The world of B2B has changed. Shoppers will be able to shop quickly, easily and when it suits them. Therefore, the same high demands are placed on a B2B shop as on an ordinary B2C shop. But the functionalities are different, and the right e-commerce platform is crucial.
It's about being able to shop online quickly, efficiently and easily - and when it fits into the customer's everyday life.
It is a mentality that has always prevailed among those who run a B2C webshop. In a flash, a potential customer can be gone and perhaps even to a competitor if your shop does not live up to expectations.
That is why actions every day are taken to optimize the webshop experiences. Everything from usability and UX to flow in check out is adjusted. Delivery times and costs are reduced, and customer support is increased.
That mentality should also be incorporated in those who work B2B. And fortunately, there are several B2B companies that choose to replace their old website with a webshop, which is open to not only regular e-commerce, but also opportunities for e.g. customer portal. Trends show that more buyers use webshops as an important part of their shopping process.
It's just about finding the right platform to build such a B2B webshop on.
Why should you have a B2B webshop?
With an efficient B2B webshop that lives up to the way you do business, you will experience easier and more time-saving workflows within the company. And you will get customers whose journey is simplified and streamlined, so that satisfaction and loyalty increase.
You will therefore experience a win both internally and externally with a tailored B2B webshop that can streamline the professional trade between you and your customers - regardless of whether you shop nationally or globally.
However, in order to succeed with your B2B webshop, you must make demands.
When you deal with e.g. corporate customers or run a wholesale business, there are other factors that apply, which is why you need functionalities that differ from a B2C webshop.
You have to accommodate business customers rather than private customers, and therefore you should look for functions like:
- Customer login that makes it possible to see personal prices, discounts and products
- Fast ordering of new products
- Fast re-ordering of orders
These are functions that make the transaction between you and your customers more efficient.
You avoid having to act through, for example, e-mail or over the phone, which has previously been the approach of several B2B companies. It is both a long and not so fast method that requires a high level of commitment from both parties, and errors can also often occur because data is stored in different systems and perhaps not even digitally.
Therefore, you should always offer a more personal and streamlined experience with your company, so that your customers can shop when it suits them and on the terms that suit them best. With such conditions, you will experience happier customers, better customer retention and most importantly, it often also leads to increased sales and optimizations in process time when data is integrated with underlying systems.
And it can mean online success.
Let us introduce you to .Cloud
There is a lot of different e-commerce platforms that you can dive into with a new B2B shop. Therefore, it can be difficult to make the right choice. It is important that you make some thorough considerations regarding the functions which are necessary for you and which can further drive your business towards growth as well as the degree of ease of use for both you and the customer.
We at MCB claim that we have developed one of the best platforms on the market with .Cloud - with this you can get a customized B2B webshop.
.Cloud is our pride!
And a platform for both B2C and B2B, with some specially developed functionalities, for you who trade B2B.
In a busy world, you must be able to provide the service that makes it easy for buyers to shop. They expect easy and quick access to information and the purchase of goods.
.Cloud is therefore an optimized work tool in an updated and up-to-date design that requires fewer clicks and which focuses on defactor standard / UX for functions. This means that .Cloud provides an optimal editor experience for you who run a B2B webshop - and this is something that applies regardless of whether you have experience with platforms or not. And regardless of whether you want to optimize daily life as an e-commerce manager or content creator.
The focus has been on a simple and intuitive navigation, a minimization of clicks and load time and a consistent theme, which ensures that it is possible to complete a workflow in the same flow.
And .Cloud is of course based on the latest Microsoft technology.
Therefore, we have the opportunity to combine CMS, e-commerce and PIM in a integrated solution. And you can get a direct integration to your POS and / or ERP system, so that you can both quickly and easily push data between the systems you use.
However, we know that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. That is why we specialize in creating a B2B webshop that is tailored to your company and that supports your existing business setup.
To ensure this, .Cloud offers a wide range of different functionalities.
It can be impersonation, which allows your employees to log in to the portal like your customers. In this way, it is possible to optimize the buying experience and make the digital service both present and personal.
Or it may be the customer's option to make use of assortment lists. With these, your customers can both adapt and save their personal shopping lists, so that they can find the goods that belong to, for example, a certain season.
It can also be product variant lists, which simplify and streamline your customers' more complex purchases. With product variants, it is easy to overview and manage the purchase of many different variants of the same product - and of course also save them as fixed lists afterwards.
Then there is also the possibility of making use of comparison.
This means that you can offer your customers an easy way to compare several products - in one window. It can, for example, be on the specifications that are relevant to them.
And then we must also remember the B2B customer portal.
The one thing you must always have on your B2B webshop - customer portal
Our time is becoming more and more scarce. We have more tasks assigned to us, we meet higher demands, and therefore more people experience a lack of time.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the demand for online self-service is increasing. A demand that a professional B2B customer portal can meet.
With a customer portal, you can increase your own sales as well as offer a simple approach to new services. It both streamlines and reduces costs in your customer service - and at the same time you gather important knowledge about your customers.
Knowledge that you can later use to adapt your shop further to meet the needs, wishes and expectations of the buying experience, so that you retain your loyal customers. The data also tells you something about who your customers are, why it also gives you valuable insight into the marketing initiatives that convert B2B leads into paying customers.
Via the portal, you can assign each customer a separate profile, which enables you to provide a personal experience that reduces the time that could otherwise be spent in your customer service. When you do business B2B, you can have many different customers connected, each of whom must be able to see different products, differentiated prices and perhaps also personal discounts. And that is exactly what is made possible with a customer portal.
When logging in from this, the customer will be greeted by a personal view that you have set according to the individual. Therefore, the customer only sees the goods, prices and any discounts that apply to him. In addition, the customer can, like when visiting a B2C shop, search between the relevant selection of goods, save these, compare them and create lists for later use. The goods can also be purchased directly via the customer portal, where it is also possible to save each purchase, to make it is easy to, for example, re-order in the future.
You can have an impact on .Cloud
The platform you choose for your B2B webshop is decisive for your success with your business. Therefore, at MCB, we believe that transparency in the updates and developments that take place on .Cloud is important. And we are always open to new ideas and input. We know that your experience is important.
We have therefore launched a development community for all .Cloud customers.
In the development community, there is a focus on user-driven innovation. And this means that you, as a .Cloud customer, get a valid voice in relation to the development of .Cloud - regardless of whether it is small adjustments / improvements or completely new options.
With the digital community you get:
- An opportunity to share your ideas for improvements to the platform and vote on other good ideas
- A roadmap with planned and ongoing projects
- A release log with the features we have implemented in the past week
But that's not all.
We also try to meet physically to collect new releases and focus on selected themes. In this way, we ensure that we continuously improve and update .Cloud based on your requirements.
So if you have been on another platform and wondered:
- What new features have been added
- What new features are coming
- Who to turn to with ideas and inputs
- How to have more influence on your own business
.Cloud can answer those questions.
Should we talk about your opportunities with a B2B webshop?
If you would like to open a B2B webshop or make a switch from a B2B website to a B2B webshop, .Cloud may be the right choice for you. Let's talk about your options.
We are always available for advice and take care of everything from integrations and updates to necessary support on your new webshop.
