B2B Ecommerce: What features are essential for a successful B2B Ecommerce Website?

[conb_10]

We're in the process of building a brand new Business-to-Business Ecommerce website which will serve only our trade customers. We're building the website pretty much from scratch so have a 'blank canvas' as to what we can do.

What do you guys think is essential for this website to be successful? If it was your business, what would you want in a B2B website? Do you think a B2B website is worth the investment and the effort?

Thanks in advance

 

[Fagin2021]

I'm going to repeat the comment I made just now on another thread...

If you don't share any more information about your products/services, industry sector, customers etc, all you can hope for is generic advice (ie. guesses) that may or may not be useful or correct.

Are your 'trade' customers local cake shop owners or international arms dealers ? It makes a difference.

 

[Mr D]

Prices, whether something is in stock and if its out of stock when due in?
Decent images and description. One of my suppliers has occasionally put items up that are poor image and no description at all - and not surprisingly doesn't sell many of such items online!

 

[conb_10]

I'm going to repeat the comment I made just now on another thread...

If you don't share any more information about your products/services, industry sector, customers etc, all you can hope for is generic advice (ie. guesses) that may or may not be useful or correct.

Are your 'trade' customers local cake shop owners or international arms dealers ? It makes a difference.

We're textile/clothing wholesalers, selling mainly clothing accessories (hats, scarves, gloves etc) all over the world.

 

[fisicx]

We're textile/clothing wholesalers, selling mainly clothing accessories (hats, scarves, gloves etc) all over the world.

• Images, them more images. And even more images.
  
• Really great descriptions and specifications.
• Clear navigation
• Sensible categorisation
• Easy to use checkout
• A variety of means to pay.
• No hidden extras (show carriage up front)
• Fast / next day delivery
  
• Name address and local phone number on every page (if you want to sell in the UK no point in giving me a number in Peru).

 

[antropy]

We're building the website pretty much from scratch so have a 'blank canvas' as to what we can do.

Why would you do that when there are loads of free and open source platforms like OpenCart?

 

[conb_10]

Why would you do that when there are loads of free and open source platforms like OpenCart?

We are actually using open source software to build this website, by using this it gives us a lot of flexibility and essentially means we can do whatever we need to do, which is why I’m asking opinions on what features I should ask to be included in the website.

 

[antropy]

We are actually using open source software to build this website, by using this it gives us a lot of flexibility and essentially means we can do whatever we need to do, which is why I’m asking opinions on what features I should ask to be included in the website.

Ah well you're not building from scratch then if you're building on top of an open source platform. What platform are you using? And surely you must know what features you need better than anyone else seeing as it's your business?

 

[Chris Tyrrell]

It always bothers me when I can't see some kind of indicator of price on b2b websites.

I get that a lot of businesses aren't interested in attracting a price-focused customer, or that the exact price often depends on specific customer specifications... but my hypothesis is that some kind of price calculator, estimate or rough guideline helps build that solid customer service.

If I'm looking for a textile manufacturer, I feel like I'll probably want to know (roughly speaking) whether we might a good fit for one another before I bother enquiring any further, and knowing I'm on a website within my target price range is a great box to tick.

Good luck with the website!

 

[fisicx]

We are actually using open source software to build this website, by using this it gives us a lot of flexibility and essentially means we can do whatever we need to do, which is why I’m asking opinions on what features I should ask to be included in the website.

It all depends on what you are selling to whom and more importantly how you plan to market the products.

 

[Mr D]

It always bothers me when I can't see some kind of indicator of price on b2b websites.

I get that a lot of businesses aren't interested in attracting a price-focused customer, or that the exact price often depends on specific customer specifications... but my hypothesis is that some kind of price calculator, estimate or rough guideline helps build that solid customer service.

If I'm looking for a textile manufacturer, I feel like I'll probably want to know (roughly speaking) whether we might a good fit for one another before I bother enquiring any further, and knowing I'm on a website within my target price range is a great box to tick.

Good luck with the website!

To most of my suppliers they don't know the price of the items until they know what they are supplying.

Do an order for £20k worth of stuff I don't want to pay the same unit price as some teenager ordering £100 of stuff.

The indicative price on the website? Thats one you don't have to pay.

 

[Chris Tyrrell]

To most of my suppliers they don't know the price of the items until they know what they are supplying.

Do an order for £20k worth of stuff I don't want to pay the same unit price as some teenager ordering £100 of stuff.

The indicative price on the website? Thats one you don't have to pay.

Sounds like a fair view, how would you combat that from Con B's position?

 

[Interestedobserver]

Why would you do that when there are loads of free and open source platforms like OpenCart?

That are tried and tested and proven?

 

[fisicx]

That are tried and tested and proven?

Yes. And all well supported.

 

[Mr D]

Sounds like a fair view, how would you combat that from Con B's position?

Why combat it?

What is the advantage to a business to do so?

 

[Chris Tyrrell]

Why combat it?

What is the advantage to a business to do so?

