Being buyer-centric is the new consumer-centric – except some would deem it slightly more complex. According to Gartner, there are six to ten people involved in the B2B buying cycle at one time. And, aside from gaining a stellar reputation and growing your business, the ultimate goal of being more buyer-centric is profit – and with a market value of $6.64 trillion for B2B eCommerce alone, there’s plenty of profit to chase.
But is it easier said than done? 77% of buyers said their last purchase was complex and tricky – but that might be because Gartner found that 75% of B2B buyers admitted their buying groups are more diverse than ever before. That begs the question, how are you meant to please everyone involved in such a long and complex buying cycle? Let’s explore.
Bringing The B2C to B2B
BigCommerce released an article that said one of the biggest trends in 2022 for B2B is to bring more of a B2B shopping experience to buyers. We’re already seeing this with an increase in B2B eCommerce marketplaces and sophisticated business websites that make online sales easier than ever before. But what does that mean? You could start with the basics of growing buyer loyalty.
It’s a common tactic for B2B brands to create loyalty programs to keep their consumers spending more, and 72% of B2B buyers actually think it’s a way of a brand showing their loyalty to them, rather than the other way round. A successful B2b customer loyalty program – check out this link for a great example, www.incentivesmart.com/customer-loyalty – can see saving five times the amount you would when focusing on customer acquisition.
Better loyalty programs lead to referrals, positive buyer-to-business relationships, promote brand awareness, and are an all-around win for both buyer and business.
Embracing B2B Mobile Commerce
Did you know that 50% of buyer queries are conducted using smartphones? And, Cell phones drive or influence an average of 40% of sales in the biggest B2B organizations. As an individual, you could be part of the statistic that spends over 142 minutes a day, so it’s easy to see why there is a somewhat untapped potential for mobile commerce – essentially people shopping using their cell phones – for B2B sales.
One simple trick is to ensure your website is responsive to cell phones – meaning it loads flawlessly on any device. 94% of B2B buyers admit their first impressions come from a website design, and 75% also base business credibility on website design. Thanks to the evolution of mobile commerce and the need for businesses to adapt their website to cell phones, it’s really easy to make your website responsive to all devices if it isn’t already.
Still, that’s not the only way of being mobile commerce friendly. The aim should be to incorporate this into an omnichannel shopping experience – another 2022 trend.
The Omnichannel Shopping Experience
BigCommerce thinks that the omnichannel experience should be one of the main focuses for B2B brands in 2022. Omnichannel essentially means multiple channels for sales like social media, emails, search engines, and more. It’s something that eight out of ten B2B leaders think is more effective than traditional methods. And, 20% of B2B buyers would be prepared to spend more than $500,000 using a fully digital sales model – which makes sense when you circle back to the rise of mobile commerce and the impact it’s having on B2B sales trends.
To focus on the omnichannel experience, you should look at social media and email as two key areas to develop. Social media, in particular, is a rising star in B2B – 84% of C-level and VP-level buyers say social media influences their buying decisions, and 55% use it for information research. By incorporating a shopping link on your social media pages that lets buyers make purchases without leaving the app, you can expect to see a positive influence on sales.
As you can probably tell, the B2B shopping experience is becoming more like B2C with every passing day. From social media to mobile commerce, it seems each 2022 trends links back to B2C trends. Experts predict this will make a business more accessible, profitable, and successful in 2022.
