How to choose a B2B eCommerce platform for your business
By: Jessica Clarke
Tags: Platform, B2b Ecommerce, Ecommerce Platform, B2B, Ecommerce Website

In the highly dynamic, digital world of today, eCommerce has witnessed a disruption of sorts. Virtually everyone has progressed from bricks to clicks. Add to it the comfort and convenience of a smart B2B eCommerce platform that opens up a world of opportunities to business-savvy digital demographics.

RBC Capital Markets expects Amazon Business (Amazon’s business-to-business marketplace that serves diverse customers) to bring in revenue worth $31 billion by 2023, along with $52 billion in sales over the same period. A large and loyal customer base along with technology infrastructure hugely contribute to these numbers and also give a sense of direction to all the entrepreneurs out there who wish to thrive in the digital world.

B2B eCommerce is not new. It has been around for over two decades; yet, B2B businesses have been a little laid-back in refocusing their strategies to match the pace and pulse of modern business dynamics. B2B buyers also expect a shopping experience as engaging as the one B2C buyers enjoy.

If you have been a slow adopter of modern technologies, we assure you a B2B eCommerce platform is all you need to avoid pitfalls and stay on top of your game. Here are a few power tips to help you choose the right B2B eCommerce platform. Read on.

1. Should have enterprise-grade features to suit the B2B buying behavior

A B2B business has more complex needs than a typical B2C one. Longer buying cycles, purchase approvals, bulk orders, repeat business, etc. call for more specific offerings and functionalities.

For instance, your distributors would want to know the offers they are eligible for on bulk purchases or when they buy a particular product in different variants. Your eCommerce store should allow them to select the specific products and request a quote without calling or emailing you. The B2B eCommerce platform you choose should therefore be equipped with the right functionality to deliver what you and your buyers need.

2. Should be mobile-friendly for a seamless shopping experience across devices

The B2B eCommerce platform should allow your customers to juggle between devices enjoying the same shopping experience irrespective of the device, whether it’s a desktop, a phone, or a tablet. The design should be mobile-friendly to help customers browse easily for brands, products, and prices. A mobile-friendly eCommerce store will not only ensure more visitors but also better ranking on search engines. Google, for instance, treats mobile page load speed as a key metric and uses it to improve your position in its search engine results.

3. Should be customizable and configurable to align with your business needs

The platform you choose should be highly configurable and customizable to accommodate your niche requirements. Some may offer you advanced SEO capabilities, while others may come with a built-in CRM and a workflow engine. Beginners may want to consider a platform that offers easy-to-download templates to get started immediately.

For instance, your buyers may want to see designs and tech specs before requesting a quote or placing an order. It’s important that your eCommerce platform supports a site design with large images or videos and allows you to upload tech specs documents. The platform should also offer customer-specific pricing, since you may want to offer priority services to those that buy more often than others and in large quantities.

4. Should allow your buyers total control over their buying activities

Customers love navigating sites that are user-friendly. See how Amazon has spoiled us. Today, customers want complete digital freedom and gravitate to eCommerce sites that allow them to track orders, view product information, track inventory, etc. swiftly and seamlessly. Make sure that the platform you choose offers this and more to help them enjoy shopping beyond working hours as often as they like.

5. Should have AI capabilities for a personalized shopping experience

New-age selling is all about anticipating the needs of customers and delivering value in the best possible manner. There’s no better way to do it than with a B2B eCommerce platform that’s AI-driven. AI-driven platforms come in handy when you don’t have large marketing teams. AI algorithms also help optimize inventory management based on historical data and analysis.

Major players like Google and Microsoft have already deployed AI technologies in their ad systems to boost ad revenue. The role of AI in eCommerce is indisputable and helps deliver a more personalized experience based on browsing history, shopping behavior, and recent purchases.

You may have to rely on third-party services to leverage AI-capabilities unless of course, you choose disruptive platforms such as ewiz commerce that come with built-in AI capabilities to ensure a personalized shopping experience from the very beginning.

As Peter Szulczewski, CEO and Co-Founder of Wish, rightly pointed out, “The more we invest in data to personalize the recommendation experience, the more we see an improvement in conversion rates.”

