10 Must-Know Advantages of B2B Ecommerce Platforms for Business Growth

The B2B Ecommerce platform market is expected to reach $36,107.63 billion by 2031. (Source: Straits Research)

Business-to-business ecommerce companies need to adopt advanced technologies to keep up with the growing demand and meet customers’ expectations.

According to a McKinsey report, the pandemic has accelerated a digital transformation in the B2B sector. The report reveals that approx. 80% of B2B buyers prefer buying online instead of in-person. Advanced technologies, a growing buying demographic, and the demand for a range of products are contributing to the rapid pace of growth. The top ecommerce trends are also shaping the future of online shopping.

With the many benefits of a B2B ecommerce platform, it’s evident that it’s here to stay. Companies in the B2B Ecommerce space can have the scope of the improvement of sales and business growth after launching their own platform.

In this blog, we will understand what is B2B ecommerce platform and explore the features and benefits of these platforms to understand their necessity to drive business growth. Let’s dive in;

What is a B2B Ecommerce Platform?

A B2B ecommerce platform is a software tool that helps businesses to handle operations with other companies in an easy way. It allows businesses to reach a wide range of audiences. It also offers them the ability to sell every time.

An online store opens day and night and provides services. This is a major advantage of b2b ecommerce solutions for ecommerce businesses because they can stay ahead of traditional stores. They offer a variety of marketing and promotional tools.

These platforms provide the ability to track data and analytics so that businesses can improve products, overall customer experience, and store. Some of the popular ecommerce platforms are; Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce.

Now, you know about B2B Ecommerce platform. Let’s explore the important features of a successful platform.

Key Features of B2B Ecommerce Platform

B2B ecommerce platforms are becoming famous and the main reason is their advanced and next-gen features. It’s crucial for you to know about the positives of e commerce platforms. The below-listed features are designed to make the B2B buying process easier from the top to the bottom.

1. Search & Navigation: A built-in search and navigation feature is critical as it makes the selling and buying process easier. Due to so much of the buying process, intuitive and powerful search capabilities are important for your clients and prospects. It will help them find their desired product and have a good shopping experience. A skilled ui ux design agency can help you integrate a feature-rich search.
2. Order Management: Quick, hassle-free ordering enables customers to manage their accounts on their own. Omnichannel ordering enables sales, customer service, and support teams to take orders. The b2b ecommerce software should have the ability to provide tailored, efficient buying experiences for each customer which helps establish customer loyalty.
3. Cross-Channel Customer Service: The B2B e commerce platforms should have cross-channel customer service. A tool that makes it easy for sales teams to take orders during client visits, and in the field scenarios, can be appreciated by both customers and sales representatives. Customer support teams should have access to buyer accounts so they can solve customers’ queries. Business can provide customer engagement with the use of augmented reality in Ecommerce.
4. Account-Specific Pricing: It’s a feature that helps sellers manage individual accounts and meet the needs of customer-specific terms. A tool that supports segmented pricing of b2b products across your customer base and protects pricing information with user authentication can be very helpful. It should be easy to use to provide a better user experience.
5. Content and Product Catalog: A dedicated content management system (CMS) is a must for b2b ecommerce platforms because it can provide support for product categorization with multiple levels, detailed descriptions, high-quality images, PDF manuals, etc. Businesses having a big product catalog should go for a powerful search engine.
6. Flexible Payment: A feature of flexible payment can result in a better b2b ecommerce solution. It can allow for account-specific pricing and price plans to strengthen your relationship with buyers. The platform should allow to set and manage payment terms and credit limits at the account.

Why You Should Create a B2B eCommerce Platform in 2024

The online b2b market has seen tremendous growth after adopting the ecommerce model. B2B e commerce solutions have a lot of advantages for businesses. Businesses are witnessing growth because there are a lot of advantages of business to business e-commerce and we have listed them below. Check out the benefits of ecommerce platforms;

1. Enhance Scalability and Growth

The market size of B2B ecommerce is five times bigger than the market size of B2C. So, B2B ecommerce offers more opportunities and scope of business if you can rightly enter the market. B2B ecommerce platform allows businesses to grow and scale due to the use of open-source and SaS platforms.

The business to business e commerce websites are mobile-friendly, fast, and easily discoverable due to best SEO practices. They allow business owners to expand their business. The easy onboarding and product collection process make it simple to upscale B2B ecommerce platforms. With the adoption of cloud computing in ecommerce, you can restore your technology and improve your marketing capabilities.

2. Boost Customer Reach

Business owners are choosing online shops to buy for their businesses. B2B ecommerce companies are witnessing an increase due to this and they are getting a significant customer base. An ecommerce platform with public-centric catalog pages is a powerful tool for reaching a wide range of customers.

B2B buyers search online to compare products and find the best prices. Manufacturers and distributors can use search engines to connect with them. A B2B ecommerce website with SEO-friendly content can make it easy to bring new visitors. It should be loaded with excellent UI, UX designs, and top-quality content. Doing this can boost brand awareness and sales.

