6 Tips to Help You Stand Out in B2B ecommerce Make the Most of Your ecommerce Platform Sales in B2B ecommerce are based on long-term customer relationships that can only be initiated by offering the best possible solution to each audience segment. Customers are looking for a user-friendly purchasing experience that includes detailed information and accessible support every step of the way. To stand out from the competition, business owners must adopt platforms and practices that deliver this experience in superior manner. Go Global Using an ecommerce platform that includes multi-currency and multilingual options allows businesses to display product prices in a visitor’s native currency and ensure that all related tax and shipping information is accurate for the location. This makes shopping and purchasing much easier for customers and works to build the trust that fosters profitable B2B relationships. It also allows companies to expand into the international market without the need for expensive changes in infrastructure. To facilitate fast order fulfillment and increase customer satisfaction, part of any company’s global strategy should also include the ability to ship from the closest global warehouse. This minimizes costs for the company while ensuring that orders arrive as quickly as possible. Use Data as Analytics Big data is the cornerstone of B2B marketing. Businesses must always be monitoring client logins, account activity, order histories and inbound marketing engagement. Analyzing this data provides detailed, accurate information on which to base targeted marketing campaigns designed to foster high-quality leads among specific groups. Setting lead scoring criteria filters out prospects that aren’t worth pursing, leaving only those with the potential to bring the highest ROI on marketing efforts. The emerging concept of predictive analytics takes past customer behaviors into account to forecast how they’ll react to any given marketing technique. Those who click on email links, for example, are likely to do so again, while those who prefer social media interactions can be separated into a different group. The same process can be applied to deliver personalized content recommendations through content marketing campaigns. Integrate Your CRM Viewing each stage of the purchasing funnel separately is an inefficient model prone to error. Modern B2B businesses rely on integrated CRM systems to capture consumer data and track it every step of the way. A reliable CRM platform provides: Automatic lead capturing Seamless transfer of data between departments Collaboration tools Multi-channel marketing management Invoicing and shipping integration Process automation Order follow-up and support User-friendly customer access portals This suite of options reduces instances of redundant or erroneous data and prevents duplicate messages from being sent to clients. The result is more effective order management and processing and more profitable marketing campaigns. By automating the processes that take the most time away from other business endeavors, an integrated CRM supports increased productivity and creates the potential for a greater ROI on each transaction. Integrate Your ERP An integrated ERP works in ways similar to CRM but manages the product and service aspects of a company rather than its customers. One major advantage of integrating an ERP, such as Microsoft Dynamics GP, is the ability to track inventory in all warehouse locations and receive alerts when stock is running low. This is especially important for B2B companies that have gone global since consistent stock is necessary to fulfill international orders in a timely fashion. Integrated ERP also automates common business tasks to reduce the amount of paperwork necessary to handle order processing and fulfillment. Real-time data updates greatly reduce errors and ensure that every department has the information it needs at all times. Free sharing of data and the ability to collaborate across departments reduces delays and facilitates better business operations. Be Mobile-Friendly Recent studies and surveys reveal an upward trend in mobile use among B2B customers, driving home the importance of having a responsive website design that provides the best possible mobile experience. Layout, navigation, and content must be easily viewable and usable on smaller screens not only for the benefit of the consumer but also to ensure high visibility in mobile search results. When users search from a mobile device, Google favors sites that offer mobile-friendly functionality. Get on Board with Multi-Store ecommerce Large companies may manage multiple brands, each of which requires its own unique storefront with separate content, pricing and tax and shipping information. In the past, each brand would have to be managed as a separate website, creating a confusion of logins, permissions and data sets. Multi-store ecommerce platforms allow an unlimited number of stores to be operated from a single dashboard and use only one database to collect and manage information. Each shop in a multi-store setup can be customized with its own look or designed for consistent branding across sites. This way, companies can create separate brand portals or offer different prices and shipping options from the same brand to different groups of customers. To facilitate effective management, the platform must offer the ability to create a customized URL for each store. However, it should also be possible to give customers the option to check out items from multiple stores using one cart and one simple checkout system. Support for international currencies and various inventory locations brings multi-store ecommerce in line with global strategies. Clarity Can Help Using Clarity ecommerce can help differentiate your company from others in the industry so that your brand is first and foremost in the minds of customers. Using customizable CRM and ERP integrations along with inbound marketing tools, social media management, and comprehensive reporting makes Clarity’s platform a robust, efficient choice for any business. Call Clarity today to learn more or to get a free quote on a custom installation.