Economic indicators for 2023 do not induce the greatest confidence, with inflation up over 6% year over year, rates continuing to rise, and other indications of a coming recession. But B2B ecommerce has bucked those trends. B2B eCommerce markets are anticipated to touch or even exceed $2 trillion in 2023. What’s driving this remarkable growth? Here are five important trends we believe will contribute to B2B eCommerce businesses in 2023.
1. Make it Personal – Hyper-Personalization for All
In times of great economic turmoil, pre-existing customers become more reliable sources of revenue. A good way of retaining their business is to make them feel personally catered to. Customers demand personalized interactions from their business partners. This has become ubiquitous in the B2C space, but B2B, because so much of its legacy comes from personal connections and business done over the dinner table or phone, has thus far lagged when it comes to personalized experiences. In 2023, it’s time to catch up.
The personalized experience that those phone calls and steak dinners aren’t necessarily going away, but they need to be supplemented with automated experiences that match in specificity, targeting, and tailoring messages and sales to customers. There exist customer analytics and AI programs that have been shown to improve user experience and boost sales These programs no longer should be limited to the B2C space.
This kind of personalized attention has several benefits. ROI on pre-existing customers generally trumps that of acquiring new customers, as the price of acquisition tends to be quite high. More than that, existing customers often grow with you, so as you grow, they grow, leading to larger orders, more profits, and more opportunities to generate efficiencies.
One such efficiency has to do with communication. In many cases, B2B businesses offer self-service portals that allow for instant connections between businesses, so that users can get support, appointments, and even reorder with little to no friction. This automated personalization fills the role of the assigned sales rep, at least for simple requests, freeing the sales rep to generate new leads and step in in case of emergencies. These self-service portals are likely to grow ever more popular in 2023 and beyond.
2. Everything Everywhere All At Once: Embrace the Omnichannel Experience
We hear you already: “Omnichannel? What the heck is that?” Skipping all the business jargon, all it means is that your products and support systems are available on as many platforms as is humanly possible. You don’t just sell on Facebook: you have a website, a mobile site, and presences across all social media platforms. No matter the path, the prospect, whether a consumer or a business, has access to your product line and communication with you and your support program is a mere click away. But more than that, all of that communication needs to be logged and accessible to any sales rep and any automated sales AI system. Via any touchpoint, if this customer has communicated with you before, you and every point of contact needs to know about it.
It’s 2023. Buyers expect this kind of accessibility. This suite of tech programs is available and important.
3. Keep It Together: Unified Commerce
A source of great frustration for customers and businesses alike is a disconnect between backend systems and customer touchpoints. Whether misaligned pricing or out of date supply information, a failed sale due to incorrect data is the surest way to violate trust between seller and buyer. In the past, all of this data had to be maintained manually. This is no longer the case. Unified systems, or as we call it, Direct eCommerce Integration, can provide real time updated information between all front and back end systems, dramatically reducing online purchasing issues. We’ve written on these solutions before. For more information, read that article here.
4. Stay on the Move: Maximize Mobile
McKinsey & Company says over the past two years B2B mobile ordering has increased 250%. Though the pandemic is not as all encompassing as it once was, this trend, exacerbated by our very online world in 2020-21, is more likely to grow than not. Ease of access to mobile purchases, whether through an app or through a finely optimized mobile website, preserves access to this growing segment of customers.
5. Keep It Secret, Keep It Safe: eCommerce Security
Online security continues to be of paramount importance for sustaining relationships between buyers and sellers. Particularly in a B2B ecommerce relationship, identity authentication, privacy, and data integrity are non-negotiables. Any violation or perceived violation of the above can permanently poison the relationship at stake as well as levy significant reputational damage that may threaten the very existence of the company.
With more security threats than ever and more online touchpoints than ever, B2B eCommerce security is likely to be a growing concern in 2023 and beyond. Good online hygiene and practices are essential. The most sure fire way to avoid these issues is to make sure your eCommerce provider practices proper online hygiene and follows the best practices according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
B2B eCommerce Trends Start with Zoey
Zoey will put you ahead of the curve with eCommerce truly built with B2B and wholesale uses in mind, but can also help you maximize some many of these very trends listed here. To learn more about how Zoey can help you improve your processes while managing larger sales volumes, let’s talk today:
Patrick Gallagher is a financial writer with nearly a decade of experience in communications with business owners and other high-net worth individuals. He was a writer for the New York Times and worked for several nonprofits. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota. He lives in Atlanta with his family and two very rambunctious dogs.
