B2B e-commerce plays an extensive role in global trade. Until a few years ago, companies selling business-to-business (B2B) mainly relied on traditional sales channels, and e-commerce was nice to have. However, the rapid evolution of macroeconomic conditions and the increasing digitisation of market players have prompted more and more B2B companies to invest in the online space.
As an e-commerce platform, BigCommerce has had a front-row seat in witnessing the B2B e-commerce boom over the past few years, especially in Apac. Today, around 20 per cent of BigCommerce customers use its solution primarily for B2B sales. Additionally, in a recent BigCommerce study, 74 per cent of B2B buyers stated that they use online platforms to transact and make purchases for their business, with 50 per cent saying they make online purchases for their business multiple times per week.
While e-commerce is an opportunity for B2B brands to reach more customers and increase sales, it does come with considerable challenges. For instance, what channels should you use to reach the right B2B buyers, and how can you create online experiences that satisfy all the specific needs of so many different buyers?
A recent VML study shows that nothing is certain in the current economic climate, with 62 per cent of global B2B buyers saying that rising inflation costs and the cost-of-living crisis made them more inclined to switch suppliers. Furthermore, 85 per cent of B2B buyers would turn to a competitor if their supplier’s digital channel could not keep up with their needs.
In our B2B buyer survey, B2B buyers ranked high inflation as the number one macroeconomic factor influencing their purchasing decisions, followed by supply chain challenges.
This highlights the fact that acquiring new customers is as important as ensuring the loyalty of existing ones. Thankfully, more modern and agile technologies are now available to a wide range of B2B businesses. The key is to understand which ones will be the best fit for your needs and how to integrate them with your strategy.
In this guide, we’ve brought together some of our key Apac partners, including Matter Design and Digital, Kobe Creations, Moustache Republic, and Aligent, to demystify the wide array of technical solutions that can help B2B companies achieve their business goals. You’ll learn four ways technical solutions can modernise the B2B e-commerce experience, including:
- Building a strong B2B e-commerce foundation.
- Creating a customer experience that drives loyalty.
- Developing new acquisition channels.
- Improving efficiency and productivity.
The guide also features customer stories from Shop for Shops, NoIssues, Ultraceuticals and more, as well as a Q&A with Andrew Stoneham, chief information officer at Joval Wines, so you can learn how these B2B businesses use technologies to achieve their goals.
