3 priorities in mobile B2B strategy
Customer expectations are constantly growing, regardless of the industry in which the company operates. B2B companies must undergo digital transformation to stay on the market. If you do not offer a better web interface, mobile or conversational, your customers will look for a provider who does.
If your company is at the beginning of its journey related to e-commerce, formulating strategic directives, discussing channel conflicts or defining ways to increase B2B business operations using technology is the order of the day. You can also follow the path to digital maturity, discover market sales channels or discover how artificial intelligence can support your efforts. Regardless of where the company is located on its way to digital maturity, a mobile strategy is necessary to stay ahead of the competition.
TRENDS ON THE E-COMMERCE MARKET IN B2B
– Forrester estimates that B2B e-commerce will reach 1.2 trillion USD and accounts for 13.1% of all B2B sales in the US until 2021.
– At the end of 2017, Forrester expects eCommerce to reach USD 889 billion and account for 11% of total B2B sales in the USA.
– What’s more, this year 80% of surveyed producers will increase spendings on e-commerce B2B, and 38% will increase spending by 25% or more, according to a new survey conducted by B2BecNews.
WHY IS A DIGITAL MOBILE STRATEGY IN E-COMMERCE SO IMPORTANT?
The nature of B2B platforms has changed, the buyers have transformed into purchasing agents and corporate buyers. B2B buyers want to settle transactions quickly without having to make phone calls in order to place an order or get an offer. When shopping, they use not only phones but also smartphones and tablets. Providing seamless mobile experiences is therefore crucial for future development.
A B2B buyer using a mobile commerce channel is an ideal customer, because for the most part:
– is very committed to your brand,
– spend high amounts on purchases,
– repeats shopping regularly.
MOBILE E-COMMERCE IS A NATURAL DEVELOPMENT
Many B2B organizations perceive switching to mobile commerce as a complex process for both business and technology, as there are many approaches and options. True, but divided into stages and cooperating with each pillar of the organization, it can be a smooth transition. The key is not to emulate the B2C environment, or even to create something completely new, but to maintain the specificity of the B2B process while combining B2C processes and solutions. Digital transformation is not a single event; it is a continuous process of growth that allows you to create new, innovative models, such as mobile commerce or expanding the commercial offer. Continuous innovation and optimization are permanent factors.
MOBILE TRADE PRIORITIES
Talking to several B2B managers in various industries, they repeat the same conclusions: “Automating sales processes and using mobile phones to a certain extent is a key part of our overall business strategy because it helps sales representatives develop sales and customers buy more.” All these directors work in companies that are at different stages of digital maturity; one of the responsive sales sites for customers in the initial phase, in order to successively switch to a responsive system, others with the application for sale in the field, using it in the ordering process, and others using a fully responsive website for their clients and sales representatives. The reasons for creating a mobile or responsive website, and perhaps both, depending on the digital maturity of the company and its plan. However, the three priorities remain constant in all mobile strategies of these directors:
1. Provide quick and error-free user experience
Start by thinking about your mobile devices in front of the computer, because the cell is the place where most of your customers are located. Both desktop and mobile websites should use a flexible design that minimizes clicks to any path for all potential users. For example, a customer who is sitting at a meeting can quickly click to check the status of the current order or place an order for a repeat of the same product from two months ago. You can also consider the trip your sales representative takes to create a new account, get a loan approval, and then show them products from the sale.
2. Create personalized content
Think about your mobile site or app as a direct connection with the customer, because calls and emails are becoming less frequent. You can open a whole new digital marketing strategy thinking this way. For example, if you have an app, you can use the option to send push notifications. In responsive mobile commerce sites, when a customer logs in, show them smart retail options based on prior purchases. Immerse yourself even deeper and understand not only the company you serve, but if you serve many customers in this company, create experiences tailored to their requirements.
3. Transparent integration of processes
Your trading platform cannot work in isolation. The ability to integrate with systems such as accounting, ERP, OMS, and CRM to automate the synchronization of information such as orders, customers, prices and resources between systems, minimize the risk of errors, increase scalability and automatically enter all data. By ensuring easy integration of the trading platform with existing back-end systems thanks to extensive APIs and ready-made extensions, you’ll save a lot of trouble and speed up mobile sales or application time on the market.
Your mobile trading strategy plays an important role in the successful development of your digital journey so that you can achieve the success your company is striving for. Over 50% of searches in B2B search engines are carried out on smartphones today, so the opportunity to set a course to achieve a tactical advantage, mitigate the risk of channel conflict and understand the emerging trends in mobile telephony such as PWA is the basis for digital maturation and competitive advantage.
