B2B sales have been largely based on relationships between people. As a result, the implementation of digital technology to increase Ecommerce sales has lagged significantly behind B2C counterparts. But buying patterns and customer preferences are leading to a dramatic change in best practices across the B2B space, and those unwilling to integrate technologies into their processes threaten to be left behind. Here are some of the most exciting new technologies you can use to increase Ecommerce sales.
Marketing Automation
Marketing automation refers to software that executes routine communications with customers and prospects and prospects based on conditions pre-set by the user. It isn’t a new technology, but it is becoming newly effective and efficient, especially in a B2B context. While in a B2C context, the communiques are, generally speaking, personalized to the recipient and his or her journey, B2B efforts have a trickier path to follow. More successful automated B2B marketing efforts tend to focus on ways their products provide value to leads and existing clients, as well as providing existing customers with guidance and education in the hopes of stimulating further conversation (and more orders down the line).
Automation allows B2B marketers to engage with prospects in a number of ways, including contacting them via multiple channels, tracking and scoring their levels of engagement, and using their existing Customer Relationship management tools (CRM) to profile their leads in the hopes of tailoring better communications with them in the future.
Customer Relationship Management Tools
CRM tools are an essential technology for a B2B business. CRM software helps businesses track and manage customer interactions and record interactions between a business, prospects, and existing customers. Good CRM software integration can lead to more sales, better retention, and improved customer service via improved transparency.
CRM software comes with built-in analytic capabilities that allow users to track click-through and bounce rates. This data and more allows for proper analysis of the efficacy of particular marketing campaigns. This data, along with automatically generated sales reports and demographic information can also be coupled with Artificial Intelligence to improve predictive models for sales forecasts.
AI Driven Predictive Models
More than 1/3rd of B2B businesses use AI to achieve their business goals; that number is likely to grow over the next decade. These models can be used not only to predict general sales, but to predict which users are more likely to make a sale, and thus would benefit from a salesman’s touch. It turns the world of sales from an instinctive guessing game to a data-driven and efficient deployment of resources. The benefits can redound not only directly, to the efficient deployment of sales reps and marketing tools, but indirectly through a better managed supply chain as well.
Digital Supply Chain Management
We’ve written about improving your supply chain before and will no doubt do so again. But to state it plainly, the most effective change to your supply chain management you can make is to switch to a digital management system that allows for direct communication with all other aspects of the business. Nothing is more mutually frustrating for a buyer and a seller than a sale that can’t be met due to surprise supply issues. Moreover, Digital supply chain management allows for real time updates on supply, reorders, and even pricing. Improved visibility allows for faster answers to customer inquiries and faster sales. This is essential at a time when customers and businesses alike are growing more and more accustomed to paying when they want, how they want, and receiving their goods quickly.
Digital Payments
Two years ago, more than 50% of all B2B payments were still completed with checks, despite the fact that superior digital options have been increasingly made available. Don’t you think it’s time for an upgrade?
We certainly do. And we’re not alone. Digital B2B payments have seen rapid growth since the start of the pandemic. Some experts predict that 80% of all B2B payments will be digital by 2025. Certain companies now allow for instantaneous account to account transfers initiated and completed online.
Zoey, for example, launched a next-generation ACH payment option with Stripe that allows for instant verification of an account to accept payment. Remember the days when a couple of tiny deposits were made to verify the right account was selected? Fortunately those days are behind us.
The incorporation of modern digital payment options allows for faster, simpler buying decisions for virtual shoppers, making it an excellent pairing with another feature designed to benefit virtual shoppers: Augmented Reality.
Augmented Reality
The hardest part of shopping online, whether a B2B or B2C transaction, is the transition between browsing and ready to click buy. B2B suppliers have a particularly tough time securing these sales, as B2B buyers tend to be more thoughtful, do more comparison shopping, and are less impulsive than B2C buyers. This makes sense, since a B2C buyer is buying for one end user, while a B2B buyer is likely making a purchase for a whole slew of people, all of whom have needs that must be met. This is why any tool that increases the ability for that buyer to show the team of end users how the purchase will function.
Augmented reality is one of the most helpful such tools. Augmented reality tools allow for users to visualize exactly how their purchases will fit in their existing spaces. Many also demonstrate their functionalities, increasing buyer confidence that what they think they’re buying will in fact be what they receive. 38% of B2B buyers claimed AR would accelerate their buying cycle. Good AR programs increase sales opportunities for equipment that’s difficult to transport, allow for greater sales flexibility, and can be used to speed up installation.
Zoey Performs a Critical Role to Increase Ecommerce Sales
Modern technology only works if you’re on a foundation that can make the most of it. Zoey is that foundation, with B2B Ecommerce tools built to support a variety of use cases, and continues to grow and evolve constantly. Learn more about how Zoey can help your business by talking with us:
Patrick Gallagher is a financial writer with nearly a decade of experience in communications with business owners and other high-net worth individuals. He was a writer for the New York Times and worked for several nonprofits. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota. He lives in Atlanta with his family and two very rambunctious dogs.
