Sorted by Tag: B2B
Why Manufacturers and Distributors Should Sell Online
Most B2B companies are tackling eCommerce head-on. Realizing the opportunity that online selling represents, manufacturers and distributors are investing in new technology to transform their online presences into personalized buying experiences.
Forrester predicts the B2B eCommerce industry to hit $1.2 trillion in the U.S. by 2021. Despite this, some B2B sellers are reluctant to sell online. It’s understandable that digitally transforming your business is overwhelming, but sellers can’t ignore it any longer. An online presence isn’t a nice-to-have, but rather a requirement for manufacturers and distributors to sell to the next generation of B2B buyers.
See the top reasons why B2B sellers should stop dragging their feet and start selling online.
(more…)Get Your B2B Sales Team On Board for Your eCommerce Migration
(This is a guest post from our friends over at ES Tech Group, who offers the B2B webstore platform, EvolutionX, and web catalog service, FusionPlus.)
Uber and Lyft are taking over taxis. Self-check-out kiosks are taking over store clerk positions. B2B eCommerce webstores are taking over salespeople’s roles – or are they? The answer, in short, is no; however, some salespeople still seem to fear otherwise.
While the salesperson’s role is not becoming obsolete, it is changing; however, before we dive in to how we can get our sales team to corroborate a digital transformation, it’s first imperative that we can explain to them why this additional sales channel is essential.
(more…)What We’re Reading: Improving B2B eCommerce Selling
This week we’re reading all about B2B eCommerce and how sellers can improve their online selling strategies. Read the articles below!
(more…)Delivering Omnichannel Customer Experiences in B2B eCommerce
As B2B eCommerce continues to gain traction among B2B sellers, they are now faced with the challenge to deliver the same streamlined customer experiences at different customer touchpoints. Modern buyers are looking for simplified and convenient access to product catalogs online but they also may require personal assistance or a direct phone call with a sales rep. They search for items on their mobile phones, then send RFQs on an eCommerce portal, and negotiate prices in person on a call. They expect matching buying experience on every sales channel and this is why having a strong B2B omnichannel strategy is such a vital foundation for each company’s customer-focused eCommerce.
Delivering omnichannel customer experiences in B2B eCommerce is also important for converting offline buyers into fluent eCommerce users. B2B eCommerce market is growing fast – Forrester estimates that US B2B eCommerce has surpassed $1.1 trillion and will grow up to $1.8 trillion by 2023. The name of the game for B2B companies today is bringing more customers online and that means facilitating their eCommerce buying journey every step of the way.
So, what are the key elements of an omnichannel strategy in B2B and how to implement them? We’ll start with an overview of organizational and cultural changes, after which we’ll shortlist major technological enablers. (more…)
Magento 2 New Features: B2B eCommerce & Multi-Location Inventory
(This is a guest post from our friends over at JetRails, a fully-managed white-glove eCommerce hosting service.)
As a robust, open source eCommerce platform, Magento has attracted manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and other B2B businesses to its previous-generation software platform, Magento 1 (M1). In most cases, these businesses needed to add Magento extensions and engage in additional custom coding in order create the appropriate shopping experience for their B2B customers as well as to follow unique business rules and practices that were central to how they sell their goods.
Magento 1.x is now on a slow march toward an End of Life in June of 2020. That means that businesses still using M1 are planning to move off of this legacy platform before security patches stop arriving, and before the last minute rush to replatform.
As part of this process, merchants will be able to step back and evaluate which eCommerce platform will be able to best support their future needs. Some SaaS solutions like BigCommerce have evolved to include some B2B features. Depending on the features and functionalities that you need, Magento 2, with its open source architecture, may still be the way to go because of its flexibility and customization. (more…)
