For B2B, Omnichannel is not just a buzzword, it means business

Take a minute and think about how you get things done in your life versus how you get things done at work. Perhaps some of you have very technical and specialized professions, but if we are anything alike, our worlds of work and the rest of our lives are merged – for better or worse – in a continuum of online and mobile tasks, even when we are in meetings together.

The implications of this are of course significant for businesses, and this is becoming very true for B2B companies everywhere. In a recent study by Forrester Research “Building The B2B Omni-Channel Commerce Platform Of The Future”, commissioned by Accenture and hybris, we found that nearly half of B2B buyers now make work-related purchases on the same websites and mobile apps they use to do their personal shopping.  It is a matter of convenience, habit, and a service the customer has come to understand and trust. We have probably all done it, and we are not alone. Even professional B2B buyers’ expectations have changed dramatically, driven by the simplicity and efficiency of online consumer sites. How people behave as consumers now drives what we expect at work, including how we interact with the manufacturers and distributors who supply businesses.

 

While many businesses are embracing the change, and adopting digital and omnichannel strategies, it is interesting to see how many businesses today still think they can force their employees – or worse – their customers into specific ways of working. This is true where I work as much as where you do. Of course, this is simply a by-product of old ways of working, older communications tools, and business processes that follow the well-worn cow paths of how things have always been done. And while change is hard, will require investment, and poses some challenges to the old established ways of working, in the world of B2B this is becoming a huge concern. Organizations that are slow to adapt put their businesses at risk.

So what does the new B2B buyer journey look like today, and how can organizations adapt to it?

• Everything starts online: Just like consumers, almost all B2B buyers start their product research online. Similarly, they do their shopping across a variety of devices, including desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets. They’re almost as likely to start their research on a search engine as they are on a manufacturer’s website. Fifty-two percent of buyers expect at least half of their purchases to be made through digital channels in the next three years – it’s critical now that organizations understand how customers discover, research, buy, and find services today. That starts with online search, efficient sites, and rich content – and extends into mobile and omnichannel solutions that support how the customer really works today and needs to engage their vendors. This means weaving digital into all aspects of your business.

• Get the fundamentals right: Customers, especially at work, need efficient and effective solutions that help us get the work done fast. This means search that works, content that helps me make a good decision, the ability to configure a product and collaborate with others in my company and with a sales person or service center on the order that I started – and all in a timeframe to suits my needs. And reordering should be fast and efficient.

• Deliver on time and fast:  For a business, being out of stock or having a machine down is often a matter of doing business or not. Having visibility to inventory, the ability to source from the fastest (or most efficient) means is paramount, and most critically there needs to be predictability and transparency on where the order is and when it will arrive. And don’t make me call to check. Seventy-eight percent of B2B buyers ranked next day delivery as the most important purchasing driver when buying goods and services on behalf of their company. B2B companies must urgently enhance fulfillment capabilities to provide buyers with the capabilities they have come to expect as consumers.

• Omnichannel is not just a buzzword: Buyers are demanding it. Almost three-quarters of B2B buyers told us that they look-up product information online and expect it be consistent across any channel. Sixty-eight percent also highlighted that it is important or very important to be able to view all their activities across all channels. Buyers today expect an omnichannel experience where they can view product information, analyze activities, account history, take delivery, return and exchange across all channels. Two-thirds of B2B companies told us that their customers are expecting omnichannel capabilities from them, with a further sixty percent of respondents expecting to see a rise in customer satisfaction metrics due to omnichannel initiatives. Over half of respondents anticipate that omnichannel customers have higher lifetime value.

• Tailor the experience to help the customer:Different customers and the different buyers within each customer have different needs, and those change even depending on the task. A quick re-order versus new product research. Replenishment versus a line-extension. A broken machine versus a part for a new product. Pricing and catalogs that reflect how I have set up my business with you. Some of our clients have tailored different experiences based on the role of the customer with their client – think of a skyscraper with an architect, engineer, interior designer, contractors, sub-contractors, and the end-client – with strong tools for the sales team who also gets involved in supporting the clients process. B2B customers are fed-up with the unnecessary complexity of traditional procurement, and there is an opportunity to design solutions that radically change how the customer engages.

• Improve lead-to-revenue capabilities. Unfortunately today, the majority of B2B sellers rely on inefficient lead-to-revenue capabilities where marketing generates a lead and hands over to sales to generate the revenue. The process is not integrated and the customer is not engaged in the channel they prefer. Learning from their B2C cousins, B2B sellers must adopt a more robust online lead-to-revenue management process, where marketing and sales form part of a more holistic lead management function, where B2C marketing and commerce concepts come into play such as behavioral marketing and real-time contextual personalization, that integrate processes, goals, and metrics across marketing and sales, as well as service.

The data is pretty clear, providing a comprehensive omnichannel experience ensures customer loyalty and drives business results. It combines with the classic recipe of offering the combination of consistently low prices, excellent product service, and a broad product selection, combined with different delivery options regardless of the channel it is bought from. In fact, two-thirds of B2B companies told us that their customers are expecting omnichannel capabilities from them, with a further sixty percent of respondents expecting to see a rise in customer satisfaction, and over half of respondents stating that omnichannel customers have higher lifetime value.

So start by understanding how our customer works today – much like you – starting online. But as you engage, that soon becomes many digital tools and becomes an expectation that, as you work with a business online, on mobile, over the phone, or in-person that it all just works together.