3 eCommerce Technologies B2B Sellers Need for 2021

3 eCommerce Technologies B2B Sellers Need for 2021

by | Feb 12, 2020 | System Integrations, Web Development

In 2020, 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 2021 picks up, merchants need to stay one step ahead of the competition by studying trends and going beyond customer expectations. Through convenience, conscious consumerism, and flexibility, these 3 eCommerce technologies help B2B companies boost sales and improve shopping experiences.

1. Conversational Search in the Rise of Convenience

 

voice search device for flexibility

 

Conversational Search is designed to mirror spoken search requests rather than keywords. Siri and Alexa changed the way shoppers navigate the Internet and retailers are finding new ways to implement “Conversational Search” in their SEO strategy. Thanks to technologies like Klevu, customers can interact with a search engine and find answers using their normal, natural language. Activating Conversational Search on your site gives customers easy, on-demand, and frictionless access to the information and products they want.

Conversational Search for B2B

Automated email blasts and informal sales outreach alone, no longer close B2B deals. 30% of web browsing sessions will be conducted without a phone screen this year. Ensuring your online store is ready to provide a simple experience through search is key. To reach your customers, you must:

1. Research: Optimizing search requires getting to know your potential customers. Research and learn the questions they’re asking, challenges they’re facing, their priorities, goals, favorite products, and the phrases they’re using to search for products you provide.

2. Optimize: Once you know your customers’ burning questions, conduct a full search audit, and optimize your site. Remember, 90% of executives research using their mobile devices before making a purchase decision. You can better serve your customers when your site feels conversational and your voice search feature is user-friendly on all devices.

3. Create Content: Voice-search optimization requires your content to reflect your buyers’ needs. It should be easy for your customers to navigate your site search through natural conversation. Include “ask keywords” in your voice search strategy that answers your buyers’ questions. Some examples include, “how can I strengthen my eCommerce strategy? ” or “what are the product benefits?”

2. Loyalty’s Place in the Rise of Conscious Consumerism

 

loyalty card in wallet for flexible purchases

 

In 2020, “Conscious Consumerism” became mainstream. Now 65% of global consumers make belief-driven purchases. In addition, 66% of shoppers choose to stay loyal to brands that share their values.

Implementing platforms like Loyalty Lion will allow merchants to create unique loyalty programs. This will make it easier for customers to practice “Conscious Consumerism” while building authentic relationships between you and your customers.

Loyalty programs employed by companies like Stay Wildish are built upon members completing monthly challenges in exchange for points. Shoppers can then donate their points to non-profit organizations. This keeps customers returning to engage with the program as they earn social rewards they value.

Customers who are aligned with your mission are more willing to act as advocates and share brands with others who have similar values. By appealing to what your customers want, you’ll secure their loyalty long-term and increase their lifetime value.

Loyalty for B2B

To encourage your existing customers to return, implement a loyalty program in your B2B strategy that can help you acquire like-minded customers who will convert faster and stay loyal longer. According to B2B Marketing Academy, loyal customers are five times more likely to make a purchase and forgive mistakes. They’re also seven times easier to upsell if you include:

1. Personalization: One loyal customer equals a steady source of income. While B2B companies offer a smaller pool of customers than B2C, it’s critical to add a more personalized touch.  Your customers are online, meet them there. Personalize their emails, and provide multiple ways to communicate messages to them such as text alerts. Personalization efforts can drive a six-fold increase in sales!

2. VIP Rewards: Customers love specialized perks. Don’t waste a good email without offering your customers exclusives like reward points, product sampling, and early access to promotions. Keep your customers’ goals in mind by figuring out how your reward points can directly impact their lives and be useful beyond your company’s objectives.

 

3. New Expectations Demand Shipping Flexibility 

 

Shipping Flexibility

 

Customers want options, and they want them on their terms. Fast shipping, however, is no longer an option but an expectation. Retailers need to start looking at innovative and alternative shipping services and tools like ShipperHQ to meet these new expectations and create new and better experiences for customers.

BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup In-Store) is a relatively new buying option that continues to rise in popularity. Like B2Cs, B2B companies are implementing this strategy to change how they interact with their customers. Just think about it, if your customer needs a machine part or tool that day, BOPIS allows them to buy it through your website in minutes and pick it up at a nearby store, reducing their project timeline. This also helps with items that have shipping restrictions and can take a long time to arrive where the customer needs them.

Additionally, 75% of BOPIS users make unplanned purchases while they’re in your store, according to Agilence. If Home Depot, Lowes, and Amazon can offer BOPIS options, it’s time more manufacturers and distributors take advantage of this powerful technology.

Other buying options include above-and-beyond services like same-day, white-glove, or in-home delivery. The construction, wholesale and distribution, and automotive industries can benefit greatly from it. For example, construction employees are often sent out to pick up orders. Same day delivery can save project managers time and money. These implementations will keep merchants ahead of their competition and improve customer experiences.

Shipping Flexibility and B2B

B2B customer demographics are shifting. Millennials are becoming decision-makers and they’re expecting miracles. More than next day delivery options are driving sales, they’re relying on innovation and technological advantages to make their lives as buyers easier. Shipping is one of the buyer’s final touchpoints and  B2B companies can improve these experiences through:

1. Price Transparency: B2B customers expect online stores to reveal shipping costs before purchasing. Consider options that are fast and can cut down shipping costs.

2. Flexible Returns: The ability to provide flexible and easy return options will make or break your reputation. To keep your customers’ trust, provide a clear and easy return policy on your website and include return labels with shipments.

3. Efficient Distribution Strategies: B2B eCommerce sales in the U.S are expected to exceed $1.18 trillion by 2021. Success in the marketplace comes from adapting to customer demands but also being aware of rising threats. Adding more distribution centers and new technologies that can improve tracking of shipments, real-time traceability, and threat detection such as environment monitoring can help streamline logistics.

 

Final Thoughts

Your recipe for success in 2021 is to take today’s latest technical capabilities and implement them, while also looking ahead to future trends. Effectively engaging customers at the beginning of their shopping journey, encouraging repeat purchases through advanced search, loyalty programs, and shipping convenience should be at the forefront of B2B executive’s minds.
 
Olam International, a multi-national agriculture distribution powerhouse, has already implemented new shipping solution ShipperHQ along with advanced search by Amasty and Customer Approval extensions from MagePlaza with Redstage’s help. Utilizing Magento 2’s out-of-the-box B2B feature set, we helped Olam digitize operations for multiple multinational stores; OlamSpices.com, OlamSpecialtyCoffee.com, and OlamEdibleNuts.com. The latter of these being the first and only online portal for edible nut distribution in the world. B2B companies that not only keep up with trends but stay ahead of them will remain one step ahead of their competitors as well.
 
To find out how you can integrate these technologies and more into your 2021 eCommerce strategy, book your free consultation with Redstage today. And if you’re thinking about upgrading to Magento 2 but are strapped for time, learn more about our 40-day B2B accelerator here. 
Top 5 Trends in B2B Personalization & Social Selling

Top 5 Trends in B2B Personalization & Social Selling

by | May 2, 2019 | Commerce Strategy, System Integrations

Despite changing customer habits across the commerce industry, sales strategies have largely remained static. That is, until now. With a noticeable rise in account based marketing adoption and “hyper-personalization” software that utilizes machine learning, today’s sales teams are better equipped than ever to engage prospects across digital platforms; new territory for B2B companies. Here are the top 5 ways sales teams are taking advantage of new tech.

 

5. Stepping Up the Mobile Game

In a recent article, Genius eCommerce notes “91 percent of B2B buyers complete searches using mobile devices and one in four buyers makes a purchase using a mobile device.” With millennials making up more than 35% of the US workforce, there’s an industry-wide push to create simple, elegant, and frictionless online experiences that cater to the generation’s habits and expectations. To do this, sales teams must begin thinking like millennials and driving engagement through smartphones, their device of choice.

