Looking to Amplify CX Strategy to Drive sales? Get Started with Adobe Commerce

With exponential digital growth, the business landscape is gradually transitioning into more standardized operational patterns. Nevertheless, certain facets of business operations will never be as in the pre-pandemic “normal” state. One such realm experiencing a transformative shift is B2B commerce. While B2B purchasing was already mirroring the digitalization trends of B2C, the pandemic has significantly expedited its online transformation. Did you know nearly two-thirds of B2B companies are now set up for complete online transactions? In a survey last year, McKinsey & Company revealed B2B sellers now report they are more likely to use e-commerce channels to nurture their leads than in-person selling. According to the research findings, e-commerce has emerged as a significant revenue driver for the average B2B company, accounting for over 18% of total revenue. This places it at the same level as in-person sales and surpasses all other channels in terms of contribution.

Now, sample this: Avionos’ study revealed 87 per cent of B2B buyers would pay more for a supplier with an excellent e-commerce portal. Buyers are also receptive to these methods. While an overwhelming 90 per cent of B2B buyers have expressed that brands risk losing their business if their digital channels fail to keep up with their expectations and requirements.

With e-commerce emerging as a disruptive force for years, B2B e-commerce has also gained steam. Let’s begin with understanding the intricacies of B2B commerce and the types of businesses that encompass the segment.

What is B2B e-commerce?

B2B e-commerce has become an essential component of modern business operations which basically means that businesses sell products or services online to each other with an aim to enhance the customer experience (CX) and driving increased sales.

In today’s dynamic business landscape, having an online presence and offering e-commerce options is no longer a choice but a necessity for B2B companies. Customers, both businesses and individuals, now expect the convenience and efficiency of online purchasing when searching for products and services. Failing to provide these options can result in losing potential customers to competitors who offer a seamless online buying experience.

The pandemic has further accelerated the shift towards online sales across various industries, including B2B. Businesses have recognized the need to embrace e-commerce to adapt to evolving market dynamics and cater to the evolving preferences of customers. As a result, the adoption of online sales channels continues to gather momentum

According to the Gartner projections, approximately 80 per cent of all B2B sales transactions by 2025 will be conducted through online channels. This statistic highlights the significance of incorporating B2B e-commerce into business strategies to remain competitive and meet the evolving demands of customers.

What are the types of B2B e-commerce?

There are various types of B2B e-commerce models that cater to different business needs and industries. Your business may align with one or more of these models, each offering unique advantages and opportunities.

Here are the key types of B2B e-commerce:

1. Manufacturers: Manufacturers are typically engaged in producing products in bulk using raw materials and parts. They typically sell their finished goods to wholesalers, retailers, or other manufacturers. By embracing e-commerce, manufacturers can expand their reach to a broader business audience and even sell directly to consumers in a direct-to-consumer (D2C) model. This increased visibility not only helps in reaching more customers but also aids in building brand reputation.

2. Wholesalers: Wholesalers are companies that purchase products in large quantities and sell them in bulk at lower prices. They often act as intermediaries between manufacturers and retailers. A typical example is a wholesaler that sources tea leaves from farmers, selling them in bulk to retailers or distributors who then package and sell the tea leaves to grocery stores or consumers.

3. Distributors: Distributors collaborate closely with manufacturers to promote their products in the market, handle sales, and fulfill orders. They take on responsibilities such as advertising, packaging, and shipping, allowing manufacturers to focus on production. For instance, a distributor might purchase raw coffee beans, package them, and sell them in volume to retailers like grocery stores or pharmacies.

4. B2B2C: It refers to the collaboration between two businesses that offer complementary goods or services to the same end consumer. This model often involves one business responsible for product creation and another business handling the customer transaction. For example, online retailers partnering with marketplaces like Amazon or app stores or manufacturers collaborating with delivery service providers for grocery deliveries. B2B2C models have emerged due to digital transformation and the rise of e-commerce.

