The 365 Blog

Insightful content surrounding ERP, the Distribution Industry and Organizational Leadership

  • Home
  • Client Enablement
  • Distribution
  • Architecture
  • Business Optimization
  • Industry News
  • Contact
  • Enavate extends contract with EG A/S

    Enavate extends contract with EG A/S

    We have extended our contract with EG A/S, the leading Microsoft Dynamics partner in Scandinavia EG A/S.

  • Access Webinar now: Fire your boss and get a life

    Access Webinar now: Fire your boss and get a life

    The word “empowerment” is thrown around a lot. But how many people truly feel, and are, empowered, in their work, or their daily lives?

  • Empowerment: Don't let implementation get lost in translation

    Empowerment: Don't let implementation get lost in translation

    At Enavate, we are a global company, and our empowerment journey has taken us across the globe, and has been a learning process for all of us.

  • AXUG Webinar, Jan. 28: Fire your boss and get a life!

    AXUG Webinar, Jan. 28: Fire your boss and get a life!

    True empowerment can be one of the most powerful and effective tools to allow employees and companies to thrive and to realize their greatest success.

  • Why Distributors Can't Afford to Be Without Cognitive Services

    Why Distributors Can't Afford to Be Without Cognitive Services

    Cognitive services. For the uninitiated, the name sounds like it could be a regimen for keeping your brain sharp and functioning.

What B2B Buyers Want in an Ecommerce Website

November 12, 2018 Brett Vest Leave a comment

About half of those distributors that have implemented a transactional website aren’t happy with their results, according to a recent MDM survey. As we wrote in our last blog post, to stay in the ecommerce game today, office supplies, jan-san and other distributors must offer an online experience that includes:

  • Easy access to order and invoice history
  • Quick reorder capabilities
  • Product reviews and recommendations
  • Inventory visibility and availability by location
  • Customer-specific pricing
  • Favorites or frequently-ordered lists
  • Role-based access and approval
  • And more

If you can do this, the data show that B2B buyers will respond. In a 2017 UPS Industrial Buying Dynamics Survey, 80% of buyers said that they would be likely to shift spending to a more “user-friendly website.” A good website is a magnet, especially for younger buyers.

The key is to offer a modern web experience. In addition to features that most buyers expect today, don’t underestimate the importance of the look and feel of a website, which reflects directly on your business.

Another important component of a successful B2B ecommerce website: an omnichannel experience. Customers want self-service options, but they also want to be able to rely on the distributor’s team when they need it.

In other words, it should not only be easy for a customer to search, find and purchase the product you need on your website, as well as access account history. It should be easy for a buyer to pick up the phone halfway through the purchase and talk to an outside sales, inside sales or customer service representative to complete the purchase. And the website should be linked with a distributor’s other systems, including ERP and CRM, so that a customer’s experience is seamless, no matter who they engage with and when. Serve your customers in the channel they prefer, which could be website, phone, mobile, branch, a digital assistant, chat or face-to-face.

To help distributors meet the toughest ecommerce requirements, Enavate has upgraded its Customer Connect eCommerce web platform. One of the features is the Sales Rep Connect, which supports distributors’ needs to provide an omnichannel experience to their customers. Sales reps can access accounts for customer-specific ordering, item-price manipulation, contract maintenance, customer sales history and more. Learn more about our Customer Connect eCommerce platform. 

About the Author - Brett Vest 

Brett VestBrett is a Managed Services leader with more than 20 years diverse experience in eCommerce development, marketing, integration, and implementation. For the past eight years, he has worked in the Microsoft Dynamics space as well, as the eCommerce space at ENAVATE, combining his skills to assist customers with their implementation and support needs. Brett resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his family and enjoys the diverse city life, sports, and outdoor activities.

  • Tweet

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Microsoft Dynamics AX wholesale distribution ecommerce Office supplies

Visit our website!

Subscribe to The 365 Blog

Latest Blogs

Follow Us on Twitter

My Tweets