Four Steps for Sellers to Thrive in the Consumerized B2B Purchasing World

Business buying habits have evolved, or at least shifted. For example, 74% of B2B buyers find buying from a website more convenient, and purchasers rely on reviews more now than ever before.

Highlighted in our recent article, the B2B Ecommerce Manifesto, the rise of omnichannel techniques in transactions has been quietly taking control of the sales cycle, and in order to meet the needs, sellers need to provide a customer-centric experience—in person, over the phone, or online.

This idea is clarified by the fact that more procurement professionals are investing in self-service and online ecommerce, with 43% and 40%, respectively, of CPOs investing in technology to make these processes easier.

But what can B2B sellers do to thrive? Recent Forrester Research highlighted four key components of a thriving B2B ecommerce strategy, shared below:

Make Customer Insights Available to Every Employee

Sellers must be able to distill information into something meaningful before, during, and after the sale.

o Integration of customer data from a variety of sources
o Investment in analytics
o Improved segmentation of customers

Ensure Consistency in both Digital and Physical Experiences

B2B Sales still relies on face-to-face interactions, but now, buyers expect interactions with a brand to be seamless, error-free, and consistent. Forrester recommends more investment in 2016 in the following:

o B2B Communities
o Behavioral Targeting
o Cross Channel Relationship Building

Help Direct Sales and Channel Partners to Engage

Both sales and channel partners need to be able to relate with buyers and provide the timely content to both mobile and desktop viewers.

o Persona Creation and Account-Based Marketing
o Social Selling
o Post-Sales Engagement

Relevant, Evergreen Content—both Physical and Digital:

Sellers are encouraged to create small, easy to use, and shareable content that can be reused.

o Thought Leadership
o Interactive video and digital marketing
o Content calendars

For more information, see the entire Forrester article, Survive Or Thrive: Which Will B2B Marketers Do In The Age Of The Customer?

Better data, more consistency, a focus on personal engagement, and timely, usable content will be four of the factors that B2B sellers will need to embrace in the age of consumerization. Learn more by reading these related articles:

• Changing the Game: The B2B Ecommerce Manifesto
• B2C Payment Tech Trends Energize The B2B Market
• Common Obstacles to Modern Payment Processes
• Exploring the Consumer-led Transformation of Corporate Mobile Payment Technology

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