Improving the B2B purchasing experience
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 6:17 am
For years, the B2C (business to consumer) model has focused on the benefits that customers can obtain through their experience, so over time the treatment of each customer has become increasingly personalized, thus offering the best possible experience.
Thanks to technology, we are able to offer greater personalization and on a more massive scale, so it was to be expected that the B2B (business to business) model would evolve in a similar direction.
More and more companies working in B2B environments are making a significant effort to understand this experience and make their customer journey unique and individual. Customers have become accustomed to expecting personalized treatment, high-quality services, convenience, immediacy, ease, usability and excellent experiences in purchasing transactions. All the benefits that a B2C customer has experienced in recent years.
Transition from buyer to seller in B2B
Some B2B customers (buyers) become B2B2C sellers themselves, because they are part of a process aimed at producing and delivering the final product to consumers. On more than one occasion we have argued that every B2B is, in fact, a B2B2C. The entire B2B value chain is oriented to adding value in sequence for a product or service that will end, at a certain point, in the B2C. That is why this type of B2B2C customers want to experience the same quality standards that they consider optimal for their final customers. It is inevitable and they also know that their decisions as customer-buyers completely affect their balance as sellers.
Over time, organizations have organized and specialized their respective purchasing departments to be able to offer their buyers fast, effective solutions, and thus be able to meet the high expectations vp security email lists that VUCA environments require. A B2B client expects their transactions to be simple, with a fast delivery and, of course, to have personalized service.
Perhaps before, transactions were much colder and relegated to satisfying a specific need. But now, any corporate environment understands that they obtain better results when they personalize the service to their clients, thus building a path towards loyalty.
Same goal, different paths
While the B2B experience is intended to resemble the B2C purchasing experience, the differences between the two must be clearly defined.
In B2C, the client or consumer is not necessarily carrying out a proactive search. In fact, many times, although they can intuit what they want, their behavior is dictated by the influence that brands exert on our subconscious. Sometimes, we even buy products or services that, a priori, we might consider unnecessary, but over time, new lines of business and customer experiences are generated that are adapted to them. The effort that Apple makes in CX is immense because it is part of its value proposition. 15 years ago, many of its products did not even exist in our imagination. In B2C, we invest in awareness marketing (in addition to performance) to find the customer who can consume the product. In other words, we search the market for the ideal customer from a wide selection of prospects.
In B2B, however, the customer (generally) knows what he wants or at least has a clear idea of what he needs or what would be useful to solve his need. Therefore, marketing campaigns are much more specialized when offering the product to the customer. A good B2B salesperson knows where the customer is and what he needs.
This makes sales relationships in B2C much more immediate (at least in a wide variety of products and services). The customer is receptive to this fast, convenient, sometimes impulsive behavior, and is easily convinced. In B2C, there are also multiple tools that can be used to obtain symmetrical and real-time information on products, prices, comparisons, alternatives, customer perception and evaluation, information about the company, the possibility of interacting with that company on social networks. We have evolved towards a behavioral model where consumers are generators and creators, they are in turn accomplices of the brand and innovate with it. Transparency, accessibility, convenience and objectivity are part of the day-to-day behavior in B2C.
In contrast, in B2B the decision-making process for a purchase is much longer, including the prior evaluation of what solution is needed to meet our needs. This research and analysis process is usually carried out in stages, because the buyer, having a clear idea of what he wants and what can help him to resolve his need, tends to be more selective about where to invest his money. It is obvious that in the behaviour and purchasing experience of a B2B customer, many additional aspects are considered at the time of the transaction itself. These are elements and aspects of the relationship and of everything that has been generated up to the time of the purchase. It is a process in which the company must take much more care of the details because the truth is that the buyer will try to do so, will evaluate any aspect, will consider different alternatives, will go into detail, will need the value proposition to be correctly argued. In B2C, although the sale is made in a personalised way, there are few commercial processes that resemble a B2B. We could put as an exception the purchase of a vehicle or the purchase of a house. In these two cases, the individual consumer behaves more like a business buyer, more meticulous, more analytical, takes more time to make a decision, weighs up different alternatives, the deadlines are extended over time and, generally, the experience they demand is much more personalized and superior.
Trends in the B2B shopping experience
In recent years, there has been an increase in investment in the experience related to the purchasing process, both B2C and B2B. It is obvious that controlling this essential part of the sale has also become a business, which will continue to increase over the years. It is true that B2C is a standard to take note of, in some cases even the standard to replicate in B2B, since B2B customers want the convenience that they enjoy as B2C customers, but they also want the ability to find the information they are looking for to make their decision in a simple and reliable way, and that it is through all the interaction channels that are available.
Companies that have the ability to understand the perception of that experience and have information about that knowledge to analyze it will have a fundamental competitive advantage in their B2B field.
An important aspect to emulate in B2B that is applied in B2C is the personalization of the purchasing experience. In B2B, personalization sometimes means keeping track of all the aspects involved in the process, from the marketing strategy and offers to all forms of communication with the customer, which serve to understand their needs in detail, always through the appropriate channels.
