The views of customers are always changing. Sometimes they want one thing, the next day they want something else. That is for one individual customer for a business. Combine that with thousands and you have to cater to so many individuals to make sure your store’s customer experience is on point. Now think of how two businesses interact and how different that will be!
That is why today we will be discussing B2B customer experience; the key parts that make up B2B customer experience, how different it is from B2C customer experience, and the practices you can implement to make your B2B business thrive in the current year!
5 Key Parts Of B2B Customer Experience To Understand
B2B customer experience (CX) looks complicated on the surface. But when you break it down into its key parts, then you have a clearer idea of what the CX is like.
Part#1 Personal Touch
B2B customer experience may be complex on the surface, but personal touch is how you break through all the complexity and become a key part of the customer experience. It might seem unintuitive, but a personal touch is very much a part of the B2B CX.
Adding a personal touch transforms a business transaction into a meaningful relationship. It can be as simple as remembering something that the client said previously or remembering their shopping preferences. A personal touch goes a long way to make the customer experience memorable for the customers.
Part#2 Speed
B2B customer experience is long, complex, and requires patience. They might take a long time in coming to a decision, but on your part, you need to ensure it is as quick as possible. B2B customers expect quick responses to their inquiries and efficient resolution of their issues.
Faster service not only satisfies clients, but also builds trust and reliability with them. That is how speed is another key part of the B2B customer experience. Being able to solve a customer’s problems as fast as possible makes your business more attractive to them.
Part#3 Consistency
It is not just speed, but speed combined with consistency that makes the next key part of the B2B CX. Since you have to build up a long-term relationship with them, you need to be delivering at a constant rate. Providing better products or performance is even better, but not always possible. That is why consistency is key to B2B customer experience. For example, an equipment supplier that consistently meets delivery deadlines and ships on time is better than a supplier that sells high-quality products but delivers late.
Part#4 Ease
B2B businesses are more under-pressure than your average customers. They have to constantly worry about shipments, payments, delivery times, and much more. So making sure you ease their worries makes up the next key part.
Simplification is key here. For example, making the onboarding process more streamlined, with fewer and easier steps to follow, can lead to an improvement in the B2B customer experience. This key part focuses on making sure the customers’ challenges are not a challenge because of your involvement.
Part#5 Relevancy
All B2B industries are fast-paced. They can change within a few hours and you have to remain on top of it to ensure your customer’s experience is not ruined because of it. That is where relevancy comes in. It involves understanding the industry, the challenges it poses, future-proofing your products, and meeting your customers’ goals with industry-level standards. Tailoring your products and services to match the unique demands of your customer with relevant information is how you stay on top of your customer’s shopping experience.
B2B Vs B2C Customer Experience – What Is So Different?
Think of when you are at the store. You see products on the shelves. You bought all the necessary groceries for the week, but you are really craving a tub of butterscotch ice cream. On a whim, you decide that it is the perfect weekend snack. You came to the decision on your own and then proceeded to buy the product. This is an example of a business-to-customer (B2C) customer experience.
Now, think of a business trying to buy a product. There are many people who have to discuss what is the best product to buy for the betterment of the business. This is an example of a B2B or business-to-business customer experience.
B2C customer experience is all about one person, but in business it is about multiple people of the same business who have their own customer experience. Combine them all and you have a B2B customer experience.
When it comes to the decision-making process, decisions have to be carefully calculated in a B2B setting. They require detailed discussions, evaluations, and sometimes even lengthy board meetings with different people making the decision.
Businesses need to justify their purchasing decision because they are not buying for themselves. They are buying a product that will help their business grow. That means it has to align with business goals and be within the budget. It makes the B2B buyer journey very lengthy and very complicated.
All in all, there is one fundamental difference between B2B and B2C customer experience. B2C is more spontaneous and purchases are made based on individual choices. But B2B customer experience is meticulous and has to tick off many criteria before the product is purchased.
10 Practices For Excellent B2B Customer Experience
These are the 10 practices you need to execute for your business to achieve excellent B2B customer experience delivery:
Practice#1 Understanding Customer Needs
The first part to understand is, of course, the customers themselves. They have to ask many questions. What do they want for their business, what do they need to improve their business, how will it help their business, the cost, and many more. These are the questions that B2B customers are asking themselves before they arrive at their purchasing decisions.
So how do you answer these questions for your customers to enhance their B2B CX? It’s simple – identify their pain points. This will help you understand their customer needs and you can separate them into different customer segments. Each customer is different, so separating them into segments helps you tackle all the different customers much easier.
When you make your customers the center of your business, you begin to understand them better. In turn, you get to understand your product better and how you can improve it to make your customer experience as best as possible.
Practice#2 Building Strong Relationships
Another fundamental of B2B customer experience that makes it so different is the relationship aspect of it. B2C is more like a transactional relationship; customers come in, buy the product, and then leave. But in B2B, the relationship is a lot more personal. It requires clear, honest communication and a lot of trust.
Building strong relationships in B2B is like nurturing a friendship. That strong relationship in turn translates to a better B2B customer experience. To build a strong relationship, you need to keep your clients in the loop about product updates, project progress, and any potential hiccups. Transparency helps build trust and produces a cohesive environment for your customer to enjoy doing business with yours.
Another practice that helps foster a stronger relationship are regular check-ins and proactive communication to show your clients that they matter to you. Imagine a marketing agency that holds quarterly review meetings with its clients to discuss performance metrics and future plans – that’s the kind of engagement that builds lasting partnerships. If meetings are a hassle, you can substitute it with personalized newsletters so you can keep your customers updated on your product and industry insights.
