Four out of five Danish B2B buyers shop primarily online when shopping for the company, and 70 percent of buyers' budgets goes to online shops. This is demonstrated by a new analysis from the Danish Chamber of Commerce, focused on the great potential of digital B2B trade.
The analysis makes it clear that online trade is ultimately the most widely used means of B2B procurement. Four out of five buyers usually shop for the company online and 23% of buyers estimate that they have shopped even more online than usual in 2020, during the corona crisis.
This is not surprising, but according to Niels Ralund, e-Commerce Director of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, the growth in online trade will not stop with the end of the corona crisis:
"Buyers also expect it to increase by 18% in 2021, so it's not just corona growth that we see. The growth of B2B e-commerce is here to stay.”
Already today, more than one in four B2B buyers spend their entire budget online, and more than 70 percent of buyers' budgets is used online, according to the analysis.
"This is quite eye-catching, and if you as a B2B company do not yet sell online, the figures should be an incentive to get started," says Ralund.
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Ready for B2B e-commerce?
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If your B2B products are not visible on Google, you will fall behind
The potential of B2B e-commerce is thus impossible to avoid, which is why a large number of companies are currently extra busy opening online sales channels. If your business isn't among them yet, you'd better get going, because if your products can't be found online, you will likely miss out on new customers and risk losing existing customers.
All B2B buyers regularly search the market for alternative products and better prices, and in this process, Google is also B2Bs' best friend. When Danish consumers find a new online shop, they usually do so via Google. According to the Danish Chamber of Commerce analysis, this also applies when B2B buyers are looking for a product. Ultimately, this means that if your products cannot be found via Google, they do not exist for the buyers.
With the large increase in online shopping in general, Google Shopping ads are also becoming more and more relevant, not only for B2C, but also for B2B trading.
Position your product data for online sales
The crucial factor for successful B2B online sales is that customers’ perception and search behavior determine which product information is shown in the online store and how it is specifically designed. If it is not possible for the customer to find the precise information needed to make a decision – and find it quickly – the company will miss out on potential sales.
Using product information internally and in a traditional sales process is one thing; displaying this information online in a way that is meaningful to potential customers is quite another. Is your product information currently only available in a version that only makes sense to you internally in the company? Then you need to start preparing a customer-friendly, search-friendly version. If a purchaser is looking on Google for a "vacuum cleaner model 1245 in red", it is not useful to present it as "VACUU_M1245_col3” in your online shop. Then it won't be found and you won't get the chance to show that your prices are actually the best.
Your product information's route into the online shop – and out onto Google
If you can easily publish all the relevant product information your customers are looking for in an online shop today, you are already well on your way.
The challenge is somewhat greater if you only maintain product data in ERP systems, Excel sheets or databases, from which it is not as simple to export it to an online channel.
You are not alone in this challenge, which is why the global demand for product information management systems (PIM systems) is now sky-high and expected to increase by 10.2% per year until 2024. PIM systems effectively manage all types of product information and publish it in the desired form in company sales and marketing channels, online shops and portals.
The advantage of PIM systems is that you only need to maintain your product information in one place. Even ERP data is handled via the PIM system, and from here it can be sent on automatically, or at the touch of a button, to all your other channels (e.g., catalogs, price lists, data sheets, websites, newsletters...). This gives you huge time savings and ensures your company uniform product information everywhere at the same time. A good PIM system can also be linked to Google Shopping, so that product data such as product variants, images, categories and multilingual product descriptions are automatically sent to the Google Shopping environment.
Case stories:
The PIM system opens the door to our online B2B platform and webshop
(Amo Toys)
The whole online channel business generated additional sales with Perfion PIM
(CHRIS sports)
The path to successful B2B e-commerce is far from simple, but if you have the necessary product information presented and structured and can effectively publish it in your online shop, you are well on your way – at least if you are constantly focusing on the customer experience.
Download the B2B e-commerce guide
In the “Ready for B2B e-commerce?" guide you learn about the 6 things you need to get a handle on in order to succeed with e-commerce.
You will also be guided through what to focus on in order to turn product information from an obstacle into a competitive advantage.
