Industries are surrendering to digital and adhering to B2B platforms
It is a fact that internet sales are growing year by year. However, it is noticeable that the B2B model, in which the end customer is another company and not an individual, is growing more and more.
According to research by international logistics company DHL, 80% of all B2B sales interactions between professional suppliers and customers worldwide will take place through digital channels by 2025.
But what are the advantages of these digital negotiations between industries and how to choose the best platform? Webjump, a company whose core is digital transformation, explains what the gains can be and what pillars should be priorities for success in using this type of technology.
“Agility in the purchasing process, personalized service, 24-hour operation, better inventory management and, consequently, significant cost reduction. These are some of the main gains. The need to bring the B2B market to e-commerce is becoming clearer every day,” emphasizes Erick Melo, CCO and co-founder of Webjump.
Industries that sell to other companies have found that their customers expect a simple, fast buying experience and create less red tape for ordering, for example. “This is only possible digitally. An intuitive system that guides the person is essential for sales success,” adds Melo.
pillars for success
To apply a B2B platform to your business in an assertive way, it must be based on four pillars: company culture, strategic definition, consumer knowledge and understanding of the most appropriate purchase path while choosing the ideal platform.
“The combination of these four pillars leads to a healthy and correlated choice in relation to what you want to achieve. Here at Webjump, for example, we apply these same themes to our clients, who are enterprise brands and have great relevance in their sectors and it has worked very well, breaking the paradigms of digitization of industries”, adds Erick Melo.
company culture
First of all, it is important to keep in mind that, to choose a B2B platform, the company’s culture must be well defined and clear to employees and customers. Industries already have traditional models with their own sales teams.
By inserting a digital platform, the company may appear to be creating competition for sales. Which is not true, since the platform steps in to add effort. It contributes to the seller and gives him more options and ways to work more directly and segmented for his customers.
Therefore, it is necessary to have a clear company culture and always reinforce it for your employees and stakeholders.
Strategic definition
The company must have a clear vision of the main gain of the online B2B sales channel. Is it cost cutting? Conquer the market? Improve customer relations? Simplify processes? It is very common to think that the first step in applying a B2B platform to your business is choosing the platform you will use.
In fact, this is one of the last points to address. In order for the implementation strategy to be successful, it is necessary to fulfill all the steps of the strategic plan of B2B business. Start by defining the goal and purpose of the digital channel so you know how to get there and which will make the most sense for your business. Therefore, you need to know where you want to go and what the process should be.
understand the consumer
Corporate customers no longer want to wait days to receive their order. They want to see their purchase history, anticipate customer requests, track their orders in real time and have 24/7 support.
set up a platform
After going through all the previous steps, it is time to define which platform will be selected. It is the basis for structuring B2B and at the same time the main working tool of the company. Therefore, it is essential that it adheres to the needs of the company.
Does the platform allow different prices per customer? Does she do the tax calculations? Extending your credit limit to make online shopping easier? Does it allow bids for orders to be negotiated between companies? Does it allow you to create multiple administrative accounts to structure users and teams, assign different roles and permissions?
“With these pillars, and especially with the choice of the ideal platform, it is possible to reduce the time of placing orders to a very high extent, making your seller spend less operational time and more on what really matters, selling,” says Melo. .
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