As eCommerce continues its exponential growth, the line between B2C (Business to Consumer) and B2B (Business to Business) is often blurred with businesses using a single website to serve both types of customer. In most cases this does not work and a dedicated B2B website is a much better approach to tailor your online shopping experience for these types of customers.
It is now a requirement for B2B businesses to have a dedicated website that serves their customers and is available 24-7. Today’s B2B customers demand consumer-like shopping experiences, but with added features that are tailored to their specific needs. Adobe Commerce has risen to the challenge, offering a suite of features tailored specifically for B2B merchants who want to increase sales online through a dedicated B2B website.
Let’s dive deep the B2B suite that is available in Adobe Commerce and unveil the benefits eCommerce merchants stand to gain.
1. Shared Catalogs
Feature: This is our favourite Adobe Commerce B2B feature! It allows merchants to create custom catalogs and apply these catalogs to a specific customer group. This allows the merchant to control what categories and products each customer sees when they login and also allows them to set different pricing for every product.
Benefit: Shared Catalogs allow merchants to personalise the product catalog that each customer see’s when they login. Using this feature merchants are able to keep customers laser focused on only the categories and products that they are able to purchase as well as displaying tailored pricing. For B2B businesses, this is an extremely powerful feature that can be used to increase customer loyalty as well as conversion rate.
2. Company Accounts
Feature: Adobe Commerce’s Company Accounts feature is a robust tool allowing businesses to manage their company profiles, set up multiple accounts, define roles, and set purchase permissions. Company admins can add multiple members of their team to their account and restrict what they can and cannot do on your website.
Benefit: With Company Accounts, merchants can allow larger organisations to add multiple team members to their company account on your website and control what they can and can’t do. It enables better management of bigger accounts, ensuring the right people have the appropriate permissions which means your customers will no longer have to place orders through a single account on your website.
3. Negotiable Quotes
Feature: Unlike typical B2C transactions where prices are fixed, B2B transactions often involve price negotiations. Adobe Commerce’s Negotiable Quotes feature allows buyers to request special pricing for large orders directly from their allocated sales manager, which merchants can then review, approve, or counteroffer.
Benefit: This is a fantastic feature for B2B merchants that have sales managers who deal directly with specific customers on a day-to-day basis. It allows for that face-to-face conversation to happen online through the website. It provides your sales managers with the opportunity to build great relationships with your customers and presents great upsell opportunities.
4. Purchase Order Approvals
Feature: Larger businesses usually involve multiple stakeholders in their buying process. Adobe Commerce has integrated a Purchase Order Approvals system, enabling businesses to define specific approval processes based on order value, customer group, or even SKU.
Benefit: By streamlining and automating the approval process, businesses can accelerate order processing, minimize errors, and ensure that purchase orders align with their internal procurement policies.
5. Requisition Lists
Feature: Think of Requisition Lists as ‘favourites’ for businesses. These are repeat order lists that customers can create, modify, and add to their basket directly from their account.
Benefit: For merchants, this means increased customer retention and a higher order frequency. It also translates to a smoother shopping experience for your customers, as they don’t need to start from scratch with every purchase. Your customer can place frequent repeat orders quickly directly from their account without having to browse the entire product catalog and find the products that they need to purchase again.
6. Quick Order
Feature: B2B customers often know exactly what they want, down to the SKU. Adobe Commerce’s Quick Order feature allows your customers to quickly order hundreds of products by copying and pasting a list of SKUs into a text box or uploading a CSV file containing the SKUs and quantities that they wish to order. The system will add these products to their basket automatically and allow them to checkout instantly.
Benefit: Time is money in the business world. Quick Order not only saves customers time but also enhances their shopping experience allowing them to quickly place orders through your website in minimal time with complete convenience.
In Conclusion
Adobe Commerce has meticulously curated its B2B features to cater to the unique demands of B2B businesses. For B2B eCommerce merchants, leveraging these tools means not only keeping pace with evolving expectations of their customers but also harnessing opportunities for increase sales, form better customer relationships, and refine operational efficiencies.
Whether you’re an existing business exploring the B2B sector or an established B2B business seeking to enhance your eCommerce game, Adobe Commerce offers a suite of features designed to empower and elevate your business operations. By prioritising personalisation, transparency, and efficiency, Adobe Commerce ensures that merchants are equipped to deliver exceptional B2B eCommerce experiences to your customers allowing you to unlock your businesses full online potential.
Here at Foundation Commerce, we’ve helped multiple brands launch their B2B offering online using Adobe Commerce. If you’re a B2B businesses looking to accelerate your growth online, get in contact with us today for a quick chat to find out how our services can help you achieve this.