For millennials, a downloadable product list doesn’t go a long way, especially on a phone. It’s too time consuming, and millennials know there’s a high probability another company (i.e. your competitor) will have a simpler online experience that shortens their workday and makes their lives easier.

 

4. Increasing Repeat Purchases

Redstage CEO Adam Morris notes, “Modern B2B sales teams have begun tracking online customer behavior to predict when customers will need to reorder. These teams can use the same tech to order on behalf of customers and even set up automatic subscription reordering.”

These options remove strain from the customer’s decision to buy and encourage repeat purchases. Send a simple reminder to customers recommending they buy again or to buy a related product and watch AOV increase along with order frequency. Imagine what this does for sales commissions.

 

3. New Ways To Interact & Engage

With all these new modes of selling, teams need to broaden their reach to maximize sales opportunities. Tackling this challenge is easy with the right toolset. Chatbots act as an extension of the sales person, becoming the first-line of defense for customer assistance. Through chatbots, sales reps can help users find a product they might’ve missed, share in-depth details to make a sale, and further engage prospects in real time.

Like chatbots, social media is another tool that extends the sales team’s skillset and enhances reach. DemandGen’s 2018 B2B Buyer’s Survey reports that 34% of B2B buyers are spending more time on social media to research vendors. 52% say they use social media to drive purchasing decisions, and 82% of B2B buyers say the winning vendor’s social media content has a significant impact on their decision to buy. Using social media is much friendlier than cold-calling and helps create a community around your products. Sharing is caring!

 

2. The Power of Feedback

Customer reviews drive sales. End of story. In G2 Crowd’s 2018 B2B Sales & Marketing Report, 92.4% of consumers said they were more likely to buy a product or service if they were able to read reviews (5.5% were unsure, and only 2.1% said no). The reason? There’s a ceiling on how much buyers trust brands, which makes them trust customers more than the vendors themselves. According to Mashable, “Millennials, in particular, trust user-generated content 50% more than other media.”

Reviews also help sales teams identify specific product attributes consumers love. These attributes can then be highlighted, promoted, and shared with prospects who may be interested in the same products to facilitate additional orders. Positive reviews typically decrease cart abandonment, increase time spent viewing products, and of course, increase sales by helping buyers get honest, trustworthy feedback.

 

1. Becoming a Customer Experience Expert

A 2017 Walker study concluded that “Customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator by the year 2020,” beating out the traditional “4 P’s” of the marketing mix. As a result, it’s now up to sales teams to lock-on to customer preferences to maximize reach and engagement. Personalization platforms like Bronto help sales and marketing teams understand the preferred devices and channels each customer uses. When it’s time for a customized message, you’ll know how to get their attention.

If you ran a shoe store and a customer came to the register, only to cancel or return their order, you would want to learn why. In the digital world, if customers put an item in their cart but later remove it, it only follows that sales teams should investigate. Maybe a confusing or lackluster product description made them hesitate, perhaps it was a question of quality, source, or price. For B2B’s, fitment is a big factor, and finding replacement parts should be easy for customers. This is the time to send targeted messaging to help narrow down customer “unknowns” and increase the likelihood of a sale.

 

Final Thoughts

Using customer, cart, and product data, sales teams can now identify trends faster and easier than ever, pinpoint bottlenecks in the purchasing process, and refine experiences to increase sales and customer satisfaction. For more tips and tricks B2B sales teams can use, find our free Digital Sales Engagement Handbook here, and let us know if you’re interested in enhancing your sales team with Bronto.

 

 

4 Strategies to Take B2B Email Marketing to the Next Level

4 Strategies to Take B2B Email Marketing to the Next Level

by | Jul 31, 2018 | Commerce Strategy, System Integrations, UX/UI Design

4 strategies to take B2B eCommerce email marketing to the next level

A well curated eCommerce email list can provide your online store with recurring revenue and provide you with a strong competitive advantage. Realizing that value, however, is highly dependent on how you use it, and a variety of factors that can make or break your bottom line. In 2016, the average open rate across industries was 25% of recipients. If you can reach that number or improve upon it, you’ll see incredible benefits. But how can you get there?

