What can wholesale learn from B2C?

Intimate, connected and personal

There are obvious, perceived differences between B2B and B2C e-commerce. One feels intimate, connected and personal, the other is transactional, in bulk, and a chore on a to-do list.

The former has driven B2C retail to be more efficient and easy-to-use, omnichannel and personalised, while B2B has been slow to change.

But growth in online B2B sales is much higher than in person and by phone, and while it counts for only around a quarter of overall sales, many predict it will one day become the dominant means of purchasing. A strong preference for ‘self-service’ approach to B2B post-pandemic is also driving a new wave of mobile shopping. In the United States today, only 1% of customers say they actively want to shop offline.

Moreover, modern ideas of what a company should be today are influencing shopping attitudes in B2B. Customers involved in large-scale B2B purchases are also consumers, making everyday transactions. They buy their coffee from Costa, get their takeaways delivered by Deliveroo, and exchange currency with Revolut. As a result, they have a high expectation for secure, personal and efficient service. Trends in consumer attitudes mean they will also likely care about the providence of the coffee beans they sell or the wages bean farmers are being paid.

Despite these transformations in how people shop, many B2B digital platforms are still somewhat stuck in the past. How can businesses catch up, and even innovate?

User experience

At its most basic, good design helps people shop more easily. Across retail, there is a constant push for more interesting, dynamic and, most importantly, intuitive, simple design.

Some business-facing companies rival these companies in their innovative approach to ecommerce. But B2B is somewhat notorious for falling behind when it comes to e-commerce: many British pharmaceutical firms, for instance, still use face-to-face account managers for stock fulfilment.

Easy to use

On its About page, prominently featured in a simple menu near the top, the company has a precise description: ‘Industrial and intralogistics automation components and solutions’.

A little wordy, perhaps, for a landing page – which is why it instead features strong visuals to quickly communicate its industry and focus and waits to give customers necessary depth of detail once they already have a sense of what the company is about. It goes on to describe the company’s philosophy, as opposed to doing the obvious and bragging about an extensive product range. This allows ACME to differentiate itself from competitors early and help craft a sense that this is a modern, agile business.

This works because it’s easy to use. People don’t have the time or patience to be messing around with an inaccessible website. It also communicates professionalism and attention to detail: encouraging for potential clients.

Omnichannel

Omnichannel, at its most basic, is offering customers different platforms to shop. Ideally, these different platforms come together to make shopping a more informed and seamless journey for the customer: from social to site to in-store.

B2C continues to develop new ways of reaching customers across websites, apps and social media generally.

British clothing retailer Oasis showcases social media content on its website to drive further digital engagement and sales. Similarly, Barkshop, a digital retailer specialising in dog-related products, tags customer-generated content with shoppable tags to further encourage sales: connecting customers with products in a non-aggressive way. Upmarket fashion shop Neiman Marcus uses ‘Memory Mirrors’ that allow you to try out clothes in 3D, save them to a shop account and share on social media (as well as buy, of course). These initiatives facilitate greater brand engagement and increase sales.

There is now an expectation that any business will offer multiple, interconnected digital platforms, as well as offering a well-designed and user-friendly website.

Websites should offer repeat touchpoints for when clients are making a choice. The experience should be consistent across platforms. Websites and social media should be integrated (e.g. links to promotions or blogs from social media) and the message and tone should be consistent. At perhaps its most extreme: bricks-and-mortar sites are able to connect with the digital platforms to offer a seamless experience, à la the Apple Genius Bar.

A word sometimes applied to omnichannel marketing is ‘immersive’: the brand will have the same message, tone, feel and overall experience, wherever you come across it. During a time where consumers expect so much from all their interactions with businesses, B2B is expected to have the same level of experience.

As a final note: The pandemic has also changed attitudes to in-person meetings, perhaps fundamentally. Only 15% of B2Bs expect in-person sales meetings to be the norm going forward. Being able to reach them at multiple touchpoints may become the norm going forward, as customers begin to expect a more personalised service. Speaking of which…

Personalisation

The issue of personalisation is somewhat muddier for B2B than it is with B2C customers. How do you ‘personalise’ a message or an experience to a business?

Ecommerce companies are constantly adopting new technologies to better understand data, which allows them to personalise the brand experience. Sephora, for instance, uses a Single Customer View, or SCV, framework for its consumer data: it maintains distinct profiles of customers online and in-store behaviour to tailor messages and product recommendations.

B2B businesses shouldn’t directly attempt to copy this style of personalisation, but they can use technology and advanced data processing to provide an even finer level of service.

It might be harder to envision how this is possible for B2B brands, but Siemens Building Technologies shows how it can be done. It offers as part of its overall building services an app that allows workers to see vacant working space in the building, as well as allowing them to control ambient lighting and temperature control in their area.

The information is also sent to building managers to use for optimising energy efficiency – the second largest cost for buildings. This is presented via a performance reporting system.

This allows Siemens to offer a level of care and value that differentiates it from competitors.

Transparency in Supply Chain

Businesses are under increasing pressure (from governments, NGOs and consumers) to make green and socially-conscious changes to their supply chain – and make those changes clear to their customers.

It is incumbent upon businesses then to make these ongoing efforts apparent to clients. American clothing retailer Patagonia, for example, has an interactive (even fun) page on its website which shows important elements of its supply chain, and the changes it’s making to become a more overall ethical company. It reassures its customers that, even if it hasn’t got it all correct yet, the company is investing in these issues and is being accountable.

It’s not merely about keeping up appearances. Transparency also improves trust between trading partners and overall risk management, helping to prevent a supply, or reputational, crisis.

Building trust and reputation has only become more important. Previously, B2B clients often would just stay with one company for many years. But the situation is quickly changing: in a more agile and flexible world, customers can research and find alternatives at the click of a button – and competitors are not few and far between. Trust is an essential way of standing out from the pack.

They don’t have the time to be messing around with hard-to-use procurement systems, and it is easier than ever for them to seek out competitors if they feel they aren’t getting a good enough service. B2C ecommerce is developing fast, with good customer experience at the forefront. As a result, people’s expectations are high: B2B is now faced with the challenge of meeting them.