mage titans usa 2016 - brendan falkowski designing the b2b experience

Brendan Falkowski

@Falkowski

GravityDept.com

Frontend Consulting For

GEMAIRE

gravitydept.com/to/acumen

Acumen Theme

Acumen 2 (demo ready…for real)

Powers 1400+ stores Supported for 6+ years

http://gravitydept.com/to/acumen

I help companies solve business challenges with design.

Good design puts the business and customer on equal footing.

2009 to 2013: B2C and RWD

What I learned designing for B2B

B2B Challenges

Site traffic Conversion rate

Average order value

1. Revenue Growth

Buying Selling Growth

2. Complexity Management

Simplicity Visibility

Personalization

3. Customer Experience Management

B2B businesses have more complexity and move slower

B2B technology often feels dated compared to B2C

B2C escalation is forcing B2B to change rapidly

B2B buyer expectations are anchored by B2C experiences

Under 33%B2B sites that invested in

multi-device support

https://www.b2becommerceworld.com/2015/11/23/b2b-e-commerce-sites-have-lots-upgrading-do


18%B2B companies with native

mobile apps



26%B2B companies with responsive websites



B2B businesses need to leapfrog a generation of

technology

56%B2B buyers prefer to be

purchasing online by 2017

http://magento.com/blog/best-practices/10-ways-boost-b2b-shopping-experience

http://magento.com/blog/best-practices/10-ways-boost-b2b-shopping-experience

74%B2B buyers who research over

half their purchases online

https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce


30%B2B buyers who can actually complete purchases online



Shopping vs. Buying

Shoppingnoun: the action or activity of purchasing goods from stores

Consumers care about the store experience

Prices online are generally the same everywhere

When price/selection/quality are equal, services set you apart

Procurement

Constantly shopping around is expensive for businesses

Product specifications Quantity

Price flexibility Need by date

Supply location

Businesses prefer long-term relationships with suppliers

Revzilla builds trust through season after season of revised

gear advice

I buy from Revzilla because their service is a reliable expert

A service is more valuable than your products

Manufacturers prefer to diversify their partnerships

Manufacturers selling direct online changes the landscape

for distributors

Design services that are critical to your customer’s success

Stocking products and fulfilling orders isn’t enough anymore

Designing Services

Businesses need to be sold on the long-term relationship

One-off buyers can cost B2B sellers because their margins

are low

Stable buying patterns come from building indispensable

services

1. Onboarding customers 2. Onboarding employees 3. Data advantage 4. Wayfinding and search 5. Personalization 6. Real-time pricing and inventory 7. Power user features 8. Merchandising 9. Omni-channel efficiency

Onboarding Customers

44%B2B buyers say onboarding

is too complex

Oracle, “Taking the Wheel” B2B report

Customer acquisition is hard: 1. Value is hidden

2. Complex registration

They buy below minimum quantities Restricted by partner agreements

Products require a license/authority to buy

B2B sellers may block consumers completely because:

B2B sites may sell to consumers with different terms and pricing

Selling direct to consumers will frustrate B2B buyers who

markup products

These challenges add complexity to B2B onboarding

New Customers

Tell customers everything they will need before they start

registration

Avoid delays between registration and activation

Consider disabling order functionality pre-activation so

new users can still explore

Automate contract creation if possible

Standardized terms enable a customer to start buying

immediately

Existing Customers

Don’t assume existing customers will adopt new

services

Build a pathway so existing customers can link their offline

accounts together online

Be liberal when accepting account info for verification

Picky validation frustrates legitimate customers

The best way to onboard existing customers is making

accounts for them

Sales reps should schedule time to promote and demonstrate

online ordering’s benefits

Onboarding is an opportunity to redefine the sales

relationship + get raw feedback

Onboarding Employees

https://www.b2becommerceworld.com/commentary/2016/03/07/building-b2b-e-commerce-site-get-your-employees-board

If you don't get nearly all of your employees supporting your e-commerce initiative, it's not going to have legs.

