The rise of eCommerce isn’t a new phenomenon. Over the past decade, as the internet has become the go-to resource for everyday commerce, education, social networking, and information, businesses have evolved to meet their customers where they spend most of their time – online. 

However, while the average business-to-consumer (B2C) business reaches a point of maturity in eCommerce best practices, many businesses to business (B2B) organisations have only recently come around to the idea of implementing an eCommerce strategy and infrastructure. 

In this post, we’ll explore the foundations of B2B eCommerce and what it all means, and delve deeper into how it could impact your sales operations as a B2B organisation. 

What is B2B eCommerce? 

B2B organisations are typically made up of manufacturers, distributors, channel partners, and other wholesalers, and essentially are businesses that sell their products or services to other businesses, rather than the everyday consumer. 

The term eCommerce means electronic commerce, so in simple terms, B2B eCommerce is the sale of goods or services via online transactions from one business to another. With sales made and orders processed online, eCommerce offers a way for any business, whether customers are business buyers or consumers, a more efficient, streamlined, and digital customer journey. 

The rise of B2B eCommerce

In recent years, while B2C eCommerce has been booming, many B2B brands have been more reticent about fully adopting eCommerce business models. 

However, as the global pandemic changed the way many businesses approach innovation in general, eCommerce quickly became seen as a viable, reliable way to retain business continuity amidst the chaos of Covid-19. 

What’s more, as the working landscape becomes increasingly dominated by Gen Zs and Millenials – the digital native generations, organisations that target business buyers are having to address the changing expectations of their target demographic. In fact, according to a B2B report by Market Innovation leaders, Merit, 73% of millennials now have some level of purchasing power on behalf of their companies. That means, B2B organisations are having to wise up to the ways of the younger business buyers, who will typically favour online channels, in contrast to traditional offline sales touchpoints. 

And, when it comes to building a stronger online presence to meet the needs of their more digital-savvy buyers, it seems many forward-thinking businesses have driven the exponential rise of B2B eCommerce. Technological research firm, Gartner, predicts that 80% of B2B sales transactions will take place via digital channels by the year 2025. 

Now as B2B organisations continue with digital transformation goals in the wake of the pandemic, eCommerce seems set to become the go-to strategy for those who want to survive and thrive in the new era of change. 

What all this means for your sales team

Implementing a more digital infrastructure, alongside a comprehensive eCommerce strategy will mean you’ll be able to connect and engage with your customers much more easily. As B2B sales teams become even more mobile than ever before, with the help of cloud technologies, the move to embrace eCommerce, could have the following benefits for your sales team, and your business as a whole. 

Opportunities to scale up

With an effective eCommerce strategy and the right cloud technologies at the core of your business, your team could plan for growth by opening up new markets, becoming more reactive to market changes, delivering exceptional customer experiences and broadening their horizons by taking on new territories. 

Improved team productivity

With a reliable eCommerce platform, and the right sales solutions in place, you’ll be able to automate tedious manual tasks, and integrate your back-office systems, making your sales process much simpler, both for you and your valuable customers. 

Scope to broaden your target market

Switching to more online channels for your sales means you open up the floor to new target demographics and new markets. Where sales may have taken place face-to-face historically, now as customers can purchase from wherever they are in the world, you could be making use of the power of the search engine, and marketing to a global, rather than a regional pool of prospective customers. 

Improved customer satisfaction

As eCommerce giants pave the way in terms of delivering seamless customer journeys in the B2C space, business-to-business organisations now have the means to implement the same principles of intuitive design, ease-of-use and convenience, to keep their business customers returning. 

Harnessing powerful data to drive sales

One of the most powerful tools for any modern business is its data. Having the power to analyse, and act upon how effective your marketing campaigns are, what products are selling, key buying trends and seasonal customer purchasing history puts the control back in the hands of your sales team. Analysing and exploiting your customer data generated from your key digital channels and eCommerce platforms means you’ll drive better quality leads and enable your team to make better-informed decisions that help to grow your B2B organisation. 

Toucan’s digital sales solutions present your key customer data intuitively and comprehensively so you can supercharge your sales strategy and meet changing customer demands in the new era of B2B eCommerce. 

For more information on Toucan Sales Analytics, click here to request a demo.