Across the board, distributors and manufacturers report increased customer desire for a modern Ecommerce experience. They want the same level of personalization and service they get with B2C. As a result, businesses are investing more in their online presence to drive Ecommerce demand.
In their new white paper, 2022 State of eCommerce in Distribution, Part 2: Next Steps to Building the Right Customer Experience Online, our partner Distribution Strategy Group (DSG) broke down the findings from a recent webinar. They identified how businesses can provide the buying experiences customers expect and they gave insights about what works best to increase Ecommerce demand and maturity.
DSG’s report also includes coverage of:
In an effort to provide a B2C-like digital experience for B2B customers, DSG found distributors and manufacturers are mobilizing to drive Ecommerce demand.
Interestingly, of the companies surveyed, people (Field Sales, Inside Sales and Customer Service Representatives) were reported to be the most effective drivers of Ecommerce demand.
DSG also reported that B2B customers want, and expect, a white-glove digital experience that includes personalization, consistent messaging, and AI-powered searches.
These findings reflect the importance of your customer-facing teams to Ecommerce success. It’s critical your workforce has the time and resources to communicate with buyers in the best way possible. Meaningful conversations and personalized interactions drive Ecommerce demand, while also essential parts of delivering an exemplary customer experience.
Download the full DSG report, including data breakdowns, infographics, and statistical analysis, for free.
Another key finding was that customers don’t want to change their buying methods, so catering to all purchasing methods as part of your Ecommerce initiative is good practice.
“Inadequate product data” and “lack of technical talent” were reported to be the biggest barriers to Ecommerce success for the surveyed businesses.
It’s essential that your technology stack is helps to drive Ecommerce demand in the long-term, and DSG detailed a number of innovative technologies which can help you achieve this.
The report also suggested a way to strategize your Ecommerce rollout through 2025. This includes a focus on omni-channel, campaign unity and hyper-personalization.
Moving into the future of B2B buying, demand for a seamless digital experience is only going to increase. DSG’s white paper highlights the importance of leveraging effective methods other distributors are already using to push Ecommerce. Those methods include freeing up your customer-facing teams to focus on buyer relationships, optimizing your technology stack and offering omni-channel personalization.
As part of their automation journey, find out how Rexel Canada repurposed thousands of hours spent manually processing orders towards improving their customer experience in our Conexiom customer story.
You can download DSG’s free white paper here: Next Steps to Building the Right Customer Experience Online.