For your B2B eCommerce site, the online store is the critical factor to your success. Most companies shop online once they’ve decided what they want. In a market that is already saturated, waiting around for clients to come to you is not an optimal solution.
New eCommerce websites go live every day, and in order to thrive and stay ahead of your competition, you must be more creative with your sales strategy and enhance the online experience you deliver to online B2B consumers. In this blog we’ll cover three ways that you can you enhance your B2B eCommerce site to boost conversions and ultimately generate more quality leads and sales.
Factors Influencing User Experience
For online buyers, a B2B eCommerce site is often the first point of contact. And since you never get a second chance to have a good first impression, it’s important to craft a great experience from the get-go. Here are some factors that can make or break a user’s experience on your site:
- Discoverability
- Website load time
- Website UI
- Checkout workflow
- Overall site navigation
- Payment options
- Delivery time
- Product quality
- Grievances redressal
User Experience, also known as UX, is critical to eCommerce—maybe even more than you might think. UX can impact these areas of business and more:
- The number of visitors on your site
- Sales conversions
- Profits
- Revenue growth
Optimize Your B2B Site
Improve site usability:
Simply put, a site that is hard to use does not make for repeat buyers. Visitors are less likely to return to your site, or trust you as a partner/client if your website isn’t friendly (including mobile compatibility) and doesn’t provide a positive overall experience. The best time to work on the usability of your website is during the initial site development phase. Collect feedback from early users to determine what needs to be improved. Use this insight to make improvements to the website and create an eCommerce site that doesn’t leave users unhappy or confused.
Focus on User Needs:
Start by asking yourself, why are users visiting your site? Some users want discounts, some users want information, some users are doing preliminary research. Others already know exactly what they need and want to find it fast and efficiently. Serving each user’s interest in the most efficient way helps to optimize your eCommerce site.
Dropout Points:
Observe user behavior with the help of analytics tools to identify areas that need improvement. Through tools like Google Analytics, you can see exactly where users are leaving your site, called ‘dropout points’. Analyzing dropout points provides an excellent opportunity to see where there may be a gap in your website design or content. You can gradually test new copy, designs, imagery, or forms on a particular page for improvements in a user’s time on your website and leads generated.
Enhance the B2B Buyer Experience
It is not enough to optimize the site; businesses also need to ensure buyers are taken care of throughout the buying process. Some ways to enhance the user experience include:
Create Informative Content:
No matter what space your B2B site occupies, chances are high that there’s another B2B entity selling a similar product or service to you. A Forrester report indicates business buyers are highly self-directed with over 68% doing their own research online. 62% plan to make a purchase decision based solely on digital content. Investing in an experienced content team gives you an opportunity to educate potential business buyers through informative and original content. Free downloads, how-to guides, and relevant news links can showcase to B2B buyers that you’re an industry thought leader and insider and that you have the knowledge and know-how to solve their particular problem. Original informative content inspires confidence in new users. Just make sure that your eCommerce content is readable on all devices including mobile, tablet, and desktop. Because you never know how your B2B buyers are consuming your content.
Deliver Excellent Customer Service:
No matter your product or service, there are multiple competitors on the web providing similar products and services. The level and quality of customer service influences sales, brand loyalty, and conversion rates. In the long term, providing exemplary customer service wins over buyers. A large percentage of business buyers will refer a company to other businesses if they experience good customer service. Make sure that you’re getting notifications if a prospect submits a question or a form to you via your website or social media channels and and be sure to respond in a timely fashion. Provide a contact phone number that is easy to find on your website so that existing clients can reach out to you quickly, if they need to. These are small but important actions you can take to provide excellent customer service that will reassure current customers and perhaps sway potential customers in your favor, while setting you apart from your competitors.
Improve the User Experience
Ultimately, you want to make it as easy as possible on the site visitor to complete a purchase with you. There are four places you can optimize the user experience to fulfill orders, satisfy recurring customers, and bring new customers into your client base.
Check Out:
Business buyers prefer a speedy and efficient checkout process. Incorporating features such as requisition lists, instant purchase, and quick checkout makes it possible to conclude business in minutes.
Delivery:
Make it easy for B2B buyers to schedule deliveries and pick-up options. This can be achieved through visible options on the site and checkout page and ensuring users can easily change delivery or pick-up preferences at any time during the purchasing process.
Inventory:
Display inventory by location if there is a physical address. This offers convenience for contractors and anyone who is looking to make a purchase at a particular brick and mortar location.
Account Management:
Offering account management services for repeat customers shortens the buying process. It also makes it easier to track order status, pay invoices, and access product catalogs.
No matter what services or products are featured in a B2B eCommerce site, the profits determine success. Focusing on usability, the checkout process, and customer service can significantly increase your eCommerce conversions. But all the good intentions and customer service won’t result in profit unless you have a functioning and user-friendly website. To learn more about how to unlock your digital potential call the team at InteractOne at 513-469-3345 or submit a form here for a consultation on how to optimize your eCommerce website.