When it comes to buying experiences and supplier relationships, B2B buyers have high expectations. Sadly, sometimes those expectations aren’t met. Seventy-two percent of B2B buyers expressed frustration over vendor/supplier resistance to adapting operations to fit buyer needs in 2022. Suppliers should not ignore these frustrations. If their supplier’s digital channel doesn’t meet their needs as a buyer, 85% of B2B buyers will turn to a competitor – unchanged from 90% in 2021 and 88% in 2020.
It is easy to understand why B2B buyers expect high quality from their suppliers. The majority of B2B buyers intend to push the envelope with their procurement experiences this year, as well as partner with suppliers capable of achieving this goal without neglecting the foundations of eCommerce. As an example, B2B buyers ranked the creation of a digital roadmap as a low priority, despite the fact that this step serves as the strategic foundation for inspiring better outcomes across all aspects of the organization. In addition, this year’s responses illustrate how external pressures such as the Great Resignation are affecting the headspace of B2B buyers. In addition to talent shortages and retention hurdles, two of the top three priorities shared for 2022 are related to workforce capabilities; decision-makers are focusing more on internal factors they can control such as elements making life easier for workers and automating rote tasks.
The B2B decision-makers recognize the progress they have made with respect to eCommerce needs, but many remain at the beginning of their journey. Catalogs that can be viewed electronically and orders that can be placed remotely are excellent features. However, B2B organizations must continue to evolve – even in areas of their business where they have recently made significant advancements. In order to ensure B2B organizations can successfully meet their new ambitions, keeping an eye on foundational elements like a digital roadmap becomes even more crucial as advancements occur.
The following are some of the most significant pain points:
Difficulty integrating with our own systems or processes – Your #ecommerce platform must allow API connections (For example, BigCommerce allows to plug in and connect. The Orders API enables access to your BigCommerce order data to integrate point-of-sale, shipping, distribution, and inventory management solutions), Punchout. Document your EDI or have it centralized with a provider to facilitate integration.
Insufficient innovation to meet the needs of my industry and customers (e.g., new features, lack of feature improvement based on customer feedback and applications that facilitate business transactions with them.
In your opinion, what are the most important features of a website?
