Posted 30.12.2021
In 2020, it became necessary for most B2B interactions and transitions to move online. At first, this was an unavoidable reaction to a crisis and it wasn’t always smooth. Plenty of hurdles were faced by an industry that traditionally relied on face-to-face meetings and sales.
However, despite the initial difficulties of this transition research suggests it will stick. The McKinsey Institute has revealed that B2B buyers and sellers now prefer to do their business digitally with 70-80% of decision-makers preferring remote interactions and digital self-service.
This is shifting the landscape of the business-to-business sales industry. B2B ecommerce is here to stay. More people are adopting this way of working and more customers are expecting it to be available.
If you run a B2B company and haven’t yet explored the options of B2B ecommerce you risk being left behind. Now is the perfect time to take your business online.
In this post, we will look at what that means for your company and how to find a B2B ecommerce platform that will support your business and help it grow.
Ecommerce refers to transactions that take place electronically over the internet. An e-commerce platform is a piece of software that facilitates this. It helps a business to sell its products or services online. A good platform streamlines the process from both a seller and customer standpoint.
Most ecommerce platforms will do more than offer self-service digital sales to customers. They can also help companies with their day-to-day running.
Ecommerce software can help manage websites and marketing online. It can also provide data and analytical support and assist with inventory management.
Basically, an e-commerce platform does a lot of difficult work for you. It can help your online business run more smoothly and efficiently. It is an invaluable investment for any B2B company that are taking their sales process online. This means it is pivotal to find the right solution, service provider and ecommerce platform for your particular business.
Before we get into what you should consider when picking an ecommerce provider, the first thing you must decide is what type of ecommerce platform you want. There is a big market of ecommerce solutions out there. These overarching decisions can help you immediately rule out a B2B ecommerce platform that won’t work for you.
The first thing you need to decide is whether you want a hosted solution or a cloud-based one. Then you need to decide if you want the convenience of an ‘out of the box’ platform or the flexibility of an open-source one.
The way that your ecommerce platform is hosted may rule out certain types of platforms for you. It will also affect the cost, as on-premise B2B ecommerce platforms often come at a lower initial price. Thought it is important to note that this is because all the maintenance costs will be covered by your own business.
Usually, cloud-based platforms provide a more convenient ecommerce experience for sellers. If the platform is fully hosted, you will pay an ongoing subscription fee and receive extensive support and maintenance.
Software as a Service (Saas) is software that is licensed on a subscription basis. This means you pay an ongoing fee for it rather than a one-off payment. It is occasionally called hosted software and it is maintained fully in the cloud by a third party. You will only have access to this type of platform while you are paying your subscription. If your subscription lapses then your access will be revoked.
This type of platform is often offered out of the box. This means you are given a functioning template to build your website around. It can be far more convenient as you won’t have to start your website from scratch as you might with other platform types.
With open-source B2B ecommerce platforms, you have access to the code that creates the platform.
The major benefit of this having complete control over the design and configuration of your B2B ecommerce website. You are able to change the site to help it stand out from other businesses.
This does mean that it is incredibly labour intensive. Also, all the responsibility to maintain the security and reliability of the site will fall to your team. To do this you will need experienced specialists who are able to deal with code conflicts and system outages.
Open-source platform types are great for any business that wants to stand out. Particularly in the tech industry. However, they also need a significant investment of staff and time. They are slower to get off the ground and could take some time to prepare.
Obviously, different businesses will have different needs from their eCommerce platform. This means there is no one size fits all answer about which ecommerce platform is best.
However, there are some things you should bear in mind, regardless of what your B2B company provides.
A lot of the other factors we discuss in this article will impact on the price you pay for an ecommerce platform. Hosted solutions may have a lower initial cost than cloud-based ones.
This is because the costs of server hosting, initial design and ongoing maintenance will all be accounted for in the average annual or monthly fee you typically pay for a cloud-based platform.
Similarly, an open-source platform may feel like a cheaper option as you won’t need to pay an ongoing licensing fee for the ecommerce software. However, you will still need to pay development maintenance and hosting costs. Most companies will also need to pay wages for specialists to do this ongoing work.
None of these costs will be small. Combined with the pressure and responsibility of ensuring all your backend systems are secure and consistent, it is usually a far cheaper option to pick an out of the box hosted solution.
The important thing is to make sure you calculate the total cost including all these variables before you choose your platform.
A lot of sensitive data and information will pass through your ecommerce platform. This means PCI compliance is a must for any new platform. It is your legal obligation to ensure details such as customers payment card information, addresses and other sensitive information are kept safe. It is also in your own interests to keep your own data and financial information safe.
The responsibility for ensuring PCI compliance will depend on the type of platform you choose. If you are using a fully-hosted out of the box solution, the platform provider will maintain all this. As it is such an integral part of any ecommerce solution, it will be regularly addressed and updated.