However, every business’s needs are distinct and varied, so it becomes imperative to find a product that aligns with your organization’s requirements to effectively serve your clients.  One such solution to integrate your B2B sales with an e-commerce platform can be Adobe Commerce. It offers a series of functionalities to efficiently handle multiple sales channels, provide personalized experiences to different customer segments, and seamlessly scale your business as it expands.

What’s Adobe Commerce?

Adobe Commerce is a digital commerce solution that caters to B2B, B2C, and B2B2C use cases across more than 30 industries, all from a unified platform. Let’s dive deeper into the enterprise solution within Adobe Experience Cloud. The solution has many integrations with other Adobe solutions like Experience Manager (Adobe’s content management system), Experience Manager Assets (Adobe’s digital asset management system), Adobe Analytics, and Adobe Target.

Adobe Commerce is a robust and comprehensive commerce platform designed to cater to both B2B and B2C businesses It offers a range of features and advantages that empower brands to deliver personalized shopping experiences to their customers.

As consumer tastes and preferences evolve over time, businesses can leverage the diverse set of features in Adobe Commerce to effectively keep up with these changing demands. With Adobe Commerce, businesses can create personalized shopping experiences through creative content, merchandising strategies, and innovative approaches that drive digital transformation.

What are Adobe Commerce features?

The platform offers the necessary tools and capabilities to effectively sell products online and create personalized shopping experiences across various devices and digital touchpoints.

Here are key features that businesses can leverage:

How can merchants leverage Adobe Commerce?

Offer meaningful experiences

1. Page Builder: Adobe Commerce provides a powerful Page Builder tool that enables brands to create engaging and visually appealing web pages without the need for extensive coding knowledge. With drag-and-drop functionality, businesses can design and customize their online storefronts, landing pages, and product pages, ensuring a seamless and captivating user experience.

2. Product Recommendations: Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), the platform offers product recommendation features that provide personalized suggestions to customers. By analyzing customer behavior and purchase history, the platform can intelligently recommend relevant products, increasing cross-selling and upselling opportunities while enhancing the overall shopping experience.

3. Customer segmentation & personalization: the platform enables businesses to segment their customer base and personalize their marketing efforts accordingly. By categorizing customers based on various attributes such as demographics, purchase history, and browsing behavior, brands can tailor content, promotions, and product offerings to specific customer segments, delivering a highly targeted and personalized experience.

4. Content staging and preview: It allows businesses to stage and preview content changes before they go live. This feature enables marketers and content creators to experiment with different layouts, visuals, and messaging while ensuring that the final content aligns with their brand guidelines and resonates with their target audience.

5. Instant purchase: With the Instant Purchase feature, Adobe Commerce streamlines the purchase process, reducing friction and enhancing conversion rates. Customers can securely save their payment and shipping details, allowing for quick and effortless checkout experiences. This feature is particularly beneficial for returning customers who value convenience and speed.

6. Merchandising: Adobe Commerce equips brands with robust merchandising capabilities, enabling them to optimize product displays, pricing, and promotions. Merchandisers can create dynamic product catalogs, implement pricing strategies, manage discounts, and schedule promotions to maximize sales and enhance the customer journey.

How Adobe Commerce create seamless shopping experiences?

Managing operations efficiently

Business intelligence: The platform offers robust business intelligence tools enabling merchants to gain valuable insights from their data. With customizable reports, analytics, and dashboards, you can track key metrics, monitor sales performance, understand customer behavior, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your operations.

Shipping: The platform also offers integrations with leading shipping carriers and provides features to manage shipping rates, print labels, and track shipments. This ensures smooth order fulfillment and enhances the overall customer experience.

Inventory management: Merchants have access to tools for tracking inventory, managing stock across multiple locations, setting up automated notifications for low stock, and inventory forecasting to optimize supply chain operations.

Order management and customer service: The platform centralizes order processing, allowing merchants to efficiently handle order fulfillment, track order status, handle returns, and provide excellent customer service throughout the entire order lifecycle.

How merchants can meet customer expectations through Adobe Commerce?