Email marketers employ many useful strategies, such as email verifier tools, list segmentation, performance tracking, and critical CX details Redstage covered in last week’s webinar with dotmailer (video). However, there are four specific types of eCommerce emails that can lead to high conversion rates and drive repeat customers. Implementing each of these is a low-cost investment that, when done correctly, can lead to an extremely high return. 

1. eCommerce Email Up-Selling & Cross-Selling

These types of emails are among the most lucrative in the world of eCommerce email marketing. This becomes clear when you compare the average 25% open rate to the 61.7% seen in post-purchase emails. These can be sent out in a variety of ways, but the following are two of the most common:

  • Follow-up with receipt: include a discount or exclusive offer with post-order receipt or other custom transactional emails, incentivizing repeat purchases and customer referrals.
  • Follow-up with similar items: when a customer purchases an item in a given category or collection, you can send a follow-up email promoting related items (think of Amazon’s “frequently bought together” up-sell strategy).

2. Loyalty Programming

Building a relationship with your customer is extremely important to the long-term value of that customer, and email marketing is a great way to overcome this issue. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • “We’ve Missed You”: If a customer hasn’t returned to your store in a while, send them an email that includes a promo code and an easy way to opt out of future communications.
  • Personalized Life Events: Many businesses collect information about customers in order to provide them with personalized service. Consider sending a birthday email, along with a discount eligible for that week or month.
  • Restocking: If your business sells replenishables (like air filters, motor oil, and engine belts), launching automated emails at certain intervals can help keep your brand top of mind when supplies need to be replenished. How long does it take your average customer to go through a gallon of cleaning liquid?

3. Incentives and Promotions

Letting your customers know about a sale or limited-time offer is a tried and true method for driving traffic. Whether you’re offering holiday deals, announcing a new product line, or sharing an exclusive offer, customers are much more likely to be interested if they’re getting a unique product or price. These kinds of emails become critical for B2B buyers, who are always looking for easier ways to find the best product and price. Promotional campaigns like these are often extremely successful. In fact, according to Coteries Lab, “44% of people who received targeted emails acknowledged buying at least one item because of promotional message.” Emails advertising a discounted price have a conversion rate of over 1%, and a 9.68% click-to-conversion rate. 

4. Win-Back Campaigns for Abandoned Carts

Customers will often be interested in an item, add it to their cart, and then fail to complete the purchase. This lost revenue can be reclaimed simply by reaching out through abandoned cart emails. Something as simple as “Hey, you forgot!” or “Check out now for 5% off your entire order!” can help turn abandoned carts into solid sales. As you might expect, these are among the most efficient emails in terms of conversion, especially when combined with discounts.

While email marketing platforms can help you target any segment of your customer base, these are some of the most common ways marketers use email to reach out. Each option offers a great starting point for strong B2B eCommerce email marketing campaigns. These four methods can have a quick, significant effect on your overall sales. Having trouble with your email marketing? Need a recommendation on what platform is best for you? Ask the experts at Redstage!

 

About Our Guest Author:

Headshot_Rae_Steinbach

Rae is a graduate of Tufts University with a combined International Relations and Chinese degree. After spending time living and working abroad in China, she returned to NYC to pursue her career and continue curating quality content. Rae is passionate about travel, food, and writing, of course.

The Hard Truth: 3 Major Issues With Your Email Campaigns

The Hard Truth: 3 Major Issues With Your Email Campaigns

by | Nov 16, 2017 | Commerce Strategy, UX/UI Design

The Hard Truth: If Your Emails Don’t Do These 3 Things, Why Bother?

