Our inaugural season of Collaborative Commerce Talks concluded with a great episode focused on B2B ecommerce. The finale, featured two of the industry’s top thought leaders: Adrienne Hartman Sr. Director of Ecommerce & Campaign Sales J. J. Keller, and B2B ecommerce expert and author, Brian Beck. If you missed the live event, you can catch the recording here, where they discuss how B2B companies are navigating a digital-first way of selling goods and services.
Here’s our episode recap on some of the hot topics addressed in the panel:
COVID has forced B2B organizations to accelerate digitalization plans.
The COVID pandemic has been the biggest call to action we’ve seen for digital transformation in B2B commerce. With doors locked and most people working from home, customers have had no choice but to go through ecommerce. Traditional notions of loyalty in have been thrown out the window. B2B buyers are finding new ways to buy products out of necessity. Many buyers are turning to new vendors with digital capabilities.
To say that B2B digital commerce has accelerated would be an understatement.
We’ve seen ten years of digital commerce acceleration in just 6 months – and it’s going to endure. Recent study that found that 30% of the us workforce will be working remotely at the end of 2021. What this means for companies used to face-to-face selling is that they really need to embrace ecommerce and make it an extension of how they reach customers. As B2B buyers learn that it’s easier and more convenient to buy online, they’re not going to change back. So, B2B companies must embrace this as the new reality.
Companies that have embraced digital commerce are seeing results.
Many companies that have built the necessary digital infrastructure and have adopted new business practices are finding that digital commerce is profitable and it makes sense; and they’re planning to continue to invest in digital channels, rather than reverting to the days of old.
B2B companies that don’t have ecommerce capabilities are at a significant disadvantage
Many B2B companies have not taken action on the digital commerce opportunity for a range of reasons. For some, digital has been somewhat of an uncomfortable annoyance, or something that they don’t fully understand. For others, digital is seen as a disruption to traditional channel and distribution relationships.
Overcoming organizational barriers to digital commerce at your company.
Many proponents of digital commerce run into organizational obstacles to adding ecommerce capabilities. Companies with salespeople who have strong one-to-one relationships with customers may be hesitant to support a digital channel. There are actually many benefits for sales organizations when their companies employ digital commerce and it helps to educate, both the sales organization and company leadership on these benefits.
Beck and Hartman brought so much great insights we invited them back for Part 2
Register for Part 2 here and attend the live virtual panel, where you’ll have the opportunity to ask the experts live. Hope to see you there!