➢ Cloud deployment: Adobe Commerce offers cloud deployment options, providing scalability, reliability, and easy management of your commerce infrastructure. Cloud deployment ensures high availability, automatic updates, and the ability to handle peak traffic periods efficiently.

➢ Security and trust: Adobe Commerce prioritizes robust security measures to protect customer data, secure transactions, and comply with industry regulations. It helps to instill trust and confidence in your customers besides nurturing relationships that stand the test of time.

➢ Performance and scale: The platform has been designed to handle high traffic volumes, ensuring excellent performance even during peak periods. The platform’s scalability allows you to accommodate business growth and handle increased demand without compromising user experience.

➢ APIs and Marketplace: It offers a comprehensive set of APIs that allow seamless integration with external systems, enabling merchants to extend their operations and connect with various applications and services. Additionally, the Adobe Commerce Marketplace provides a vast ecosystem of extensions and solutions to enhance your operations and add new functionalities to your store.

What is the B2B extension in Adobe Commerce?

Adobe Commerce recognizes the unique requirements of B2B sellers and provides a comprehensive suite of integrated features designed specifically for businesses whose customers are other companies. It effectively caters to the complexities of organizational structures and supports multiple users with varying roles and purchasing authorizations. Whether dealing with retail store managers or buyers purchasing on behalf of their companies, Adobe B2B Commerce solution is equipped to meet the needs of both B2B and B2C models.

By implementing the B2B extension in your Adobe Commerce store management services, you unlock the power to personalize the buying experience for your customers. This includes the ability to create customer-specific catalogs, tailor pricing to individual customers, and deliver targeted content and promotions. By implementing adobe commerce b2b features, one can target personalization that enhances engagement and ensures that customers receive a tailored experience that resonates with their unique requirements. Moreover, Adobe Commerce goes beyond B2B transactions by enabling businesses to directly sell products to consumers.

To stay ahead, a rigid and standardized approach is no longer sufficient. Instead, businesses need a dynamic B2B e-commerce solution that embraces emerging channels and business models, while leveraging AI-powered customization to engage with new markets on a personalized level.

Through a user-friendly customer portal, customers can easily set up multiple tiers of buyers, assign specific roles and permissions, track quotes and orders, establish purchase approval rules, and manage their credit online. This streamlines day-to-day management tasks, providing fast and efficient operations for customers.

The buying experience is further enhanced through personalization, offering customer-specific catalogs, pricing, targeted content, and promotions. Convenience lies at the core, offering features like quick order forms and the ability to upload SKU lists, create saved shopping lists, and request quotes anytime. Moreover, the seller-assisted shopping feature takes it a step further, enabling businesses to place orders on behalf of customers or troubleshoot any issues that may arise. This frictionless buying experience not only fosters customer loyalty but also fuels sustained business growth.

What are the functions of Adobe Commerce extensions?

Company accounts

The Company component serves as the cornerstone of B2B operations, as it forms the foundation for all other features. It facilitates the consolidation of multiple buyers from the same company into a single company account, commonly known as a corporate account. The company administrator holds the authority to construct the company’s structure by establishing divisions, subdivisions, and assigning users to specific roles and permissions.

Services that support B2B workflows are:

This hierarchical structure grants the company administrator control over user activities within the company account, encompassing aspects such as ordering, quoting, purchasing, and access to credit information or profile. Additionally, sellers have the flexibility to configure various aspects of the buying company’s website experience, including payment methods, pricing levels, negotiation capabilities, and the creation of requisition lists

Extended Services for Adobe Commerce

According to Forrester Research B2B e-commerce in the United States, “will reach $1.8 trillion and account for 17 per cent of all B2B sales in the US by 2023.

Both consumers and businesses increasingly expect the next generation of commerce to be seamlessly integrated into their overall brand experience. It becomes paramount for businesses to implement an ideal solution that can address not only current needs but also future requirements. By investing in the right commerce solution, businesses can unlock the potential for growth, improved customer loyalty, and increased revenue.

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