How to: Optimise customer experience using ecommerce image

Optimise customer experience using ecommerce

The key value of B2B ecommerce is that it instantly allows manufacturers, distributers and wholesalers to directly communicate with their retailers and buyers. According to a recent report from Frost & Sullivan, B2B ecommerce is an extremely fast-growing market which is set to generate $6.7 trillion in revenue by 2020.

The majority of B2B buyers are already used to their everyday customer communication with ecommerce retailers, and therefore will be more reluctant to switch to an alternative approach. A recent study by Forrester and Accenture proves this, as 49 per cent of B2B buyers prefer to make work-related purchases on B2C sites, while 66 per cent of B2B suppliers acknowledge that shifting customer expectations are driving their technology investments. As the B2B ecommerce market follows the B2C example, there are a few essential ecommerce tools that will help optimise the B2B customer experience.

Reassuring customer reviews

Bazaarvoice’s recent survey statistics showed that websites with customer ratings and reviews benefited from a 65 per cent lift in revenue per visit and a 52 per cent rise in conversion rate. Reviews reassure customers and provide trustworthy and genuine information that has not been influenced by marketers or advertisers. They also offer transparency which is a very important factor for customers. In this way, companies give their customers a voice and trust them to report back honestly and objectively on products and services that they have bought.

B2B businesses often use case studies together with more traditional marketing methods to highlight their success. However, reviews are a much faster and more cost-effective alternative to reach a mass audience.

According to a study carried out by Gartner, 94 per cent of B2B customers research online before making a business purchase, yet only 37 per cent of B2B companies offer product reviews. Therefore, it would be advisable to provide customers with the option of reviewing and rating their shopping experience. This will help strengthen brand reputation and help B2B companies to stand out from the competition.

Email newsletters are effective

Newsletters remain an effective tool to create and maintain brand loyalty. They enable companies to regularly stay in touch with their customers, offer them tailored prices, deals and additional product information. B2C newsletters certainly need to be optimised for mobile, as more and more consumers are nowadays using smartphones and tablets to check emails and make purchases. However, is mobile as important for B2B as it is for B2C customers?

Usablenet suggests mobile optimisation is just as important for B2B as it is for B2C. Eighty-five per cent of B2B buyers require content on B2B sites to be optimised for mobile devices, yet only 21 per cent of B2B brands consider mobile as the primary revenue driver for their businesses. Personalised newsletters are another B2C technique that should be applied to B2B ecommerce. Newsletters enrich customer experience by adding a personal touch that is after found lacking in business sales. It is important to choose a tool that segments the client base and allows for greater personalisation and targeting. Gartner predicts that by 2018, B2B companies with effective personalisation on their ecommerce sites will outsell competitors without the same level of personalisation by 30 per cent. Mobile optimisation enhances the B2B customer experience by enabling buyers to access news on their device of choice and can lead to an increase in instant online sales. Moreover, personalised newsletters strengthen customer relations and create a more polished customer experience.

Abandoned cart reminders

Another genre of email which needs to be optimised for mobile is the abandoned cart email. Although cart abandonment rates appear to be slightly lower for B2B compared to B2C (Forrester), they remain an issue. The abandoned cart email technique represents an opportunity to improve customer experience, improve service and increase sales by gaining insight into why shopping carts are being abandoned. Nearly 29.9 per cent of clicks on abandoned cart emails lead to a purchase back on the same site (SalesCycle). This shows us they are also a great boost for conversion rates. While it is possible to use the normal newsletter to send abandoned cart emails, a specialised tool will more likely offer features such as added personalisation, better targeting criteria for configuring sends (basket amount or page reached) and the choice of the number of emails to be sent to customer or prospect.

Instant messaging

To provide a first-class customer experience it is also advisable to incorporate an instant messaging (IM) service into your business. This has been found to help build a trust-based relationship with customers. According to Gorilla Group, only 21 per cent of B2B companies offer click to chat, when it is the ideal channel for providing rapid responses in a simple, direct and more informal manner. In order to stay ahead of the competition, businesses should offer a B2B IM service and give their customers the opportunity to choose the method of contact that suits them best and when they mostly need it. There is no need to wait to speak to a salesperson or wait for an email reply. Insite’s latest survey found that customers who used IM felt more confident about an online purchase, and as a result conversion rates increased by 20 per cent.

IM tools should also allow businesses to fine-tune targeting rules, meaning customers can be contacted at vital points in their customer journey. This can be done by criteria such as: pages visited, cart additions, time spent on site, number of pages viewed, etc. IM services provide businesses with the real-time feedback on services, products, prices, delivery and give potential and current customers hassle-free and instant answers.

There is a growing demand for B2B to provide B2C-like customer experience and ecommerce is an effective way to successfully deliver that experience, benefitting both customers and businesses.

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