As marketers, constantly sending emails is critical to mission success. However… There’s a big difference between simply “sending an email” and delivering targeted reminders at critical touch-points along the customer journey. Reminders, offers and insights, mind you, that influence higher conversions, win-back customers, and maximize your customer lifetime value. Here’s a quick breakdown from Rejoiner’s massive report on the subject: “Email Marketing for eCommerce: The 8 Campaigns That Have Generated over $140M”. So again, here’s 3 major issues with your email campaigns. If you’re not doing these things right, why bother?

1. You’re Doing Newsletters Wrong. Stop That.

Blanket email marketing works less and less each year, AKA: It doesn’t work anymore. According to Rejoiner and the DMA’s 2015 national client email report, “86% of email revenue is coming from email campaigns that use advanced tactics.” So it’s time to switch it up. Rather than sending a promotional email to your entire subscriber list, get targeted. Segment your lists by shopping category and morph one 10% off coupon into 10 different coupons like the hydra from Homer’s Odyssey. Your dress crowd should get a deal on dresses with a distinct description. It’s simple divide and conquer. Your tie-guys should get a deal on ties. Swimwear, slacks, unmentionables… Segment them all and surround the enemy. Er, your customers.

2. You’re Using “Triggers” Right? …Riiiiight???

The Hard Truth: If Your Emails Don’t Do These 3 Things, Why Bother?

Rejoiner outlines the following critical touch-points as send-signals for what we in the industry call “targeted emails.” Set up an automation that sends emails when your customers fit any of these criteria:

1. Browser Abandoner (they looked at that hat 3 times… make it 4)
2. New Subscriber (hasn’t made a purchase)
3. New Customer (after first purchase)
4. Cart Abandoner (you know this one)
5. Primed for Cross Sell (compliment their recent purchase)
6. VIP (The ones who spend the most are worth the most)
7. Replenisher (are they really going to keep that lipstick forever?)
8. Defector (re-engage before you lose them to the dark side)

Rejoiner.com

Learn them. Live them. Love them. Tell your friends.

3. Your Win-Back Emails Are WEAK
The Hard Truth: If Your Emails Don’t Do These 3 Things, Why Bother?

Your cart abandonment emails are lame and uninspired. You also don’t use enough of them. Here’s Rejoiner’s short list of pro-tips that can be used for lonely carts and customers who’ve disappeared into the abyss elsewhere:

  1. Plan your cart abandonment emails under the pretense of customer service.
  2. Know and accept that customers will open win-back emails from their mobile. Anticipate this.
  3. Remember segmenting? Remember categories? Have you remembered anything I’ve said? Your abandoned carts are potential customers. Treat them like the real thing and remember: filter, divide, target, attack.
  4. You should know who’s on your site. Guest, registered, subscriber, Bill from accounting. Be the all-knowing Yoda of site traffic.
  5. Oh a cart was abandoned. Better do nothing about it. Just kidding, send them an email within 30 minutes to ask why. Let them know you mean business, and you’re here to help.
  6. While your win-back email should have a customer service focus, you’d do well to include a visual reminder of the last thing they looked at before they dropped-off.
  7. It’s now or never. Don’t lose them forever. Send a follow-up or two to make sure they come back.
  8. When it comes to discounts, use your brain. It’s 2017 and customers have gotten wise. Many know you’ll send a discount if they leave, so make sure you’re not throwing away money. You can achieve this through what Rejoiner calls “frequency capping.” Don’t be the parent who gives their kid candy every time they scream for it. It won’t do either of you any favors.

Sorry for the tough love, but you’ll thank me one day.

You can read and download the full report here at Rejoiner.com.
Find more email marketing best practices for retailers here.
Keep an eye out for our Emergency eCommerce Checklist: A Tactical Guide to Surviving The Holiday Rush (Bookmark this page, link coming soon!).

Email Marketing Tips For Retailers

Email Marketing Tips For Retailers

by | Sep 22, 2017 | Commerce Strategy, System Integrations

Email_marketing_for_retailers_cover1

Email Is King.

