What actually is Omnichannel in a B2B context?
Consistency, quality and seamless experiences
Modern purchasing habits
It's widely understood that a typical buying journey today (for something that needs consideration) includes identifying and researching options, considering and evaluating choices, ordering, and reordering (if we find the experience frictionless and the product/service up to scratch)….plus we expect to be able to do all this at our convenience with minimal hassle.
We can all recognise this behaviour in ourselves, family members and friends. The frequent use of Google or reliance on eCommerce sites, marketplaces and aggregators to help us source and book a hotel for a mini-break, join a subscription-based wine club, find premium dog food providers or unusual gifts and presents – the list is endless.
The most successful providers – in whatever field you chose, have something in common. They are masters of their data (across channels) which is used to present, provide, personalise and deliver a frictionless customer experience regardless of how the customer interacts with them.
INTUS by Iconography
We find that businesses wanting to sell to other businesses via eCommerce need to be approached with a different mindset than conventional B2C eCommerce projects. It's never a 'one size fits all', INTUS Trade offers a service that's built to fit your needs.
We start with an award winning eCommerce platform, and then our Digital Artisans will tailor it just for you.
They have the capacity to form a single view of any given customer (their preferences, problems/issues, choices, order history etc.) which helps build and facilitate true engagement and provide critical pricing and availability information with ease.
An omnichannel case study:
A great example of what omnichannel really means, with Booking.com the customer has seemingly limitless choices, options, prices – from data being fed in by providers across the globe. The platform enables online chat interactions, phone interactions and the real world to combine and come together to ensure that the paying guest gets the room and the service they expect.
These days, B2B buyers (who likely all use sites like Amazon and services like Booking.com) are expecting a full omnichannel experience from providers they deal with professionally, with respondents to a recent B2B survey seemingly using an average of ten ways to interact across all steps of their journey.
Top three most frequently used touchpoints:
Website
In-person Sales
Video Conference
Other integral interactions:
Mobile Apps
eProcurement Portals
Online Chat
Omnichannel is
seamless
B2B omnichannel is about devising a central system which provides consistency of product information and combines insight and oversight of all customer interactions and touchpoints.
Because buyers are using so many interaction channels, the quality and seamlessness of the experience matters more than ever – and this entails capturing centrally, sharing internally and using data intelligently – every step of the way.
B2B Complexities
The B2B purchasing process is typically longer and more complex than B2C. It often involves multiple stakeholders from different departments, all of whom may interact with the business through different channels at different stages of the buying journey. Omnichannel solutions ensure that every stakeholder has access to the same information and a cohesive experience, regardless of how or when they engage with the business.
Real world examples
- A quote produced by a field sales person being retrievable via your website for review by decision makers
- The ability to see interactions with your live chat weeks after the event for support issues
- Detailed order history being available via a log in screen
When thinking about data in an omnichannel context we could extend this out to any information your buyers and customers typically need and request (product specifications, product lead times, support requests, service bookings). Customers would deem these resources useful and contribute to creating a preference for ordering from your company.
Omnichannel is
consistency
Consistency in product and information management:
- catalogue
- website
- customer contact centre
- distributor networks
and consistency in having a single view of your B2B customer interactions.
This requires serious thought to conceptualise and specify a unified and cohesive system for information capture and delivery, to aid selling to and supporting the customer effectively.
The potential benefits however, in terms of operational efficiencies and improved workflows, are tangible. Just look at how banking and travel has changed over the last 10 years and how empowered customers increasingly are to self-serve with confidence online.
Redefined methods of working often require new software and systems to underpin things. In our experience, legacy software adapts poorly to meet the emerging expectations of businesses and customers outlined above.
Increasingly web-based software is evolving to fulfil a wide range of business requirements and is replacing outmoded and disjointed legacy software as well as integrating with leading ERP software.
Omnichannel is
quality
In a recent survey of B2B buyers:
54%
of those likely to switch suppliers cite poor-quality digital customer experiences as a reason to go elsewhere
51%
say a lack of customer tracking across channels would be an impediment to doing business
51%
would find an alternative if they were not connected to the right person for help
There is clearly an emerging case to provide an organised and cohesive omnichannel experience in the B2B space. Customers want an efficient omnichannel experience that feels curated and orchestrated to meet their specific needs. Cutting out friction and frustration for customers instils confidence in and a preference for your business going forward.
To achieve an omnichannel capability, a comprehensive B2B eCommerce platform is the way to go.
Let's talk
We are encouraging our leading B2B clients to expect much more from their eCommerce websites and to start considering the viability of online business platforms as a hub, handling many aspects of their sales, marketing, customer interaction (in person/online), supports hybrid working patterns and order processing – under one roof - as the sensible way to deliver omnichannel for their customers.
If you’re serious about omnichannel in a B2B context – let’s talk about your requirements and map out the essential components needed to achieve it.
Custom B2B eCommerce
We understand how to structure eCommerce for trade customers. INTUS Trade provides the specific stock, lead time and product information they need and the pricing, promotion, ordering and delivery options necessary to ensure all our trade sites are a useful resource which supports customers and adds real value.
Posted by Wayne Robbins
24th October 2024
24th October 2024