10.01.2020
Nowadays more and more businesses that sell products or offer services invest in their online presence. The most modern channel for promoting and managing business activities is undoubtedly the online store (e-shop). Through this, the company is with one click next to its customer and has the ability to complete procedures immediately, easily and at a reduced cost.
In particular, an organization’s B2B customers seek systematic interaction with it. This is for users who place orders with a large number of lines / turnover at regular intervals throughout the day. Therefore, the need to digitize the activities of modern business about its partners is now considered imperative.
The benefits offered by a B2B e-shop are numerous and concern both the functionality of the company itself and actions related to the cooperating companies. Some of them are summarized below:
1. Brand Awareness
The development of a B2B e-shop will help you to strengthen the presence of your business on the internet, allowing the target group to know your company profile as well as your activities. This will be achieved either by publishing your directory pages or by using targeted content marketing. In summary, your business will benefit from high search engine rankings by attracting potential customers or resellers.
2. Increase sales
An effective B2B online store will allow your business to maneuver to meet market demand and ultimately satisfy the needs of its customers. In this way, the company will succeed in creating new sales channels, since it will have the opportunity to expand its market share. Therefore, attracting new customers will lead your business to an increase in sales. At the same time, the right B2B e-shop will allow you to automatically apply powerful cross-selling and up-selling techniques, encouraging the visitor to make purchases of specific products/services that have been suggested to him.
3. Reduction of administrative costs
A strong advantage offered by a B2B e-shop is the automation of business processes. Thus, processes become more efficient at the same time that unnecessary costs are reduced. The simplification of procedures combined with the reduction of administrative costs allow the company to increase its income and eventually lead to growth.
4. Increase efficiency & effectiveness
An online store, through its connection with back-end systems such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), provides excellent opportunities for any B2B organization to improve its performance. Two of the divisions of a business that benefit greatly from the above consolidation are the following:
a. Customer Service Department: Since orders are completed online, the department can focus on its essential functions. The need to re-enter data into separate systems is eliminated, reducing errors and improving distribution and storage processes.
b. Sales department: Remote access to customer orders (history, invoicing, etc.) will help the organization of the company’s physical sales team.
5. Analytics
B2B e-commerce provides your business with the right platform for a comprehensive analytics campaign. A wholesale e-shop allows each organization the ability to numerically evaluate Marketing campaigns, product mix, sales effectiveness, user loyalty, etc.
An effective B2B platform will benefit your business immediately. However, it also presents significant benefits to its users, i.e. your potential partners. The main, perhaps, advantage is the optimization of the customer experience.
Customer-centric experience
Modern business is looking for ways to meet the increased expectations of its associates regarding their shopping experience. Through a responsive B2B e-shop, the company offers its partners (customers, suppliers, agents, distributors, etc.) the following basic possibilities:
- Improved product & service search functionality.
- User Friendly browsing to find the right items to order and/or bulk order them.
- Facilitation of payment process (e.g. use of credit limit).
- Personalized information for customers using BI reports (customer card, trade balances, order history, monthly shopping trends, etc.).
- Ability to evaluate products & services.
- Marketing Hub with information and support material available.
- Immediate customer service.