When it comes to eCommerce, email is the most vital and potentially profitable channel in your marketing arsenal. According to the Direct Marketing Association, “Segmented and targeted emails generate 58% of all revenue”. That number alone should get your blood pumping, but if your email campaign ROI is lacking, it’s time for some big changes.

1. Use Clear CTAs.

The subject line and opening text are the first part of the email anyone interacts with. The shorter the subject line, the more space the first bit of text in your email will occupy in their inbox (So make sure your opening line isn’t the default “Can’t Read This? View in browser” text… Use this real estate for something more valuable). This is your elevator pitch in ~72 characters. MAKE. IT. COUNT. Be sure to use a subject line that is catchy and engaging. Most customers won’t bother to open an email if the subject fails to pique their interest or at least stand out from the multitude of other marketing emails they receive.

Intend to resonate with the specific demographic you’re targeting, and avoid generic sales words. If it sounds too sales-y, you’re damned to the spam box. Too specific, i.e. “Hi John I saw you looked at our page…” and you’re creepy. Seek balance, and don’t be afraid to A/B test. Your subject line should always inspire someone to click, so aim for powerful call-to-action words like “Jumpstart,” “Command,” and “Unleash” (if applicable).

2. Segment Your Customers.

As I mentioned above, subject lines should be specific to the intended target. This could be 1 person or several thousand, as long as you can get a little specific and make your target feel like the email was tailor-made for them. No customer is created equal, but if your customer analytics are up-to-snuff, you should be using that data to segment your audience by demographic location, gender, age, product category, or at least their general interest area. Amazon isn’t sending emails to middle-aged men about hair dryers. Neither should you.

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3. Make Yourself Known.

Your email sender ID can make or break your response rate. Use a welcoming, approachable email ID to send out emails to customers. If there’s a photo section, choose a happy-faced employee’s headshot rather than a cold-faced logo. It’s simply more personal. Lastly, and this should go without saying, you’ll get more feedback from customers if you use and email they can reply to… Instead of using an email such as noreply@google.com or from info@mycompany.com, use a person’s name. Humans enjoy talking to humans. Be human.

4. Personalize the email.

Personalize the email by using the customer’s name. This makes the customer feel valued and inherently makes the connection more personal. You can use *first_name* tags in the body of the email, as well as the subject line (with some email clients).

5. Content Is Everything!

Don’t underscore the importance of style when writing your customers or clients. All images and written content should be of the highest quality (especially because misspellings are usually seen as spam indicators). Less is more: To grab the attention of recipients, keep your copy simple and to-the-point.

Avoid ALL CAPS at ALL COSTS. Refrain from overuse of exclamation marks, images and gifs. Many studies have shown that more images lead to lower response rates. Not only are multiple images too heavy on the eyes of your customers, but your email could fall victim to loading time or formatting issues. These are common on certain devices, which can severely distort your message. If you’re showing off a product or something else that’s photo-heavy, put a “learn more” button that links to a page on your website for external content. It’s easier on them, prevents distortion of message, and if you’re tracking clicks, this can help qualify interested leads. It’s a win-win. Most importantly, the content of your email should be something your customers look forward to, so offer something valuable instead of asking them for something (if you can avoid it).

“Of the 100+ eCommerce companies that I’ve worked with over the past few years, the most successful are those that take the extra time to formulate and execute well-thought out e-mail marketing campaigns. Your e-mails are being seen by all of your clients and prospective clients; optimizing these touchpoints will help you increase sales while strengthening your brand.”
-Dave Gardner, Senior Account Executive & Team Lead at Redstage

 
 
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One Final Note

According to the Direct Marketing Association, only a mere 7% of SMBs use emails as a branding tool. In fact, most Magento users aren’t customizing their transactional emails at all. Luckily, Redstage is launching a new product, offering unlimited customization of Magento Transactional Emails. Our team will work with you to create stunning email templates tailored for your specific needs. You’re already sending at least 4 emails to every new customer – let’s optimize every one of them to enhance your customer experience. Learn More >