3. Better Customer Experience

Almost 40% of buyers like to do the shopping by themselves instead of speaking to company representatives. You can cater to them easily by developing a B2B ecommerce platform with a user-friendly self-service portal. An ecommerce app development company can help you build your own B2B ecommerce platform.

You should include detailed product information, shipping details, comparisons, and a secure payment gateway to provide a better customer experience. Advanced features like order history, delivery tracking, personalized suggestions, etc are also important. Thus, you can provide a better user experience to your customers with B2B ecommerce.

4. Increased Sales

B2B ecommerce not only helps you reach new customers but it also allows you to implement an automated cross-sell and upsell recommendation program. This provides the capability of offering relevant suggestions to customers. Special suggestions encourage them to purchase items with more features and functionalities.

A well-designed B2B ecommerce platform offers the right information to customers and facilitates the ordering process. A large wholesaler, using a B2B ecommerce solution, sees an average sales increase of 10.5 percent. These personalized promotions, price mapping, and self-service capabilities encourage customers to buy more, resulting in a sales increase. Apart from this, an omnichannel commerce strategy can help your ecommerce apps boost sales.

5. Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity

B2B companies can make use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and other back-end business systems to increase efficiency and productivity. An ERP system eliminates the need for paperwork and saves time & resources. Because customers can order online at their convenience, businesses can focus on customer service rather than being simple companies.

Automatic ordering and workflows eliminate the need to reconfigure data in independent systems. It reduces the possibility of errors. Your business can have the chance to improve sales by building relationships. Furthermore, this enhances the efficiency of order processes.

Read Also:  Top Ecommerce Trends in 2024 That Will Change The Future of Online Shopping

6. Accurate Data and Analytics

A simple mistake in the ecommerce arena can place you behind competitors. B2B ecommerce platforms should be integrated with ERP, CRM, and other relevant software to provide accurate data. These platforms are perfect for launching extensive analytics campaigns. This is one of the major benefits of b2b e commerce that helps businesses measure and evaluate marketing campaigns, sales effectiveness, inventory turns, and customer engagement.

7. Dynamic Inventory Management

The order volume of B2B transactions is much bigger than B2C. You must have an automatic inventory management system that adjusts stock availability across all channels. If it fails to deliver the order after taking them, it harms the reputation of a brand.

A B2B eCommerce platform can solve this by integrating a real-time system that handles orders, tracks them, and accurately updates the inventory status. It eliminates the chances of error and helps users anticipate future demand. Eazy Stock is a cloud solution that helps companies set an example of b2b commerce in the market.

8. Customer-Centric Experience

B2B ecommerce platforms are designed while keeping the customer journey in mind. These platforms help businesses foster customer loyalty through user-friendly navigation, detailed product information, and straightforward ordering features. If you focus on integrating features like saved order histories and simple reordering, then it will be easy for your customer to repeat business with you.

Amazon, one of the major b2b e commerce examples, provides exceptional customer experience. Shoppers expect an Amazon-like experience and it’s crucial to provide it. A customer-centric experience can help build trust and encourage more sales. Integration of virtual reality can also help increase the conversion ratio of e-commerce platforms.

9. Increase Brand Recognition

B2B ecommerce can help you increase brand recognition at a very high scale. When you spend all your marketing resources on costly campaigns, the return on investment is quite low. A B2B ecommerce platform can help you easily promote products, increase sales, and attract new customers while creating a positive brand image.

B2B ecommerce allows companies to focus marketing resources on activities that increase brand awareness and credibility. The right B2B ecommerce platform can help you create partnerships, work on collaborations, simplify ordering processes, and organize other aspects.

B2B ecommerce solutions can help you improve customer relationships and reliability to create a better brand image. These advantages of b2b ecommerce can enhance the customer experience and you will become a trustworthy brand.

10. Stay Ahead of Competition

Ecommerce sales have become a new normal because people purchase things online to save their time and cost. Offering an efficient B2B ecommerce platform to customers can help you stay ahead of the curve and make a loyal customer base. If you want to ensure success in B2B ecommerce, then you should focus on personalization.

Tailoring your ecommerce platform to the specific needs of customers can help you provide a flawless online shopping experience. Your customers will return to your platform after experiencing personalization.

By offering customized pricing, personalized recommendations, and targeted marketing campaigns, you can gain loyal customers. You can understand your customers, and their behaviors after using the power of data and analytics.

Final Words

Now you know the benefits of B2B ecommerce platforms, you can make a good decision. The success of these platforms requires some time, money, and effort. Once you can manage all these things, it will help you gain more money. The power of the B2B ecommerce platform is immeasurable. The advantages of these platforms collectively contribute to extraordinary business growth.

As a top mobile app development company in USA specializing in b2b ecommerce platform development, we are here to help you build a solution that will help you achieve your business goals. Whether you want to build a simple platform or an advanced solution, you can count on us.