartphones. Millennials will switch to your competitor immediately if you can’t give them that entire experience.

–Adam Morris, CEO, Redstage.

Flexibility

As our ongoing Mobile Optimization Initiative shows, Magento 2 gives merchants total control over creating a great user experience. The platform includes highly customizable themes and over 2,000 extensions. Your customers are more likely to come back for more if you continue to meet their expectations, so keep impressing them by upgrading your experience on different devices. Customize your theme in a way that highlights your brand and tells your brand’s story, or highlight products and provide a secure checkout all in one place.

38.8% of total Magento Merchants (Community or Enterprise) are still on various versions of M1. By not upgrading, merchants are putting themselves and their customers at risk. Magento 1 sites, among a dwindling community of users, will face a lifetime of declining usability, patchwork fixes, increased upkeep costs, and a higher level of maintenance than if they migrate to a new site or platform.

– Aidan Mcknight, Solutions Engineer, Redstage

2. The Migration Loan Explained

 

Upclose shot on open book for loan explanation visual

 

Migrating your website, budgeting for next year, and making sure you meet your end of the year sales goals can be overwhelming. The Magento Migration Loan can ease your worries, especially if you haven’t budgeted for migration.

The loan can help your businesses experience the new and improved advancements of the Magento 2 platform and provide the means to help keep your customers safe. PayPal and Redstage understand that the future of retail is digitally optimized. Online retail sales are expected to reach $735 billion by 2023. However, more than half of today’s retailers do not have access to debt or equity financing to help scale their business.

This migration loan is a first step to bridging the gap in financing solutions for online businesses. To  accomplish your migration with a Magento Migration Loan, you must first apply for the Magento Migration loan here. Loans can range from $5,000-$500,000 with no hidden charges attached2. Upon approval, WebBank will transfer funds to your business’s bank account as fast as the next business day 3.

3. How to Apply and Receive the Credit

 

close up on man filling out application for loan

 

To secure a full credit on the cost of financing your migration, start by applying for the Magento Migration loan by visiting the LoanBuilder application page. If approved, you must follow these three steps to receive the credit4.

  1. Sign a Magento renewal license invoice that shows at least one payment.
  2. Open a PayPal Business Account.
  3. Sign a 3-year processing contract or renewal agreement with Braintree and process with Braintree on your new Magento 2 website for at least 3 months.

Benefits of Braintree

Driving revenue and maximizing business opportunities are crucial in scaling your business. To fully experience the power of Magento, should also be taking advantage of Braintree. The global payment partner is the missing piece you need to combine safe and frictionless customer experience like those seen in our recent tests. Braintree is a payment platform that delivers mobile and web payment systems in a single, seamless integration.

This year, there are approximately 1.92 billion digital buyers out there. That number is expected to almost double by 2021. The smart money is using this time to plan and test new ways to unlock more holiday revenue. The Magento migration loan is your first step to guaranteeing a prosperous future.

Moreover, Braintree offers other ways to drive revenue and maximize business growth overall. The single integration allows you to reach more buyers around the world, reduce checkout friction, increase efficiency, and migrate fraud risks. Remember, a fast, safe, and frictionless checkout experience increases conversion rates.

4. How to Become Eligible

 

Woman with green jacket throwing confetti celebrating becoming eligible for migration loan

 

If you’re operating on the Magento 1 platform and have been in business for at least 9 months, you’re halfway through the eligibility process. Your business must also be located and operated in any of the 50 United States or Washington, D.C. and earning at least, $42,000 in annual revenue. That’s it!

Unfortunately, the M1 end of life comes at a time outside of the normal re-platforming strategy for many clients. When we design and build on the latest technology, we want to amortize the costs for as long as possible and switch only when the pressure from competitors and customers increases. I love that PayPal is helping our clients solve this problem by helping them fund the migration process. This makes the process much easier to handle from a cash flow perspective and allows us to invest in a customer experience that’s outside of the normal cycle.

– Adam Morris, CEO, Redstage

Final Thoughts

With roughly 200 days remaining on the Magento 1 End of Life countdown the time for procrastination is over. Each day merchants wait, their revenue, customers, and reputation are at risk. Redstage and PayPal are committed to helping businesses grow and thrive, showing merchants how to unlock the revenue they deserve and build positive customer experiences. In the name of a prosperous and profitable 2020, revitalize your brand, enhance your customer experience, check your eligibility, and apply now for a chance to enjoy a fully credited migration loan from PayPal.

If you work for in B2B, click here to learn how you can migrate to Magento 2 in just 40 days!

 

 

Disclosures
1 The lender for the LoanBuilder Loan is WebBank, Member FDIC. This is an invitation to apply and not an offer or commitment to provide capital. Applicants must satisfy certain requirements to be eligible. WebBank is not affiliated with the offer to receive a full credit on the cost of financing and the credit is not part of your credit agreement with WebBank.
2 In addition to the fixed fee (Total Interest Charge) for the loan, the only other cost is a $20 Returned Item Fee that is only assessed if a payment is returned.
3 The lender transfers funds to your business’s bank account as fast as the next business day if the lender has received the documents the lender asked for and approved the loan by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (excluding bank holidays).
4 Merchants will receive the full credit from PayPal within 6-8 weeks of having fulfilled all three migration requirements. Merchant may be contacted by a Braintree Enterprise Sales Representative to receive more information about creating a merchant account with Braintree.