My first B2B sales program employed three “cutting-edge” technologies: telephone, laser printer, and the good old fax machine.
The company was Apple Computer and the year was 1988, back when Apple was just a computer company, not a technology giant. The program goal was to get small businesses to buy a Mac – when PC penetration in small business was in the single digits. At that time, personal computers weren’t an easy sell to small businesses. We’d tell them about this great new thing called desktop publishing and the owner would look at us like we were from Mars.
The sales program we put together was considered innovative. An express mail letter promoted the benefits of desktop publishing, with an offer to see actual samples of personalized materials. Respondents completed a form with basic business information and faxed it to our fulfillment center. The next day via express mail, the prospect received a personalized business letter, brochure cover, newsletter and other sample materials – all personalized with their business’s information. We followed up with an outbound call, set up an appointment at a local reseller, gave the demo and, hopefully, made the sale.
It was B2B commerce at its finest.
The good news for today’s B2B sellers is that we have an “E” before commerce, and we can sell product with just a little less effort. Though it took a while for B2B sellers to catch up to their B2C counterparts, today most B2B companies are selling online, or making the move.
As you’ll see in the infographic below, based on research by hybris software and Accenture, 83 percent of B2B sellers are currently upgrading or implementing their e-commerce suite, or planning to do so. And, as the infographic points out, their e-commerce functionality decisions are being driven by their customers’ experiences making work-related purchases on consumer websites.
Here are some of the top features B2B customers expect in an e-commerce site:
50 percent prefer to use a debit or credit card payment method rather than purchase orders and invoices.
60 percent consider enhanced search functionality a top feature they expect in a B2B e-commerce site.
50 percent want personalized product or service recommendations.
B2B buyers are very sure about what they want in a B2B site, based on their experiences buying product on consumer sites. And as you’ll see from the infographic below, sellers are moving quickly to meet their needs. Are you doing the same?