The strength of any business lies in the relationship it has with its customers. Improvements in B2B CX (customer experience) account for a 10-15% reduction in churn, 20-40% increase in win rate and a 50% lower cost to serve. But despite such a clear correlation between B2B CX and crucial KPIs, B2Bs receive consistently lower CX scores than their B2C counterparts: Your typical B2C can expect to score somewhere in the region of 65% to 85% on McKinsey’s B2B customer-experience index scale, B2Bs average less than 50%.
The truth is that B2B suppliers have become complacent. Switching costs have traditionally been higher for B2Bs than B2Cs: Decision-making processes are longer and require more stakeholders; close working relationships are forged over an extended period; and in many industries, there are fewer competitors. These characteristics contribute to a general sense of inertia among buyers - better the devil you know. Unless they receive a truly stinking B2B CX, buyers will stick with their established supplier. Switching just doesn’t seem worth the hassle.
But things have changed. The rise of the internet has seen “switching barriers” come crashing down. Competitors are only ever a click away, and customer loyalty is at an all-time low. When faced with increasing competition, the immediate impulse is to drop prices. But competing on price with startups and global rivals with significantly lower costs is a fool’s errand: B2B buyers rarely rank “price” among their most significant pain points anyway - lack of “speed” usually tops that list.
Improving CX in B2B is undoubtedly the best way to differentiate your business, retain customers, and attract new ones. There are plenty of fantastic B2B CX examples to learn from. Repligen's use of visual product configuration to generate highly technical biotech products in minutes is one such example. Coca-Cola’s use of augmented reality to visualize vending machines in retailers’ stores is another. Regardless of the technology used, these companies all have one thing in common: the ability to think like their customers, get inside their heads, and put B2B CX at the heart of strategy.
Your Buyer Isn’t Who You Think They Are
The B2B buyer has changed dramatically over the past few years. The old guard is steadily being replaced by a new generation of Millennial buyers who are occupying senior roles in prominent organizations. Millennials have grown up around the internet. 48% of them are “online almost constantly.” Therefore, it stands to reason that if you want to reach this new demographic, then your business has to be hanging out where they are - online.
Millennials have a proclivity for self-education (as evidenced by the rise of companies like Coursera and Skillshare), which is reflected in their buying behavior. 70% percent of Millennial B2B buyers define their own needs independently, through online research, before engaging with a sales rep. Unlike generations past, they value IQ over EQ (technology over relationships). While they still want to receive a personalized buying experience, they want it to be delivered through your website rather than a human salesperson.
It’s not just Millennials, of course, driving the demand for digital in B2B CX. Buyers of all ages are using Amazon et al. daily and have started to expect the same customer experience level when they buy for work. B2B CX standards have never been higher (or tolerance for bad experiences lower) - one false move will have your buyers scrolling into the arms of your competitors.
COVID-19 has catalyzed the consumerization of B2B buying even further. The final destination might not have changed, but it’s been a white-knuckle ride on the road to digital adoption. Brands that have taken a proactive approach to digital transformation over the past few years, investing heavily in their digital B2B CX programs, are reaping the rewards earlier than expected. Those that failed to create or execute an effective B2B CX strategy have found themselves massively exposed with nowhere to hide their lack of future planning.
But all is not lost! This unique moment should serve as the impetus for any company lagging in the digital transformation stakes to redefine their B2B CX program, unlocking new profit-making opportunities while insulating their business from inevitable future shocks. Below, we identify four crucial B2B CX trends that laggards have to respond to if they want to keep pace with competitors and survive under new normal conditions.
The Self-Service Imperative
Today’s buyer doesn’t have time for lengthy interactions with sales reps. They want to self-serve, online, at their own pace, whatever their timezone. For suppliers of basic products, this is a straightforward exercise- a B2B eCommerce platform will suffice. For manufacturers of complex, customizable goods, it’s not quite as easy. Each product might come with thousands of options, rules, and dependencies - more than any socially-distanced buyer working from home in their pajamas could possibly comprehend.
Companies selling complicated engineer-to-order products can embed a visual product configurator into their website. Buyers are presented with a 2D or 3D image of a product they can configure to their exact requirements by merely pointing and clicking. They can add or remove parts, adjust colors and dimensions, and upgrade features. Prices are updated in real-time, and the configuration opportunities are endless. Product rules built into the backend of the software regulate the configuration process, eliminating errors and ensuring every configured product is optimized from an engineering standpoint.
Competing in an omnichannel world
Buyers want to interact with your brand over a range of different channels and devices, and it’s your responsibility to ensure they receive a smooth, consistent B2B CX wherever they begin or end their customer journey. B2Bs need to start thinking holistically, taking a unified view of their various touchpoints. Manufacturers using outdated legacy systems in siloed organizational structures find omnichannel particularly challenging. In contrast, those that excel in an omnichannel landscape leverage CPQ.
Hyper-relevance Vs. Privacy
Google, Netflix, and, of course, the social media giants learn from users’ behavior to provide have-it-your way CX. The personalization is subtle yet profound - often, we don’t realize the difference until we log into somebody else’s account. We remonstrate against perceived intrusions, but most of us would rather sacrifice privacy when given a choice (and we have been) than our bespoke online experiences.
B2B buyers are no different in their desire for hyper-relevance. Relationship selling might be on the decline, but personalization doesn’t have to be. Search, catalogs, recommendations, pricing, content, and promotions tailored at the individual buyer level make customers’ working lives considerably more manageable, but perhaps even more importantly, make buyers feel valued.
Security Vs. Usability
There’s a longstanding view that carrying out business online is more dangerous than offline interactions. Whether that’s an accurate assessment or not is somewhat academic. Malicious actors are out there. What matters in terms of B2B CX is that your buyers feel safe from cyberattacks and fraudsters when transacting with your company online. You have to strike the right balance for your business between security and a frictionless buying experience.