However, as PCI compliance and data security are essential factors you must consider you should take your time to familiarise yourself with a platform’s code and processes before purchasing.
If you are using an open-source ecommerce solution, you must ensure the platform your team builds is able to achieve and maintain PCI compliance.
Once your ecommerce website is up and running, the work will be far from over. Even if you’ve picked the right ecommerce platform that has all the functions and features that you need for your business and customers.
Any and all ecommerce platforms will need regular maintenance. Technology is always advancing and your ecommerce site will need updating to capitalise on new developments. Almost daily updates will be needed to keep your site secure as hackers are constantly looking for new ways to break down established online security and other systems.
Someone will also need to attend to troubleshooting and system outages. One small broken software code or unstable internet connection could bring down your whole ecommerce platform. In this situation identifying the cause of issues alone can be all-consuming before you even tackle the job of fixing them.
Many cloud-based SaaS and other hosted solutions will include this kind of maintenance and support in their total cost. They will integrate changes and updates seamlessly and will often fix any potential problems before you or your customers even identify them.
If you choose an open-source B2B ecommerce platform then other creators will also write updates but it could be up to your team to implement them. And if issues aren’t identified or addressed in time, the responsibility of anything that goes will be on your shoulders.
If you go for on-premise hosting or an open-source B2B ecommerce platform consider employing additional I.T. support staff to manage it. Alternatively, be prepared to provide extensive training to your existing team.
Something that all B2B ecommerce sellers will need to consider is how their new ecommerce platform will integrate with the other systems and processes the business already uses. Online and offline channels need to work seamlessly together. Otherwise, this could disrupt the experience that your existing customers are used to.
If you have multiple warehouses or sites you need a platform that can dispatch accordingly. Consider your existing ERP system and whether the ecommerce platform can handle the information that comes from your suppliers. An integrated system will sync data for you with minimum effort. It can even automate time-consuming processes such as order fulfilment, catalog management and inventory control.
Cloud-based platforms tend to be easier to integrate and you can often get support tailoring them to suit the backend systems of your business. Find a B2B ecommerce platform with a robust API and you should be able to integrate even bespoke systems.
Another important factor that will majorly impact the customer experience is how much control you have over customising your ecommerce site.
In B2C a universal online experience for customers is expected. But when it comes to B2B ecommerce, individual customers may have specialist requirements. The ability to create custom catalogues, offer customer-specific pricing and configure things like minimum order quantity is a significant advantage on a B2B ecommerce platform.
You may not need complete control or endless creative freedom across your B2B ecommerce platform. However, some ability to customise your offering for each customer group is useful. Consider whether this is something you want to control in-house, or whether you would like certain technical specifications to be included in the B2B ecommerce platform when you purchase it.
The factors listed above will have a big impact on how you view potential B2B ecommerce platforms. But you won’t be the only one who relies on the platform. You need to make sure your ecommerce solutions suit your customers as well as your business.
Their needs will probably be more obvious and easier to accommodate. All B2B ecommerce platforms should be built with customers in mind and should offer a great experience.
Bear in mind the following needs alongside the technical specifications of any B2B platform.
The appeal of B2B ecommerce is that customers can undertake self-service. They want to get what they need when they need it without the hassle of liaising with sales reps. This means that most B2B ecommerce platforms need to offer an easy, effective purchasing process for customers.
Pick a B2B ecommerce site that will provide them with the options and information they are used to receiving from your sales team. Allow them to set credit limits, access flexible payment options and provide familiar payment gateways. Make sure their shipping information, account details and customer-specific pricing are always available and easy to understand.
With traditional B2B transactions, contact with sales reps meant that any and all questions would be answered by your sales team. And customers would always have a person to put their faith in.
When replacing this with B2B ecommerce you still need to provide that same level of trust and ease of use to maintain business loyalty.
Whether they are purchasing for personal or for business use, customers will always have specific and different payment needs.
With B2B e-commerce platforms these are even more important. Often orders will be large and expensive and payments will be split. Many B2B companies offer a subscription payment model. In turn, they need a B2B ecommerce platform that supports these options. Many self-service buyers will also appreciate the ability to split payments over multiple sources such as credit cards or accounts.
Responsive design means that the web content on your ecommerce platform can be viewed across multiple devices. This is important as many of your customers will view your ecommerce platform using their phones or tablets as well as computers.
It is something that should be offered as a standard across all platform types. It should but isn’t always. If you are building your own platform using open-source code, this is something you need to be aware of.
There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a B2B ecommerce platform, naturally. It’s a huge decision that affects the future of your business, so it’s important to do your research. But with the right partner, you’ll be set on your path to long term success.
Featured image credit: Mike Petrucci on Unsplash
