How do you win over new B2B buyers?
Capitalise on the marketplace model.
In their quest for efficiency and a personalised experience, B2B buyers can now find what they want on B2B marketplaces. By 2021, over 30% of B2B purchases will have occurred on marketplaces! Why this growing success? Because these platforms combine the quality and user experience of B2C marketplaces with a wide selection of customisable products and a secure environment, even for multi-digit transactions. Price transparency and simplified purchasing processes attract new buyers keen to save their company time and money.
Ensuring an optimal buying experience
From pre-sales to post-sales, B2B buyers must be guided through a perfectly oiled purchasing path. From information that can be easily consulted from your catalogue to documentation that can be downloaded in one click for technical products via a messaging system or chatbot, you need to respond quickly to any questions a buyer may have. Then, once the transaction has been validated, the delivery must arrive safely, on time and in perfect condition. To achieve this, you need a reliable logistics partner and a high-performance ERP system that allows you to monitor all your activities in real-time. And remember to manage cancellations or disputes effectively, with a clear refund policy, to avoid negative opinions or bad experiences.
Facilitating payment management
Deferred payment, credit insurance, payment in instalments, pay-by-link... These solutions meet the expectations of new B2B buyers looking for speed and ease. And remember that, unlike a B2C marketplace, you can display prices according to each buyer and apply sliding scale prices according to the quantities purchased. Finally, it is essential to guarantee the security of transactions and avoid fraud. To achieve this, it is necessary to put in place an effective KYC system that checks the identity of sellers. It's a way of gaining buyers' trust and preserving your reputation.
Realigning Sales and Marketing
With a better-informed and more demanding buyer who makes his purchasing decision (for 68% of B2B buyers) before talking to a salesperson, sales teams need marketing teams to disseminate better information. Content needs to be high-impact, easy to understand, connected to reality on the ground... and above all, better used! 65% of the content created by the marketing team is not reused by sales staff. So, there's an urgent need to improve content management and distribution and even to adopt a Sales Enablement solution that automates content distribution.
A more responsible approach
Every sector is protected from sustainable development, least of all online sales. Aware of environmental issues and keen to improve their company's image in line with their CSR policy, new B2B buyers are turning to marketplaces capable of adapting their business model to today's challenges. The circular economy, making the most of second-hand products, recycled materials, reclaimed waste... There are many ways to limit waste and the impact of your marketplace on the environment. Lemonway is here to help you launch your B2B marketplace or roll out your business! As a pan-European Payment Service Provider specialising in complex payment management for digital platforms, we are experts in the B2B buying journey and at the forefront of innovative solutions to meet the needs of new buyers. Contact us to find out more!