Brian Beck on Documenting Objectives When Picking a B2B eCommerce Platform

The process of selecting an Ecommerce platform may seem overwhelming, especially for B2B organizations who have little internal experience or experience in Ecommerce.

However, there's a well-documented process that I share in my book Billion Dollar B2B Ecommerce that violates platform choice down into manageable steps.


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In this post, I discuss the very first step: Document Objectives.

Before you even think of what technology platform will probably be best suited to your organization, you must define business objectives. Aims should tie to a expected Return on Investment (ROI) model, and may also include intangible benefits that you expect from Ecommerce. Objectives can include:

  • Increased share of wallet from existing clients Incremental revenue from new clients
  • Shift of earnings to more efficient stations (especially repeat orders)
  • Higher gross margins obtained through online selling
  • Increased customer loyalty acquired by making buyers' jobs easier, according to increased lifetime value of every customer
  • Improved competitive advantage vs. non-Ecommerce enabled competitors
  • Improved organizational effectiveness, particularly in the sales and service functions
  • Total enhancement of business value

Your business objectives have to be translated into technological requirements; that is, the technology platform you select must have the ability to support the aims.

Too often companies attempt to deploy technology for technology's sake, but this is backward. Objectives are the basis upon which technology ought to be constructed.

Fundamental to this effort is acquiring sufficient customer feedback that will give you a comprehensive comprehension of their requirements and expectations. By placing the customer first in this procedure, your requirements and ultimate system choice will be based on a foundation of fulfilling the client's requirements, making it more probable you will obtain adoption once you launch your new web site.

I strongly recommend taking the following measures to understand both your client and your company needs:

1. Interview your sales and customer support teams

Start looking for common places where your clients are attempting to utilize a web site to buy online and get support via your website (for example, re-ordering goods, checking order status, looking up stock availability, finding product and compatibility information, administering accounts, and other activities ).

Seek out means that the sales and service teams can be made more efficient by using online tools.

Related posts:

https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-clover-pos/

https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-ebizmarts-pos/

https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-square-pos/

https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-toast-pos/

https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-vend-pos/

2. Interview your customers

Identify a group of clients which you can speak with in person or by telephone (or both) to understand their expectations of your Ecommerce web site. Explore areas such as:

  • What are their anticipated purchase patterns online?
  • What are their expectations from an electronic usability perspective?
  • Which products will they buy online (e.g. what products do they often purchase from you on a repeat purchase basis)?
  • Are there any classes that they don't wish to purchase online, and if so, why not?
  • Which other web sites do they use to research and purchase similar products?
  • What parts of the current offline workflows would they probably want to move online?
  • By way of instance, obtaining order status, locating delivery information, researching product details before making a purchase, or paying bills or open bank balances.
  • Search for repetitive tasks which will be made easier by bringing them online. Do they want support for"punch out" (ERP-based) ordering?
  • How do customers want to interact with you across device types (mobile, desktopcomputer, etc.)?

In the end, you need to discover which client interactions will get simpler via online channels, and concentrate on building these into your technology requirements. Making these activities easier will be crucial for you to drive adoption of your new Ecommerce website. Make certain to speak with 20 or more customers and survey different kinds of consumers across business segments, including clients of different sizes.

3. Form a client advisory board

This can emerge from the group you interviewed and will assist you get through the Ecommerce development procedure. The most prosperous B2B Ecommerce implementation I've seen have leveraged a group of consumers which may be involved at every phase of the website development process, providing feedback as you construct. This team of consumers can be called on to examine your web site creative layouts, provide a test panel for usability of the website, and be utilised as a sounding board for attributes you're contemplating adding.

Trends are working in your favor. Twenty years ago, if a B2B company wanted to construct an Ecommerce presence, they would have to develop the technology from the bottom up, building it largely in-house and usually spending thousands of dollars in the procedure. In contrast, today there are several platforms offering a vast array of functionalities, at a lower cost and with more execution tools available than previously.

The challenge in using a huge array of alternatives, however, is that there are a huge array of options. Finding the very best platform can be confusing and tiring, but getting smart about the procedure is the only way to successfully develop and execute an Ecommerce technology, while also limiting the chance of failure.

See also:

https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-lightspeed-retail-pos/

https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-shopkeep-pos/

https://www.connectpos.com/pos-review-connectpos-vs-hike-pos/

https://www.connectpos.com/8-tips-boost-online-presence-for-fashion-brands/

https://www.connectpos.com/7-best-shopify-apps/

https://www.connectpos.com/business-metrics-to-follow-when-using-pos

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