B2C ecommerce has been around for a while now. When compared to B2B ecommerce, B2C ecommerce is by far the veteran, however according to research conducted by Forrester, by the end of 2013, B2B ecommerce sales will reach $559 billion. This amount is more than twice the amount of B2C ecommerce sales. With that said, it is clear that B2B ecommerce is growing at a rapid rate.
What’s so appealing about B2B ecommerce?
Providing a B2B shopping environment online for your customers greatly enhances convenience. Customers are able to browse and research products at their leisure any time of the day. Creating this 24/7/365 access is crucial for companies in the global market.
How to make your B2B ecommerce web store a hit amongst customers
Since B2C web stores have been around longer, many have mastered the art of creating a user-friendly environment that customers enjoy. Think Amazon, for example. Given this fact, it is no wonder why many B2B ecommerce websites mirror some of the more successful B2C web stores in an attempt to provide their customers with an intuitive shopping experience and a secure, streamlined checkout process. To do this, B2B ecommerce websites will often have advanced search capabilities to make it easier for users to browse their large inventories. Thorough product details are another important feature. Simply providing the product name and price is not enough with all the media available. Product demo videos or multiple images should be used as well.
In addition to the benefit of having an online shopping environment that is always available, another advantage of a B2B ecommerce web store is the ability to provide users with logins. These logins can be linked to accounts that provide each customer with features that simplify making purchases, like the ability to reorder previous orders or view catalogs specific to them. Other self-service features that help with the user experience might include online bill pay or the ability to view different types of reports, like payment history.
To have a successful B2B ecommerce business, it is important that you target your buyers effectively and have a strong web store with features that make the user experience enjoyable. With the predicted growth in B2B ecommerce sales, a great deal of revenue is being missed out on by companies that do not have an Internet presence.
