How to Transform a "Good Enough" B2B eCommerce Solution into "Best-in-Class"

Why B2B eCommerce HAS to Be Front and Center in 2020 and Beyond

If B2B eCommerce isn't the core focus of your channel distribution model in 2020, then it's time to reshape your priorities. Today's B2B buyer’s idea of a positive relationship with your company isn't through a friendly, knowledgeable sales rep. It's through your website.

COVID-19 has taken the shift in buyer preferences even further. Almost 90 percent of B2B sales have moved online. Sales leaders now believe digital channels are twice as important as they were pre-pandemic. So if there was ever a time to invest in B2B eCommerce software solutions, it's right now!

Getting a B2B eCommerce website up and running is pretty straightforward. But getting it right is hard. Most B2B manufacturing companies pay developers through the nose for eCommerce solutions that end up being totally underwhelming from both a front-end and back-end perspective.

Below, we look at the steps companies like yours can take to build a best-in-class B2B eCommerce site, or transform an existing mediocre solution into something capable of competing right at the top of your sector.

Which B2B eCommerce platforms provide the best performance for an economical price?

What is B2B ecommerce platform? It's a software application that enables B2B businesses to sell their wares online.

B2B eCommerce platforms can be broken down into three basic types:

Traditional platforms, like Magento, where you purchase a license fee and build a solution on top (Magento also offers a B2B ecommerce open source software version.)

SaaS (software as a service) platforms, like Shopify Plus, where you pay a monthly/annual fee to "rent" a readymade eCommerce solution that you tailor to your specific needs.

Headless platforms, like Elastic Path, which serve as a decoupled back-end for all of your eCommerce activities, onto which you can add any number of channel-specific front-ends to aid in your omnichannel ambitions.

For the vast majority of medium-sized B2Bs, SaaS is the way to go. Here are 10 reasons why:

SaaS platforms are readymade - you don't need a vast design and development budget to get going.

They're super easy to use, even for non-technical people. Your site can go live within weeks and be maintained in-house.

Any bugs and glitches are dealt with by the vendor. With so many companies relying on a smooth user experience, issues usually get sorted out very quickly.

Upgrades, updates, and improvements are all managed by the vendor, for no extra cost, with minimal downtime, if any.

Customer support is top-notch. If you need help, a knowledgeable assistant is only ever a call or instant message away.

Vendors follow a subscription-like payment model, which is less risky. Costs are spread out, not front-loaded.

They're eminently scalable - if you need more capacity, you can have it instantly and (essentially) just pay for what you use.

Vendors live, eat, and breathe network security. You can sleep easy knowing that you're in the hands of a vendor whose entire reputation is pegged to their security record.

They work seamlessly with other third-party SaaS solutions, integrating through APIs.

If you're going BIG on omnichannel, then a headless platform could be the way to go. Still, for most companies, SaaS is less expensive, less complicated, and more than sufficient in terms of features and integration.

How visual CPQ takes B2B eCommerce to the next level

Most people have heard of CPQ (configure, price, and quote) and understand the basics: users leverage the tool to configure customizable products, calculate prices, and generate quotes. Few people, however, understand the transformative impact that today's visual CPQ solutions have on the customer experience, sales, engineering, and the shop floor.

The cornerstone of visual CPQ is the visual product configurator. It’s an interactive, visual tool that buyers can use to customize highly complex engineer-to-order products before purchasing. With a point and click interface that displays products in lifelike 2D or 3D, buyers can resize sections, add or remove parts, upgrade features, and change colors - the configuration possibilities are endless. They can zoom and spin configurations around and get to know them in far greater detail than would be possible through generic images in a paper catalog.

As buyers play around with options, prices change on-screen in real-time. Once the configuration has been finalized, the buyer can either contact a sales rep to place an order or just “self-serve” and make their purchase independently, there and then. Visual configuration provides an immersive customer experience that's accessible from anywhere, through any device, connecting buyers to products and brands on a visceral level in a socially distanced, post-pandemic world.

Businesses can leverage visual CPQ to strike up B2B2C relationships with other stores. Tuff Shed, for example, strategically positions tablets, pre-loaded with their visual product configurator, into brick-and-mortar Home Depot stores. With B2B2C, they’ve been able to acquire new customers in bulk at a low acquisition cost, all without getting their hands dirty in messy direct-to-consumer transactions. (To find out how you can strike up similar arrangements with respected brands, check out "B2B2C and B2B eCommerce The Definitive Guide.")

It might be hard to believe that visual configuration could work for anything more complicated than a pair of jazzy sneakers. But the tech is already being used by biotech companies like Repligen and Merck, high tech manufacturers like NI, and heavy equipment manufacturers like Caterpillar.

Complex "product rules" built into the back-end of the software make it possible, ensuring every configuration is optimized from a technical and profitability standpoint, and that errors are eradicated. With visual CPQ, engineers no longer receive poorly thought out, back-of-a-napkin configurations from sales (the bane of every engineer's professional existence.) This means fewer delays, less rework, happier customers, and greater interdepartmental harmony.

CAD and design automation boost efficiency even further. Upon completion of the configuration process, the best visual CPQ solutions automatically generate a range of engineering and production documents in addition to the sales documents (like quotes and proposals) that all standard CPQ solutions provide. These include technical drawings in SolidWorks (etc.), CNC cutting data, BOMs, assembly instructions, and product renderings, all of which can be disseminated immediately to the right people and machinery.

8 more ways to raise your B2B eCommerce game

Visual CPQ greases the wheels of an end-to-end process that starts with the buyer and ends with a finished product, manufactured to the customer's exact specification, and delivered on time. It’s the most direct path to achieving best-in-class B2B eCommerce results. But there are plenty of other ways to up your game, and we break these down below:

• Take an omnichannel approach: Buyers want to interact with you through a range of channels (mobile, tablet, laptop, social, physical store, etc.) and receive a consistent experience across them all.

• Prioritize mobile: As remote work becomes the norm in many industries, buyers frequently opt for mobile over laptop. Your B2B eCommerce platform has to look stellar through a phone screen.

• Chatbots: Yes, they're annoying, but they're getting much better, and they’re one of the best tools for reducing cart abandonment.

• Personalization: Buyers are doing the bulk of their personal shopping through Amazon et al., and they expect the same personalized, consumer-like buying experiences when they shop for work. Personalizing search, catalogs, recommendations, pricing, content, and promotions make buyers feel valued.

• Customer feedback: Reviews and testimonials from respected companies engender trust.

• Be upfront about costs: Additional shipping fees added at the last minute are a massive turn off. Keep costs visible at all times.

• International options: B2B eCommerce lets you reach a global audience. Multi-language and multi-currency options tell international buyers that you're open for business.

• Customer support: Today's buyer likes to self-serve where possible. But if they do need human input, they want it on-tap through a range of channels.