Buyer behavior and preferences are constantly evolving, especially with rapid technology advancements, and findings from our 2024 State of B2B Commerce Report show brands are prioritizing creating better overall buying experiences for retailers. They’ve shifted from mostly focusing on operational benefits to providing more visually appealing and interactive experiences for users. According to the survey's responses, buyers “want the ease of online shopping when it comes to a B2B platform—they want it to look exactly like the shopping experience they have on any B2C eComm site.”
In order to keep buyers happy, brands are expected to be aware of their shopping preferences so they can continue selling the way those buyers like to buy. Satisfied customers often result in repeat business for brands. These repeat buyers are likely to spend more money overall with their brand of choice than one-time buyers, and repeat buyers are also more likely to tell others about their positive experiences with a brand, which could result in new customers.
How do buyers love to buy these days, and is your brand’s sales process meeting their needs?
MAXIMIZE YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE
Your wholesale customers, like any other customer, are doing most of their research online to make their buying decisions before ever contacting your brand. In order to satisfy these buyers, you’ll need to make your brand more appealing online. For best results, focus on giving your website visitors a seamless and immersive shopping experience. For instance, simple navigation, visually appealing linesheets, virtual showrooms, and other interactive elements are great ways to enhance their browsing experiences.
OFFER CONVENIENCE
Buyers love self-service portals, and they make the buying process more convenient and efficient. What’s more, when you sell your products through an intuitive online platform, it allows buyers to preview, plan, and buy when it’s most convenient to them.
Self-service platforms also simplify the buying process. Buyers can manage their own accounts, track orders, make repeat purchases, and perform other key actions easily without relying on securing appointments with support teams and sales. This gives buyers greater autonomy and can result in them making more frequent purchases from your brand.
DEVELOP PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCES
Today’s buyers expect more personalized shopping experiences. In order to compete effectively, brands need to pay close attention to their behavior and preferences to successfully fulfill this desire. For example, brands can use their wholesale platforms to share custom lists of curated items related to past purchases that have performed well. Brands can also send custom linesheets with exclusive or limited-edition merchandise reserved for a select few, highly valued retail partners. Finally, brands can tap into their wholesale platforms’ deeper reporting and notes features to recall retailers’ preferences and past interactions to further tailor future opportunities to accurately meet their expectations or needs.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FORMING SOLID RELATIONSHIPS WITH BUYERS
In order for brands to sell the way buyers like to buy, they should prioritize building solid relationships with buyers. This includes getting to know and understand buyers to gain clear insights into their buying habits, behavioral shifts, and changing interests, to evolve both your offerings and the way you interact with specific buyers to continue to strengthen your relationships over time.
Buyers want more personalized experiences, better B2B eCommerce experiences that feel more like shopping for B2C products, and the convenience of placing orders whenever they want to buy. The brands that take these considerations into account will have a serious competitive advantage.