6. Should have sales and marketing tools to skyrocket your sales

How timesaving would it be if your eCommerce platform could run an automated marketing campaign for you with auto-triggers, auto-notifiers, and auto-lead engagement capabilities? Or your marketing team could create a personalized catalog for all your customers within minutes?

Just having a B2B eCommerce platform is not enough unless you make it compelling enough for buyers to visit it. The best B2B eCommerce platforms out there therefore come with integrated sales and marketing tools to help you reach out to your customers, engage them, and improve conversion rates.

The top tools include:

Catalog Creator

Recommendation Engine

Presentation Creator

Virtual Sampler

Shopping Cart Customizations

Email Marketing Systems

Make sure you understand what tools are being used by your sales & marketing team before you choose a particular vendor.

7. Should be PCI compliant to combat payment-related frauds

You have spent years earning your customers’ trust. As a responsible entrepreneur, it’s up to you to ensure that you safeguard their data, including payment card information with the right security and PCI compliance. Ask the platform provider about site security and PCI compliance as it differs depending on whether the platform is cloud-based, hosted or on-premise.

8. Should be integration-friendly to help you manage your business digitally

For your eCommerce business to be successful, it is important that you offer a multichannel experience to customers wherein both online and offline channels work in perfect sync. You need to ask certain questions to ensure it offers the necessary integrations. These include — Will the new platform work well with your ERP system? Will it integrate online and offline inventory well with accounting systems? Does it offer enough scope to process information provided by suppliers?

These integrations are critical as they help you make better business decisions by giving you a complete picture of your business and customers.

9. Should have robust training and support infrastructure for operational efficiency

Often overlooked, this is the first thing you should look for while searching for the right B2B eCommerce platform. Without it, you can never transform your eCommerce journey into a successful one. After all, there’s a lot more to eCommerce implementation than just creating accounts and migrating data to the new platform. Besides, training would be required to use it based on user type and role. Only then would users be able to leverage its full capabilities. Training and support, therefore, are a must. Talk to the platform provider to ensure they offer them every step of the way.

Your B2B eCommerce platform should offer you the freedom to scale

Make sure that the platform you choose is easily scalable and works well for B2C too. During your digital journey, the B2B and B2C worlds will converge faster than you think, and be prepared to serve both these sectors equally well through the same platform.

It should also allow you to scale as you move into different segments, giving you the leeway to add more products and offerings. It should offer multiple payment options to consumers for utmost convenience, especially since the volume of transactions for B2B is usually very high. Besides, it should allow you to offer your customers — loyalty discounts, referral programs, reward points, etc. to appreciate their trust in you.

The key to finding the best B2B eCommerce platforms is to compare different platforms based on cost, features, support, capabilities, and reviews. You may also ask for live demos to see how the e-commerce platform works for your B2B business.

Power up with ewiz commerce

The future is bright for the B2B sector with new trends to watch out for and robust e-commerce platforms leading the way. ewiz commerce too is committed to helping B2B businesses shine through the clutter to reach out to their audience. At ewiz, we help you offer a seamless customer experience while giving you insights and solutions to scale your business. We offer multiple reporting dashboards for campaign reviews and AI-driven marketing solutions for higher velocity across multiple channels.

Come, sharpen your e-commerce edge with us at ewiz. Call us today to explore over 100 features for your unique business objectives.

Deepak Gawas

I help B2B companies to digitize all business function | AI-powered B2B eCommerce platform | Personalized eCommerce Stores | flexible and intelligent solution | 4X Faster ROI than the competition

I head Marketing for Powerweave — an 18-year old B2B eCommerce solutions company that has created amazing products like ewiz commerce (Our AI-powered B2B eCommerce Platform), ewiz ai (Our AI-powered Marketing Automation and ewiz procure (Our AI-powered Procurement Solution for Indirect Spends).

As part of Powerweave, I help companies in setting up AI-powered B2B eCommerce Solutions, like — A customized, online store in 30 days (Yes, I am that fast!) — Personalized eCommerce Experiences (My AI does most of the work) — Marketing Automation for Lead Generation (Again, my AI)

Do you have similar initiatives where I can help with the solution?

Reach out to me at Email | Linkedin

Please leave your comment below