Increasing Brand Recognition
Brands that rely solely on direct-to-consumer sales struggle with brand recognition. The level of exposure you receive largely depends on your customers’ willingness to promote your products in public spaces. Selling products through B2B channels, such as wholesale, significantly boosts brand recognition on a broader scale. They purchase your products at wholesale prices and promote you.
Minimal Marketing Costs for B2B Businesses
With B2B e-commerce, marketing is done on your behalf. Wholesalers will showcase your product in storefront windows, on crowded department store shelves, and in digital marketing campaigns. In all cases, your B2B customers are promoting you instead of using your brand’s marketing funds. Many of our B2B customers come from “word of mouth” – merchants’ customers asking them to carry Squishface products in their store.
Lower Customer Acquisition Costs
The lack of marketing funds makes acquiring B2B customers cheaper and more profitable. We can see this through a Shopify merchant selling bath products who entered a retail store and offered them branded products. Time is the only resource needed for cold promotion – a supportive strategy for the company to secure large orders on a small scale. It’s a B2B sales strategy that can’t be easily replicated on a large scale for brands that rely only on direct-to-consumer sales.
Higher Value and Order Volume
The biggest difference between B2B customers and DTC is the volume and frequency of purchases. Commercial buyers do not purchase in single units. In the case of Po Campo, Maria Boustead’s organization states, “Our B2B site makes it easy to purchase a larger volume of products at once. On the B2C site, most people buy only one or two items. On the B2B site, merchants order between 15 and 25 items at once.” B2B customers also purchase more frequently, especially if you streamline the ordering process and make it easy for buyers to self-service through your B2B e-commerce site. It is uncommon for consumers in industries like fashion and apparel to have enough disposable income to purchase products from the same brand every week or month.
Virtual Loyalty Creates Predictable Revenue
When you have a B2B business, most people buy from you by building long-term relationships. You don’t have to make them come back – there’s a mutual understanding that if the product is good, the relationship can last for years. This virtual loyalty creates predictable revenue for your business. Unlike DTC companies, which can be significantly affected by external factors like recession or seasonal trends, most B2B companies place regular orders to supply their own customers. You will have more certainty about cash flow and your ability to plan accurately for expansion.
Automated Sales Processes and Operations
There are many moving parts when managing B2B sales in the usual setup. A traditional B2B online business requires a sales representative to build the relationship, enter the order into your system (sometimes using pen and paper), issue invoices, and remind customers when payments are due. However, the biggest benefits of moving B2B operations online are: reducing human errors. Use workflows to automate the entire B2B sales process and minimize human error. There is less likelihood of shipping incorrect products, issuing incorrect invoices to your customers, or forgetting to remind them of upcoming payments. Greater flexibility to upsell and increase order value. Expand your B2B sales strategy using DTC-style sales features like upselling and product recommendations. In either case, you can get more money from existing customers – without your sales team needing to persuade them individually. Order fulfillment
Source: https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/b2b-ecommerce-benefits-advantages
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