B2B e-commerce: how to take the first step

If you haven't yet ventured into e-commerce, but it seems like something that might make sense for your business, read on to learn why and how to create an e-commerce website that works for your B2B company.

What is B2B e-commerce?

B2B e-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services between businesses, not between consumers. It's a way of doing business in which products are sold online to businesses, not individual customers. B2B e-commerce is often a more complex process because logistics must be considered. You'll need existing customers or a reliable network of suppliers to help you deliver your products or services.

Why sell B2B products online?

There are several reasons why you should consider selling B2B products online:

Reach a new audience

With the rise of e-commerce, consumers now have more shopping options than ever before. They can easily compare prices and products on their computers, tablets, or smartphones from the comfort of their homes. This allows you to reach a new audience you couldn't reach through traditional sales channels.

Service 365 days a year, 24 hours a day

There are no restrictions on when you can make a purchase on e-commerce sites, whether midday or late at night.

Tailored to each client

An e-commerce site offers each customer a unique shopping experience, just like a physical store. Prices based on customer type? Of course. A private space for professional clients? No problem.

Improving conversion rate

One of the biggest advantages of selling online is that it's easier to convert visitors into customers. On a website, you have much more control over the user experience than at a trade show, for example. You can tailor your website to the needs of the specific type of customer you want to attract. This can make the shopping experience much easier and more enjoyable, and can even lead to higher conversion rates.

Better customer service

In-person customer service can be difficult to provide, especially when you're busy running a business. Selling B2B products online allows you to better manage customer service. For example, you can create FAQs or customer service chatbots to help customers with common questions or issues. This can result in happier customers who are able to get the help they need, when they need it.

Reduction and improvement in resource management

In addition to controlling your expenses and optimizing your available resources, B2B e-commerce allows you to reduce your sales costs while increasing your economic activity.

Which channels are important for B2B e-commerce?

B2B e-commerce channels come down to where your customers are and what they prefer. You'll need to use a combination of channels to reach your customers where they are and where they'll go next.

Website

A website is the best place to start selling B2B products online. You can use your website for all your sales and marketing efforts. It's important to have a website optimized for ecommerce sales so you can easily sell your products online.

Social networks

Social media is a great way to engage with customers and introduce your products to new audiences. It's a good idea to create an account and start building your social media presence before launching your e-commerce website.

Digital marketing

Digital marketing can be an effective sales channel for B2B e-commerce. You can use email, paid search advertising, newsletters, websites, and other means to reach customers.

Build your B2B e-commerce strategy

When building your B2B ecommerce strategy, you'll want to consider how you'll create the best buying experience. This goes beyond your products and sales funnel and includes logistics and other aspects of your business. Here's what you should include in your B2B ecommerce strategy:

Product selection

The products you choose for your B2B e-commerce platform will be crucial to its overall success. You'll want to carefully select your products, considering their appeal to potential customers, their profit margins, and the company behind them.

Marketing and sales strategy

A great B2B ecommerce strategy includes a strong marketing and sales approach. You'll need to identify your target customer and create a personalized B2B ecommerce experience for them.

Website strategy

Your website is the foundation of your B2B ecommerce strategy. You'll need to carefully plan your site and ensure it's optimized to convert visitors into customers.

How to create an e-commerce platform for B2B?

To create an e-commerce platform for your B2B clients, you'll first need to decide what type of platform you'll use. Below are some of the most popular e-commerce platforms and the pros and cons of each:

Open source e-commerce platforms

Open-source e-commerce platforms are hosted on your website. They come with a variety of plug-and-play features that are easy to use. They're also customizable, so you can make them your own. Some of the disadvantages of open-source e-commerce platforms are limited support and no control over your data.

SaaS e-commerce platforms

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) e-commerce platforms are hosted in the cloud. They come with a wide variety of features that are easy to use. Like open-source platforms, SaaS e-commerce platforms are also customizable. Their drawbacks include data ownership and security issues.

The difficulty of finding a good B2B e-commerce

Unfortunately, many existing platforms are not tailored to provide a suitable experience for a B2B customer, as most are designed to provide a B2C experience and need to be repurposed.

This ends up resulting in:

• Unsatisfactory experiences for B2B customers, because the system is tailored for B2C uses that are neither practical nor useful.
• High costs of adapting the B2C system to fit the B2B needs of our business: multiple carts, multiple addresses, etc.
• Difficulties in adapting it to the pricing and tariff logic of each client.
• Difficulties in performance and scaling of solutions in the case of a large volume of clients.

As a result of this need, we at mecexis developed Carticious more than 10 years ago. A Django-based e-commerce platform with a strong focus on B2B solutions, with which we have already developed dozens of projects.

Carticious allows us to have a solid and scalable foundation to build your B2B e-commerce with all the basic features while giving us many facilities to adapt the experience to what your client and your sector requires.

Summary

When you started your business, it was probably an offline, brick-and-mortar business. As e-commerce has grown as a business model, it has provided a way to make sales to customers who aren't close to your business, to serve them after hours, or in a more agile manner.

The transfer of all analog B2B experiences to the digital e-commerce environment is inevitable. Knowing all the tasks involved, completing them on time, and choosing the right partner and tool are crucial for success.