To order and pay for services on behalf of your company is today far from as easy as when you want to purchase something for yourself as a private consumer. It can’t be that hard to make it easier you might think? Companies that sell products and services to other companies (B2B) in digital commerce are still lagging behind in their digital customers journeys today, compared to what their customers are expecting.
B2B industry is 10 years behind B2C in digitalization
Generally, it has been said that the B2B industry is 10 years behind B2C in digitalization of digital commerce. We also know that there are many exciting and innovative improvements from companies that have come further than the general companies. But, even though they are moving forward in their digitalization journey, the market is pushed forward at a fast pace by B2C, keeping the distance intact. The expectations from customers continue to be pushed forward on the market because the same person buying something on behalf of their company one day, is buying something as a private consumer another day, and the expectations on the B2B companies user journey then becomes as high as on a B2C company.
”70% of all requests from buyers in B2B were made from a smartphone, according to Google and the Boston Consulting Group.”
In the B2B market today we see different forces that are driving the change and affect the expectations on buying experiences in B2B.
- A demographic force in the fact that 73% of millennials are taking purchasing decisions in B2B today, according to a study from Forrester research.
- A behaviour connected driving force within contact and interaction, where 70 % percent of all requests from buyers in B2B were made from a smartphone, according to Google and the Boston Consulting Group
- Several technological forces with next technologies that enable the companies to sell in new ways and innovative their business models, which also sets new standard requirements on business operating in the same vertical.
Challenges that B2B companies face
In B2B-commerce many companies have not yet been able to adapt to these changes. It can for example take several hours or sometimes days until a company can be approved as a customer, order a product or service and be able to buy now and pay later. The customer journey for recurring customers also leaves a lot to wish for, where companies are not recognizing their recurring customers because they are purchasing in a new channel or a new employee from the company is trying to place an order.
At the same time, the person expects to be able to place an order and choose their company’s preferred payment method in real time. Just as they do when they are purchasing something as private consumers. Without friction and without having to wait.
This of course comes with some consequences on both short and long term. Buyer’s that are not getting their expectations met have an easier way today of just changing and purchasing at another business now where products and services are available digitally from across the world. Another thing that makes it easier to go to a competitor is the change in the interactions between sellers and buyers, where there are less physical meetings and more digital contacts (and sometimes no contacts at all). This does not create the same personal ties and dependencies that historically could add stickiness to a customer relationship.
Overcoming these challenges
So what are the challenges among the companies today to improve their customer experience within B2B? Even if many companies within B2B are not meeting their customer expectartions, digitalization is highly prioritised on the enterprises strategic agenda. This is not surprising since customer relations is something that B2B companies historically have been very good at. And where B2C in many cases can learn from B2B.
However, the challenges to digitising the customer experiences are higher in large organisations that have been around on the market for some time. In reports and in discussion with our customers, we have seen some driving forces that challenge enterprise companies to change their customer experience to meet the needs of their customers.
- 70 000 people is forecasted to be missing in tech in Sweden when we get to 2024, according to IT and Telecomföretagens report “IT-kompetensen” from 2020. This makes it harder to get the resources needed to make the changes required, which will have consequences for the enterprises projects.
- Legacy and inhouse software is holding the companies back from reaching their digital goals, according to the “B2B Digital Experiences Report 2019” from Episerver, which also affects the possibility of creating the customer experience that is needed.
- A history of mergers and acquisitions in the enterprises creates additional complexity in the mix of inhouse software and different ERP systems that individually is a challenge to develop and maintain.
- Customer relations in B2B is a key factor for success. Thus, companies do not want another brand and actor to take over their decisions about which companies should be allowed to become a customer and control how the customer relationship is handled. However, in B2C it’s more common to factor the purchase to a payment partner.
Preparing for the future
To attract new customers and keep existing customers with increasing expectations, companies need to be better in adapting to constant change. Both in terms of strategic thinking and in terms of tech. The business that manages to operate like this and with the right timing, will be able to reap the benefits of competitive advantages.
We see more and more B2B companies succeeding with adapting to this way of working. To be able to test early, fast and for a lower cost. To get insight and confirm their business is also important to be able to get the resources and internal support within the organisation that is needed. And to become a leader in their industry.
In recent years we have seen a growing number of API-first strategies and modularity thinking, that have made it easier for businesses to test and develop together with partners specialised in their respective area. This makes it possible for businesses to meet their complex needs and requirements for control of their customers. And at the same time they don’t have to invest a fortune and wait too long until a solution is in place and can be tested in reality. With the right strategy and co-operations you are able with relatively simple means to create something that is possible to build upon. And to quickly be able to adapt to change.
We’ve seen the results of those that have been able to do it right and succeed. With improved customer experiences in B2B and with customer expectations that have been widely exceeded. Those that have managed to make it as simple to buy as a person at work, as a private consumer sitting at home on the couch.
Besides increased conversion and increased sales, the automatisation has also led to less manual work – and in turn saved costs. The business can instead spend their time on their most important asset, namely their customer.
