B2B e Commerce: Are you looking forward to acquire established and high-paying B2B clients? Be it B2C or B2B customers, both the segments demand a few basic values- transparency, immediacy and convenience. When we are considering the B2B category, remember, business buyers are also consumers. They’re acting on behalf of their business. As they have more resources at their disposal, they look forward to sensibly invest in long-term success of their company.

So your aim should be able to build a strong B2B brand. With a well developed strategy, you can outweigh your competitors and win better B2B clients.

Understanding the B2B eCommerce

Frost& Sullivan analysed that there are several reasons for B2B eCommerce to top the list and increase pressure on businesses. The UK online sales are predicted to reach £52.25bn in 2015, which is a 16.2 percent increase from the last year. This indicates that on average UK consumers will spend £1,177 online in 2015. It has been found that 89 percent of B2B consumers indicated that their business increased annual revenue by 55 percent through eCommerce business. No wonder more and more B2B companies are making move to online sales.

The key Drivers of B2B eCommerce

Optimized Procurement Process
If you’re electronically well connected with your suppliers/vendors, you can

• Get the best price deals
• Lower inventories
• Reconcile your procurement and accounts in real time.

The B2B eCommerce infrastructure allows you to constantly monitor the inventory level of your own products as well as of the suppliers. In addition, the system can also trigger an order to the best suppliers automatically.

Enhanced Mobile Commerce
Research shows that the majority of the customers are using Smart devices to research products for their businesses. Mobile is an integral part of your brand and Omni-channel commerce strategy. With the rapid emergence of mobile commerce opportunities, B2B online business can offer in-the-field sales opportunities and personalised customer service.

Flexible Payment Option
Unlike B2C, B2B transactions use diverse payment processes and channels. B2B buyers usually prefer paying with e-checks, purchase orders, or physical checks instead of making credit card payments. When the payment process system is based on the convenience of the buyers, it becomes easier to run an online business.

The Choice of Open Source
B2B sellers opt for open source. The majority of the businesses are integrating open source technologies in order to gain the benefits of flexibility. The technology allows businesses to modify any open source codes according to their requirements. Every eCommerce solutions offer a host of features; some are crucial to the business while some are not. However, with open source, B2B merchants can have granular control over user experience.

Reduced Cycle Time
With the availability of real time data exchange, auto-triggered business process or well-monitored algorithms, cycle times reduce substantially. This leads to low cost, high productivity, improved quality, and faster delivery.

The Three Key Components of B2B Brand

1. High-Quality Content

Content drives commerce. A good piece of content can get your business placed well in search results. Keeping in mind that B2B eCommerce deals with large and complex organisations, combination of the right topic and the variation of keywords can invoke genuine interests.

2. Presentation of your Brand

Before you believe in your goal, consider the types of audience you’re about to interact. You can successfully brand yourself to attract more customers through

• Proper communication
• Establishing your company’s motto
• Customising and personalising your message
• Providing real value through networking
• Maintaining your online and offline integrity
• Following the right email etiquettes.

3. Mobile-Centric Business
Mobile commerce is the latest buzz. Consumers demand for more mobile capabilities and personalised shopping experience. Your business should have that capability to connect with live video and chat to enhance customer experiences across all the channels. With more and more web browsing happening away from the desktop computers and on Smart devices, focus should be shifted towards the use of responsive design to make your site more mobile-friendly.

B2B eCommerce is poised for resurgence. The buyers’ expectation has increased with its improved technology and powerful automation process. B2B brands are known for their customers and their ability to deliver relevant, contextual experience to the customers.

The post B2B e Commerce, the Emerging Market appeared first on Small Business Can.