B2B sellers can offer a positive customer experience and increase customer loyalty and sales with the appropriate mix of tools and techniques, combining e-commerce and on-ground sales.
The B2B buying experience has traditionally been complicated due to complex tech solutions, a large number of decision-makers, and huge budgets at stake.
According to industry experts, the only way to keep up with the growing customer expectations is to embrace digital buying processes across the customer journey, from research to post-sales. So, let’s take a look at the three digital strategies for enhancing the B2B buying experience.
Create a buying experience that is digital-first
During COVID-19, the role of digital channels in the enterprise world has only grown. With in-person meetings and trade exhibitions on the decline, many B2B marketers quickly learned how to design user-friendly digital experiences that removed obstacles to buying and accelerated sales cycles.
Prospects now can skip the opening sales call and explore a product on their own time with free trials and on-demand demos. In fact, according to a 2020 survey by Gartner, “B2B customers spend only 17 percent of their overall purchase journey with sales reps.” As a result, salespeople can act as “concierges” by offering personalized information that prospects cannot discover on the internet.
In addition, virtual events have evolved as a valuable marketing tool. Marketers can reach a larger audience and create more accessible content by holding digital-only or hybrid conferences.
Adopt B2C purchasing strategies
Many consumers today expect a seamless e-commerce purchasing experience across all aspects of their lives, including business transactions. That is why B2B organizations should take a page from the B2C playbook and make their purchasing processes simpler and more transparent.
While one-click purchases may be desirable for businesses, it is vital to ensure that the website is user-friendly and bug-free. According to a McKinsey 2020 study, the length of the purchase process, the difficulty of discovering products and technical issues with the ordering process are the three most aggravating concerns with supplier websites.
Furthermore, organizations should restructure and streamline their pricing plan before posting it on their website. Businesses can also incorporate the opportunity to acquire immediate quotations or review packages based on the number of users, licenses, or storage space required.
Finally, B2B sellers should be aware of post-sales practices used by B2C businesses, such as two-day shipping. Similarly, buyers today expect to implement enterprise solutions sooner, rather than weeks or months afterward.
Also Read: Martech – Application Makes the Difference and Not Mere Adoption of Technology
Create a self-serve experience that is seamless
Self-service solutions are becoming increasingly common. More than three-quarters of customers and sellers prefer digital self-serve and remote human contact over face-to-face interactions, according to McKinsey. This tendency extends to large-scale transactions; 70% of B2B decision-makers said they were open to making new, completely self-serve, or remote purchases worth more than US$50,000.
Self-serve makes the purchasing process more efficient and quicker by allowing customers to place orders as soon as they are ready. On-demand demos, free trials, and the opportunity to place orders with a credit card are all examples of effective self-serve experiences that put the buyer in charge. These solutions can improve customer satisfaction while also shortening sales cycles and allowing sales professionals to focus on new business development.
