3 high-impact strategies for driving B2B ecommerce growth in 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed how companies rely on ecommerce to engage with their customers and drive revenue, regardless of their region or industry. The 2023 B2B Commerce Growth Strategies Survey revealed the priorities and challenges leading manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors are working to overcome in the coming year.
Most B2B businesses have moved beyond their initial investments in ecommerce. It’s no longer a question of whether to invest in digital, but how to invest, overcome obstacles, and maximize the impact of the new approach to selling and serving customers.
In this blog, we’ll summarize the key growth strategies B2B ecommerce leaders reported in the survey. We’ll share what you need to consider when implementing the top growth strategies for 2023 and beyond.
Strategy 1 — adapt personalization to the B2B context
Personalization is a top priority for many B2B companies, but many businesses aren’t sure where to start. While 63% of B2B ecommerce companies are planning on investing in improving the user experience with new personalization features, 40% of small companies say this personalization will be a major challenge.
In the past, B2B moved slower than B2C. But customers now expect B2B experiences to move quickly and seamlessly — just like the B2C experiences they’re accustomed to.
B2B companies are finding that customizing their content and purchasing options is far more complex than in the B2C world. The key to overcoming this complexity is data. To provide a unique, personalized experience, you need to understand who you’re talking to and what matters most to them. Personalization in B2B means enabling each business buyer to do their job more efficiently, not just catering to personal preferences.
Beyond understanding who is buying from you, you need to provide your customers with data that empowers them to reach their own customers better — with user search data and full order transparency — to develop one-to-one relationships.
So, what do you need to do to make personalization work in B2B?
- Reach customers better. Product data and assets are crucial to customizing products, customer search, and catalogs. When you know exactly what your customers are looking for, you can tailor their experience to meet their needs. For example, the right solution that features AI technology can help customize your short and long product descriptions based on the insights within user search data. Learn how AI can accelerate your personalization strategy.
- Improve order transparency. Organizations ramping up personalization often use order management systems to provide transparency to their customers. For example, tools that send order status notifications or provide live order tracking help improve customer experiences, which can encourage loyalty and more repeat business.
Strategy 2 — develop a strategy for efficient expansion to new markets
In our survey, 58% of companies said that launching new ecommerce websites in new markets and regions is a top priority for 2023. However, 41% of companies said that new market expansion is a major challenge.
So, how can businesses make the most of their digital expansion?
Here are some tactics that our experts shared:
- Audit your ecommerce tech. If you’re preparing for a move into new regions, you may need a more advanced ecommerce platform to meet the new demands. Our survey found that 59% of companies list ecommerce platforms among their top three technology budget priorities in the coming year.
- Research your options. Setting up the right shipping providers, warehouses, third-party logistics providers, and localized services is much simpler if your decisions are backed by operational knowledge.
- Understand local regulations. Different countries have different requirements and regulations around customer data and marketing messaging. You’ll need to comply with data security and privacy laws in different regions or you may face fines.
To keep pace with the advancements in B2C, B2B companies are investing in core commerce and tech platforms. The goal is to improve digital channels to attract new customers, retain existing customers, and ultimately improve conversion rates.
Strategy 3 — make small changes customers want now to increase revenue
Unfortunately too many companies try to solve all of their ecommerce problems with a massive project that will take years to complete. In these uncertain times, focusing on customer needs to drive conversion is a bigger priority than ever.
So, how can companies adapt to changing customer needs without revamping their entire operation?
Here are some examples of high-impact conversion tactics our experts say B2B sellers are using to improve customer experiences and increase revenue:
B2B purchasing decisions are typically made by a buying group within the company, each with their own very specific requirements. Using a headless commerce tool to personalize each stakeholder’s buying journey makes it simple to tailor web experiences to address everyone’s specific challenges. For example, you can show buyers only products they are approved to buy with the prices their companies have negotiated.
Learn more about B2B commerce growth
Now that we’ve taken a look at some of the strategies that leaders in the B2B commerce industry are using in 2023, here are a few more resources for you.
Watch the on-demand webinar to learn more from our panel of experts from Perficient, Gorilla Group, Dotdigital, and Adobe.
Download the 2023 B2B Commerce Growth Strategies Survey to learn how B2B ecommerce leaders are taking on challenges and driving growth for their businesses.