I think I used the wrong word with "combat", a better word would've probably been something like "handle it" or "incorporate that into the broader strategy", and it sounds like the answer is "be aware of it and lean into it"... maybe also subsequently "negotiate well". Which makes a lot of sense to me, cheers!

 

[Spur Support Services]

The information shared says you are building from scratch.
It doesn't say whether that includes creating all the methods by which B2B customers can transact with you.

My reply is that by blank canvas... you mean .. blank canvas.

Have you considered using a platform that already has the basics for B2B trade and communication.

Have a look at Xero integrated app for that are on https://apps.xero.com/!7xZYC/uk

"Handshake" looks perfect for B2B covering both online and sales rep options, but there are a number of other options.

The great thing about choosing apps from the Xero market place is that the integration with the accounting software will save so much processing time for your staff, increase the accuracy of your accounts by removing human error and speed up the generation of performance data, to allow you to control your business operations and growth more effectively.

 

[discocill]

In your opinion, what's more important for an eCommerce website: design or content? I think that design can attract more people but will it make them stay and make them buy/use the services you offer? And does it differ when it comes to B2B specifically? I just want to dive into B2B eCom with experience only in other fields of it. I pay much attention to design and work with Awesomic subscription service to regularly get new content for my website. But I'm not sure that the same approach will work for B2B due to lack of experience.

 

[fisicx]

@discocill - it's mainly content. But design means different things to different people. Amazon is designed. It might not look pretty but it's designed to sell stuff. In the other hand, if you are selling home decorations then you might want to make it look pretty.

As always, the answer to your question is: it depends on who, what, where, why and how.

 

[Amelia Wright]

For me, i think Dynamic landing pages & don’t forget to factor the component of mobile responsiveness.

 

[fisicx]

For me, i think Dynamic landing pages & don’t forget to factor the component of mobile responsiveness.

Hi @Amelia Wright and welcome to UKBF.

I’m not so sure a dynamic landing page is a good idea. When I’m researching products I prefer the pages to look the same each time I land.

And I’m not so sure many sites aren’t responsive these days. Just about all modern themes, skins and template are responsive.

 

[Patrick Blanc]

I always look for more details when I’m looking for e-commerce solutions but more so when a B2B e-commerce website is in question. A generic solution wouldn’t suffice the complexity of requirements (different pricing, various business models, large volume) that a B2B business generally demands. Make sure you keep the following things in mind while choosing an e-commerce solution for your B2B business:

• Flexibility to put up with the change in your business flows.
  
  
• Scalability to accommodate high volume orders and large inventory.
  
  
• Custom inquiry generation forms for requesting quotes and taking up orders.
  
  
• Effective m-commerce solutions to reach customers easily on their phones, tablets, etc.
  
  
• Customer-specific pricing to cater to different customers individually
  
  
• Seamless integration with other software like CRM, ERP, Accounting, Payment, logistics, etc.
  
  
• Added benefits of a B2C model along with the B2B model that ensure a better customer experience.

Going global opens up new business markets for B2B businesses. Make sure the chosen solution provides support for multilingual and multi-currency options. It would be even better if you have multiple country-specific or language-specific stores. Look for a solution that helps you manage multiple stores from a single dashboard. Also, make sure you get transparent pricing because a lot of customizations usually mean a load of paid plugins, and these plugins can snowball your costs.



Get a free trial to ensure your chosen platform has all the above-mentioned requirements.


Hope this helps you

 

[A Cik]

1. Make it easy to download Invoices
2. Repeat ordering
3. Multiple Delivery address

And if your customer has a few people who do the purchasing, have the option of a multi-user account.

 

[MARMARLADE]

As someone who has developed B2B ecom websites for years, the best advise I can give you is to ask your customers what they want.

 

[fisicx]

As someone who has developed B2B ecom websites for years, the best advise I can give you is to ask your customers what they want.

Trouble is most of the time they don’t know. Other than some vague idea about selling things online.

 

[MARMARLADE]

Trouble is most of the time they don’t know. Other than some vague idea about selling things online.

It sounds like you think I mean that a website developer should ask their client what they want.

I'm talking about a B2B seller asking their trade customers what functionality they want when buying from a B2B website, and then providing the developer with those details.

For example, one requirement I had from a clients trade customers was fast and easy reordering. So we developed the functionality for the platform to sync all past orders (including all offline orders), and the buyer could populate their basket with the all the same SKU's in one click.

 

[thetiger2015]

I think it also depends on your target audience and the expectation of your site - are you planning to be a big wholesalers, lots and lots of products, stack 'em high and sell em' cheap in bulk? Or are you planning on running a few hundred lines with higher tickets and for more of the boutique style of retailers? They're two different types of customers with slightly different ideas of the suppliers they want to use.

Being able to download all the images and product information from a CSV in the 'My Account' area is imperative. Nobody has time to manually copy and paste each individual product and image. That's if you want them to use your images? Perhaps you don't.

Perhaps more time researching the competition first? It's difficult asking a forum of people for advice because they'll just throw everything at you and then you'll have a website with far too many options for your customers. Click and buy, that's the most important function.