Practice#3 Delivering Value
The product is one part, so what really drives home for B2B customer experience is delivering value. Delivering value means showing your clients how your product or service makes a real difference in their business. This is an important practice because your customers are a business, so you need to show them the true value your product provides for their business.
Showing is one thing, but you need to back it up and also prove it. So you need to highlight improvements in efficiency, cost savings, or increased revenue that your product or service brings for your customers. Add success stories to that and you can help reinforce the value you deliver.
Practice#4 Personalization and Customization
The need for personalization for B2B businesses is at an all-time high. A report by Adam Connell shows that 72% of B2B customers want personalization from products and services. So how can you implement personalization to improve B2B customer experience?
This can be done by tailoring solutions based on what customer segment they fall under. For example, if a B2B customer prefers emails over calls, you can personalize the email to match that customer’s needs. By tailoring solutions and offering products and services to meet their specific needs, you can show that you really understand their business with such a personalization.
Practice#5 Efficient Onboarding Process
Making your first impressions a lasting impression can be a big boost to the B2B customer experience which you can do during the onboarding process. A well-structured onboarding process includes step-by-step guidance, dedicated support, and follow-up sessions to address any questions.
The onboarding can also include showing your value to your customer and how you can help them in the future. These hints of personalization add to the customer experience and you can bet that your customers will appreciate both the efficiency and personalization. Make the onboarding process an event that your customers will not be able to experience anywhere else, and you have a loyal customer that will be built on a solid foundation.
Practice#6 Continuous And Reliable Improvement
The B2B customer experience is a long and continuous process. If onboarding is the foundation, then constantly being able to innovate and improve your products and services are the building blocks on that foundation. These improvements do not happen by resting on your laurels.
So, your business needs to keep challenging and improving with your customers. For this, you need to get continuous feedback from your customers. This data shows you where you can improve or where your customers might lack and how you can fill in that gap for them. These continuous improvements ensure the right data-driven optimization for your customers.
Practice#7 Proactive Customer Engagement
Customer support is often a reactive engagement; you have to wait for your customers to find a problem and then you provide a solution for it. But to enhance the B2B customer experience, you need to practice proactive customer engagement.
Proactive customer engagement means anticipating client needs and addressing them before they even realize they have them. With regular check-ins and proactive issue resolution, you can show your clients that you’re always thinking about their success. These enhance the customer experience and ensure the customer is more likely to keep continuing doing business with you.
Practice#8 Effective Use of Technology
It is not just making your customers’ business better. If you can make your business operation better, then you have more time to give to your customers. For this, technology can be a great way to promote a better B2B customer experience for your business. Think of menial, tedious tasks that take up valuable time away from your business. If you could automate the work, you can put more time and effort into helping your customers.
You can also utilize automation technology to better cater for your customers. Automation tools can streamline processes like order management and customer support, freeing up time for more strategic activities. Customer self-service portals allow clients to access information, place orders, and track their status independently. Think of chatbots providing information to customers 24/7 and easier order tracking for their products. Customers get instant engagement and have a better customer experience as a result.
Practice#9 Strategic Partnerships
If you see that your business is compatible with your customers’, then a strategic partnership is the way to go. A collaborative partnership can help both your business solve problems and create a closer relationship. Working closely with clients to address their specific challenges fosters a sense of partnership rather than a vendor relationship.
This approach can lead to innovative solutions that benefit both you and your customers. Not only does it help your clients, but you can then use a similar concept for other solutions for other clients instead. Take this example of a store and a
Practice#10 Customer Advocacy Programs
Joint partnership programs are difficult to organize, implement, and execute. But instead, why not have your clients become an ambassador for your brand by promoting the helpfulness your product is providing for them. This type of customer advocacy program forms a unique partnership and it enhances your credibility to new customers. Your client gets a better customer experience through perks from the advocacy program and you get more clients as well!
How You Can Impress Your B2B Customers With A Bulk Order App On Shopify
Usually, B2C customers buy in small quantities. They are bought for one person so usually the quantity is not more than 5. But businesses have to buy in bulk when they have to do business with other businesses. Therefore, B2B customers buy in bulk for resale.
To help the B2B customer experience for bulk ordering be as seamless as possible, a bulk order app is your go-to solution. Here is a look at how you can impress your B2B customer with a variant builder bulk order app on Shopify:
MultiVariants Bulk Order App Variant Builder Product Bundle Custom Variant Display With In-Stock Badge
You can see there are multiple variants being shown in a custom display layout. For B2B customers, this is essential as it allows them to view all product variants in one page. They can focus more on shopping and less time switching between multiple tabs to view all the products. They can also switch between the product types on top and then select the quantity they want for each variant.
You can also see the customers can see how many products are in stock through the in-stock badge right under the quantity selector for each variant. This also helps improve B2B customer experience because customers know how many they can order. Not only that, the message at the bottom tells customers that they have to buy at least 10 quantities. Without fulfilling this minimum order quantity, the customer cannot add the product to cart.
Once they want to add everything to cart, all the product variants will be added in one-click. This streamlined shopping experience promotes a positive B2B customer experience, as they can order the variants they want and personalize their shopping by having multiple variants and product types all on one product page. A bulk order app like this can help both streamline your store’s customer experience and also help manage inventory better with the minimum order quantity restriction. Everything at your disposal, all from one app.
Bottom Line
B2B customer experience is far different from B2C customer experience. There are multiple decision-makers buying a product or service to make their business better. You need to ensure their customer experience is your utmost priority. Personalization and streamlined shopping experience is how you make sure that your customers are satisfied with your store’s service. So make sure that you provide an unforgettable customer experience for your B2B customers!
