Important Features and Functionalities to Consider for B2B Digital Commerce

As 2019 comes to a close, many leaders in B2B are reviewing their digital strategy going into the new year. Digital transformation is a strategic journey of innovation that offers incredible potential for growth. Consider it less about a complete system overhaul and more about shifting plans to invest in and be more competitive in today’s digital markets by delivering valuable online solutions. One of those online solutions is offering e-commerce and m-commerce (mobile commerce). Digital commerce offers B2B the ability to introduce new innovation to delight their customers, make their internal operations more efficient, and outpace their competition.

After work hours, B2B buyers are ultimately consumers so considering a lot of Retail’s strategies in digital commerce makes sense. However, with the complexities of B2B the roadmap also has a few more twists and turns to consider.

Investing in a modern commerce platform is one of the first steps, but when that B2B buyer is on your e-commerce site or app what exactly are they looking for (or not looking for) in their user experience?

Echidna has compiled a list of important features and functionalities to consider for B2B digital commerce:

• Payment Options (PO, Leasing, PayPal, Line of credit, Credit Card): Offering robust payment options is high on the list of requirements for many B2B buyers. Make sure your site has the ability to offer contract pricing or quotes before placing orders if needed, enables DocuSign, and/or other payment integrations in order to allow the buyer to easily complete their check-out process.
• Bulk pricing: Many B2B buyers are looking for volume based selling, so make sure your site has the ability to manage multiple business models and operations to support this complexity.
• Integration with a supplier’s ERP, CRM and supply chain: This is key to the foundation of your success. Making sure your digital commerce integrations into your other systems is vital to making sure data isn’t in silos and customers receive the best possible experience with all areas of your business, whether purchasing online, emailing with a sales person, or talking with customer service.
• Search that returns accurate results: Often times B2B buyers are frustrated because they search for an exact part or specific model number and inaccurate results appear. Make sure you implement a smart search and guided navigation feature in order to create a more efficient and scalable search management within the shopping experience.
• Complete product selection: Make sure you have created a robust UX structure to ensure all current and future products can easily be configured
• Up front shipping costs prior to checking out: Integrate a smart shipping tool to offer accurate shipping costs from the start. Buyers state they will walk away from their cart if the shipping isn’t shown or changes dramatically when it’s time to purchase. 
• Sophisticated mobile offering: This could mean creating a responsive design system for mobile ordering on the go or ordering at the office. Depending on where you are at in your digital commerce journey, you might want to consider if a native app or progressive web app makes sense.
• Imagery and content is clear: Buyers state this as one of the number one reasons they do not purchase online. Make sure your imagery is clear, offers enough photos (or better yet video, 3D or AR of the item) so your buyer is confident in their purchase. Content should be concise and offer a complete description of the product also.
• Accurate inventory: Nothing is more frustrating than inaccurate inventory counts for buyers. Make sure your site is up front and clear on inventory counts and offers alternate options (if applicable) and back in stock dates when items are out of stock.

Knowing where your market is growing and where to invest your resources play important parts of your business growth and success in 2020. Having the right partner for creating a seamless B2B digital commerce experience and an experience that will increase revenues and decrease expenses will drive greater customer satisfaction and lead your growth. How does B2B digital commerce look for your business going into 2020?

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Originally posted at https://echidna.co/blog/whats-important-in-a-b2b-digital-commerce-experience/