“ Michael Mayer Director, E-business Strategy & Commerce Crescent Electric Supply Co.

https://www.b2becommerceworld.com/commentary/2016/03/07/building-b2b-e-commerce-site-get-your-employees-board

Didn’t know what we rolled out Didn’t know how it helped customers Couldn't support customers using it

They didn't feel any ownership of the service To them, the eCommerce channel was a competitor

Employees in the dark

Source

Educate early not after introducing eCommerce to

customers

Create opportunities for employees to invest in

ownership of the system

Record training to make onboarding new employees

easier

Don’t be surprised or worried by channel shift

Sales attribution models need to reflect the changing weight

of channels

Sales’ role will shift from quoting/ordering to being more proactive about customer needs

Not inviting salespeople inside eCommerce is setting them up

for failure

Data Advantage

Omni-channel customers need service consistency to transact

fluidly

PIMProduct Information Management

Develop a process to intake, evaluate, and normalize

product info from vendors

akeneo.com pimcore.org

informatica.com cobby.io

Wayfinding and Search

Hierarchical navigation is less important for B2B buyers

Most B2B sessions start with search

B2B buyers often know the exact product needed before

reaching your site

Query highlighting Search scopes Result types

Search Enhancements

http://baymard.com/blog/autocomplete-design

http://baymard.com/blog/autocomplete-design

Search needs to behave consistently between websites

and apps

homedepot.com search scopes

suggested queries products

categories brands

m.homedepot.com suggested queries

categories brands

Home Depot iOS app suggested queries

Home Depot makes it harder to search for products on their

mobile services

Their native apps actually have the weakest search

Multiple platforms and search implementations will disconnect customers

Personalization

Any offering that adapts to the customer is personalization

1. Algorithmic merchandising 2. Crowd sourced buying 3. On demand production

Convert better relative to the user’s journey. Increase order value when suggested together.

Higher margin or clearance priority that are equivalent.

1. Algorithmic Merchandising

Shield the maker from inefficiencies of finding market fit

2. Crowd Sourced Buying

3. On Demand Production and Customization

Source

Real-time Pricing and Inventory

Actionable self-service quotes mean your doors never close

50%B2B buyers say personalization is a key reason they choose suppliers


List / trade price Negotiated price

Direct sales Quantity-based pricing

Pricing tiers by annual sales volume

Pricing

Warehouse management Freight or parcel delivery estimates

Store / warehouse pickup Governmental licensing for hazardous materials

Contractual restrictions to sell in territory

Fulfillment

Legacy terms may need to be grandfathered or renegotiated

online

Customers expect the same services and accommodations

they receive offline

Digital services must be an order of magnitude better than

calling a sales rep

B2C customers generally only care about inventory if an item

is out of stock

There are too many variables with personalization not to calculate real-time quotes

Real-time processing is slow, so load personalized content

asynchronously

Power User Features

“Add to Cart” is a bottleneck for high volume buyers

Enable re-buying of past orders

Order History

Convert past orders to subscriptions

Quick Order

Wish lists can be supercharged for B2B buyers

Enable merging, splitting, and renaming lists

Listen for customer feedback

Merchandising

PIM systems turn connected data into merchandising

advantages

Product History

B2B buyers appreciate tools that help them purchase

smarter in the future

Omni-Channel Efficiency

Support teams need training and authority to resolve issues

across channels

$4.7 BHome Depot online sales 2015

https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/24/mobile-sparks-q4-sales-home-depot


5.3%Home Depot online sales from

total revenue




Over 40% of our online orders actually end up in the store in some way, shape or form.

“ Kevin Hoffman President of Online Operations Home Depot


It’s your job to make channels seamless

Buyer Demographics

56%B2B executives say some

customers can only be served online



Consider who will leave and join the workforce in 5-10 years

Millennials are the first generation where internet use

will become universal

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/22/key-takeaways-global-tech/

72%US adults with smartphones

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/08/one-fifth-of-americans-report-going-online-almost-constantly/

92%US millennials with smartphones


75%Millennials have purchased from

phones

http://insights.mobify.com/16-stats-to-convince-your-boss-to-invest-in-mobile-in-2016/

36%18–29 year olds who report being

online “almost constantly”


Under 35Average age of B2B buyer


34%Millennials in US labor force

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/

Millennials represent more of the labor force than Baby Boomers or Generation X

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/

Technology will push out businesses that can’t adapt

74%B2B buyers who prefer

researching online vs. talking to sales reps


Digital services will be a major factor when B2B buyers choose

suppliers

Wrapping Up

Designing services adds value to your business

+ your customer’s business

Thank you

Gravity DepartmentGravityDept

gravitydept.com magefrontend.com

Brendan FalkowskiFalkowski