Thanks to technology, we are able to offer greater personalization and on a more massive scale, so it was to be expected that the B2B (business to business) model would evolve in a similar direction.
More and more companies working in B2B environments are making a significant effort to understand this experience and make their customer journey unique and individual. Customers have become accustomed to expecting personalized treatment, high-quality services, convenience, immediacy, ease, usability and excellent experiences in purchasing transactions. All the benefits that a B2C customer has experienced in recent years.
Transition from buyer to seller in B2B
Some B2B customers (buyers) become B2B2C sellers themselves, because they are part of a process aimed at producing and delivering the final product to consumers. On more than one occasion we have argued that every B2B is, in fact, a B2B2C. The entire B2B value chain is oriented to adding value in sequence for a product or service that will end, at a certain point, in the B2C. That is why this type of B2B2C customers want to experience the same quality standards that they consider optimal for their final customers. It is inevitable and they also know that their decisions as customer-buyers completely affect their balance as sellers.
Over time, organizations have organized and specialized their respective purchasing departments to be able to offer their buyers fast, effective solutions, and thus be able to meet the high expectations vp security email lists that VUCA environments require. A B2B client expects their transactions to be simple, with a fast delivery and, of course, to have personalized service.
Perhaps before, transactions were much colder and relegated to satisfying a specific need. But now, any corporate environment understands that they obtain better results when they personalize the service to their clients, thus building a path towards loyalty.
Same goal, different paths
While the B2B experience is intended to resemble the B2C purchasing experience, the differences between the two must be clearly defined.
In B2C, the client or consumer is not necessarily carrying out a proactive search. In fact, many times, although they can intuit what they want, their behavior is dictated by the influence that brands exert on our subconscious. Sometimes, we even buy products or services that, a priori, we might consider unnecessary, but over time, new lines of business and customer experiences are generated that are adapted to them. The effort that Apple makes in CX is immense because it is part of its value proposition. 15 years ago, many of its products did not even exist in our imagination. In B2C, we invest in awareness marketing (in addition to performance) to find the customer who can consume the product. In other words, we search the market for the ideal customer from a wide selection of prospects.
In B2B, however, the customer (generally) knows what he wants or at least has a clear idea of what he needs or what would be useful to solve his need. Therefore, marketing campaigns are much more specialized when offering the product to the customer. A good B2B salesperson knows where the customer is and what he needs.
This makes sales relationships in B2C much more immediate (at least in a wide variety of products and services). The customer is receptive to this fast, convenient, sometimes impulsive behavior, and is easily convinced. In B2C, there are also multiple tools that can be used to obtain symmetrical and real-time information on products, prices, comparisons, alternatives, customer perception and evaluation, information about the company, the possibility of interacting with that company on social networks. We have evolved towards a behavioral model where consumers are generators and creators, they are in turn accomplices of the brand and innovate with it. Transparency, accessibility, convenience and objectivity are part of the day-to-day behavior in B2C.
In contrast, in B2B the decision-making process for a purchase is much longer, including the prior evaluation of what solution is needed to meet our needs. This research and analysis process is usually carried out in stages, because the buyer, having a clear idea of what he wants and what can help him to resolve his need, tends to be more selective about where to invest his money. It is obvious that in the behaviour and purchasing experience of a B2B customer, many additional aspects are considered at the time of the transaction itself. These are elements and aspects of the relationship and of everything that has been generated up to the time of the purchase. It is a process in which the company must take much more care of the details because the truth is that the buyer will try to do so, will evaluate any aspect, will consider different alternatives, will go into detail, will need the value proposition to be correctly argued. In B2C, although the sale is made in a personalised way, there are few commercial processes that resemble a B2B. We could put as an exception the purchase of a vehicle or the purchase of a house. In these two cases, the individual consumer behaves more like a business buyer, more meticulous, more analytical, takes more time to make a decision, weighs up different alternatives, the deadlines are extended over time and, generally, the experience they demand is much more personalized and superior.
Trends in the B2B shopping experience
In recent years, there has been an increase in investment in the experience related to the purchasing process, both B2C and B2B. It is obvious that controlling this essential part of the sale has also become a business, which will continue to increase over the years. It is true that B2C is a standard to take note of, in some cases even the standard to replicate in B2B, since B2B customers want the convenience that they enjoy as B2C customers, but they also want the ability to find the information they are looking for to make their decision in a simple and reliable way, and that it is through all the interaction channels that are available.
Companies that have the ability to understand the perception of that experience and have information about that knowledge to analyze it will have a fundamental competitive advantage in their B2B field.
An important aspect to emulate in B2B that is applied in B2C is the personalization of the purchasing experience. In B2B, personalization sometimes means keeping track of all the aspects involved in the process, from the marketing strategy and offers to all forms of communication with the customer, which serve to understand their needs in detail, always through the appropriate channels.