To date, two thirds of all B2B organisations sell their products and services online with the other third quickly making plans to. As B2B eCommerce gets to the height of its success, many businesses are making plans to increase their online sales and order values, by beginning to focus on their customer buying processes.

The differences between B2B and B2C sites and trends have been discussed at great length, however the crucial difference comes down to one thing. The customer. B2C and B2B customers purchase in completely different ways and therefore need different things from your website. Understanding their mind-sets is the key to increasing your online sales.

The driving factor of a B2B customer to make a purchase and then return, is wrapped up in the relationship. B2B is less about standing out from the crowd, after all your customers are loyal to you, and more about providing as much useful information as possible, in a short time frame.  Providing key information to your customers, such as their order history and frequently purchased items, gives them the relevant items they need to make their buying process easy. This also begins to create a long term relationship online. Moving the service you offer offline, online, is a key consideration to make to increase return business. For example let your customers see their agreed/negotiated pricing and when stock will next be available to give them a good experience that they will want to return to. Even making your check out process easy, letting them pay on account or by card, will enhance their experience with you as an online brand.

By integrating your online shop to your back office accounts, where all this information is stored, you will not only find that this information will update in real time for your customers, but will also start saving you time as orders are posted straight through to your accounts system, lessening the need for any re-keying. Find out more about integrated B2B eCommerce here.