Electronic commerce is on the rise, driven in our country by a state of alarm. In fact, certain categories such as food and sports have increased their sales in confinement by five. This trend has continued until today with a growth of up to 50%, which reflects a change in consumer habits.
B2B e-commerce: the great opportunity
Electronic commerce continues to be the great unfinished business of many companies. Although it is estimated that around two-thirds of companies have a B2B business model, most do not sell their products online. And those that do not exceed 10% of the total turnover of the company. It is clear, then, that investing in developing good e-commerce is a great opportunity.
What are the keys to success in developing your e-commerce?
- Create a clear, precise and agreed roadmap by all the directions of your company. It is a strategic document that must be aligned with the objectives of the company, business and IT. It should include the phases of development and adapt little by little to each one of them.
- Launch a minimum viable product . Do not pretend to have the best e-commerce in the world to begin with. Launch a minimum viable product to learn and build on. Let yourself be advised by experts or companies that are dedicated to this. You will save time and money.
- Select a scalable and robust platform that accompanies your business in its evolution. You are looking for a fast implementation, with flexible models to pay for the investment over time.
- Define the sales processes and generation of new clients in a coordinated way with your sales force . E-commerce must be an extension of your sales force and your CRM to work in a coordinated way. The objective? Generate more sales and attract new customers. With the e-commerce platform, your sales representatives will be able to make purchases for their clients, help them in the process or let the client be totally autonomous.
- Work alongside marketing to increase your reach and get prospects . Attract new buyers, generate satisfactory customer experiences, retain them to increase the frequency of purchase and the amount of the average purchase. If these functionalities are integrated into the e-commerce platform, their management will be easier and more efficient.
Benefits of the SAP Commerce Cloud platform
There is no way back. We have to adapt to buying and selling online, also in the B2B sector. The obvious advantages of e-commerce are selling in real-time, quickly, and reliably, being accessible to your customers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. But, of course, there is more:
- You will have sales opportunities abroad or in geographies where your sales force does not reach now. On average, 17% of the sales of a B2B company occur outside our borders.
- You can integrate into marketplaces to expand your reach. On the other hand, you can also become a Marketplace for partners and suppliers.
- Manage the relationship with your customers through their preferred channel (CX & loyalty).
- Automate internal processes and reduce costs .
- Use analytics to personalize , increase your sales and meet the needs of your customers.
- Content is king and ease of search is key . In B2B, the generation of detailed product sheets with all the information necessary to make a decision is key. Likewise, 90% of the sales process begins with a search. All the content you create will position you better in this first phase of the purchase process. Having updated inventory, as well as product catalogs and personalized prices for your large customers generate a unique shopping experience.
- Accessible from all devices . The experience must be consistent from search to purchase, regardless of the device used in each process. Connect online processes with offline processes, such as alerts or activity tracking for sales and customer service teams.
- Easy and automated payment process based on your clients’ policies.