Changing the Game: The B2B Ecommerce Manifesto

Highlighted years ago with the rise of pre-sales product research (a 2013 Google and CEB study found that 57% of a purchase decision is made before engaging a sales rep), the buying process is becoming more interactive, more mobile, and less face-to-face.

The Rise of the B2B Ecommerce Site

But is the next logical step the move from ‘salesperson as closer’ to ‘website as salesperson’? What are the limits and what are the opportunities? Should we brace ourselves for the ‘Amazon of B2B’?

One thing we can be sure about is that Business-to-Business Ecommerce is alive and well.

According to Forrester’s report, The New and Emerging World of B2B Ecommerce, part of its 2015 B2B Ecommerce Playbook, B2B ecommerce professionals are seeing not only increased double-digit (20%) growth in traffic to company website, they are seeing nearly the same percentage growth (19%) in year-over-year online channel sales.

Tie this to Forrester estimating that B2B ecommerce is expected to reach $780 billion (9.3 percent) in the U.S. by the end of 2015 and $1.1 trillion (12 percent of all sales) by 2020.

What will it take for a company to ‘do B2B ecommerce right’?

Combine what’s already working in the modern B2B sales process…

• Online research tools
• Content
• Channel distribution

…with what those in the B2C spectrum already know.

• Mobile
• Simplified buying experience

Three Tips to Stay Ahead of the Curve

The Forrester report highlighted three key opportunities for companies looking to make their move into B2B ecommerce, or thrive if they already have adopted a platform:

• Create an Omnichannel Commerce Experience: Some customers still want to do research online and finish the deal with a salesperson while others want a completely online experience. Businesses looking to embrace ecommerce must understand this, and architect their website as such. Attribution and information must be shared across the business.
• Enlist Customers and Partners for Content: Purchasers want more content, both in breadth and depth, and B2B ecommerce companies must be able to provide it to them. This is where the B2B company can use reviews and ratings from customers, syndicating and amplifying beneficial content through partners.
• Seeking out New Channels, Selling Differently within Existing Ones: Because B2B customers are researching and buying on more websites and across more channels by the day, B2B organizations must be ready to follow their customers wherever they go. They must also be prepared to invest heavily in mobile as a mission critical “channel of the future.”

As B2B ecommerce pushes globally, expected to become a $6.7 trillion market by 2020, according to advisory firm Frost & Sullivan, those selling on B2B ecommerce markets will need to become even more agile, and those buying will have a multitude of purchasing options not previously available.