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Don’t Start A Magento B2B Webshop Until You Read This Guide

by Helen

Today, we want to give you some detailed information about the Magento B2B webshop, another way to call a B2B online shop, B2B eCommerce. It is an online platform (a mobile app, a website) where businesses interact with and sells their products to other companies.

 

In addition, there is a lot of useful information for Magento B2B webshop owners to enrich more features for their websites and improve B2B shopping experience.

 

This article will provide you:

 

  • Types of B2B webshops
  • Differences between B2C and B2B webshops
  • Why B2B businesses should go online
  • Necessary features for a Magento B2B webshop
  • A way to optimize a Magento B2B Webshop

 

Let’s get started!

3 Main Types of B2B Webshop

There are several ways to categorize B2B webshops. Typically, B2B webshops can be divided into 3 main types:

Supplier-centric Webshop

Supplier-centric is a traditional type of B2B webshop. In the supplier-centric model, the business acts as a supplier for other companies. Through a website developed by their own or another platform, they can provide goods and services to other firms for various purposes.

 

You may have heard about Cisco, an American multinational technology conglomerate. Cisco provides a platform, an online marketplace where they can sell networking hardware, software, telecommunications equipment, and other high-technology services and products to many other businesses.

Buyer-centric Webshop

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Contrary to the supplier-centric, buyer-centric means that the B2B acts as a buyer of other suppliers. The business has its own webshop to procure products and find suppliers. They invite other suppliers to apply, put up their products and quotations. Then, that information will be compared to make the final decision. It is another kind of online bidding.

 

Walmart is famous for this kind of B2B webshop. Walmart, with a global presence, can find the best suppliers by operating this buyer-centric webshop.

Intermediary-centric Webshop

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Intermediary-centric webshop acts as a connection between businesses. You may be more familiar with the term B2B2C marketplace, another name of the intermediary-centric webshop.

 

Typically, an intermediary-centric webshop contains a lot of sellers and buyers. They come to the online marketplace to trade goods and services, none of which belongs to the marketplace website owner. The business only provides a platform helping connect and facilitate transactions.

 

Alibaba, a China-based B2B webshop, is a typical example of an intermediary-centric webshop. While Amazon focuses on connecting businesses and individual customers, Alibaba pays attention to being a link between businesses.

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Differences Between B2C Vs. B2B Webshop

While B2B businesses sell their goods and services to customers, who are also firms, and enterprises, B2C businesses directly connect with the end consumers. For that reason, B2C and B2B webshops will have several differences to treat each customer group differently.

 

Before setting up a B2C or B2B webshop, you should have a deep understanding of these differences below to create the best purchasing experience for customers, whether they are businesses or individual customers.

 

There are several key differences that we have found out between the 2 webshops:

Order Quantity Requirement

Because of the different characteristics, B2B businesses usually set a minimum order quantity, requiring customers to order no less than the amount specified. This is to avoid purchasing behavior of ordering in a small amount as B2C customers, which might affect the business performance and operations.

 

But for B2C businesses, individual customers can purchase at any quantity they like, as long as it is still in stock. There are no such things called Minimum Order Quantity or Maximum Order Quantity that appeared on the B2C webshop.

Pricing

When visiting a B2C website, you can see the price clearly stated for each item. The B2C price is consistent and transparent throughout time. If the price is not the same, it means that the business has a discount, coupons, or special sales program.

 

However, prices will not appear on B2B websites. Instead, they will include a line such as “Contact for price” or similar content that customers have to send an email or call to know the product’s price.

 

The reason is that the price in B2B webshops is usually personalized. Prices are not the same for all customers. As they order more, they will get a higher quantity discount, for example. And the price negotiation process is also time-consuming to get the most favorable price.

Checkout Process

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The checkout process in B2C is simple and straightforward. All B2C customers need is to add products to the cart, apply discount coupons, select payment methods, make payments, and receive order confirmations. Meanwhile, the checkout process in B2B is much more complicated.

 

B2B payment is different in terms of volume (often in large amounts), contract (payment terms are clearly stated in the contract), postponement (30 – 90 days), payment methods. Besides some similar methods like cash, credit card, bank transfer, there are others such as paper checks, ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments, or trade credit.

CONSIDER NOW Which B2B Payment Methods To Choose For Your Business?                              

Besides, phone calls, video chats are necessary if customers have checkout issues. The pre-programmed checkout process is not enough for the B2B buying process. Live human assistance is a need as they are ordering in bulk with a large amount of money; consequently, it will be a mess if issues cannot be solved timely.

Decision-making Process

In the B2C decision-making process, individual customers will make decisions on their own. These decisions are usually subjective and impulsive. Such decisions might be made immediately after a B2C buyer saw a beautiful product image or good reviews.

 

On the contrary, the B2B decision-making process involves much more decision-makers and stages. After seeing a potential item, all the business decision-makers have to consider a lot about the price, pros and cons, benefits brought about when using the item, etc.

 

For that reason, the conversion rate of B2B business is lower than B2C business.

Customer Service

Customer service is essential for both B2B and B2C. But depending on the order volume and the need for immediate contact, customer service is not the same.

 

The B2B buying process is complicated. Research has found out that B2B buyers often spend little time to meet suppliers and even less when comparing many suppliers with each other. Therefore, sellers will have few opportunities to influence and convince their target customers.

 

In that case, going through the customer journey, understanding them, and 24/7 availability, whenever they need, will be a big plus that impresses businesses.

 

Unlike B2B, B2C customers often order in small quantities, not concentrated, and usually for consuming purposes. Queries are restricted and can be answered immediately.

CTAs (Call-to-action)

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One similarity between CTA quotes on B2C and B2B webshops is that the content is customer-centric, involving human emotions. The quote should contain the benefit that customers can gain when using the product.

 

But the benefits for each customer group are different. For business buyers, the content should state clearly how the product is beneficial for the company, for example, raise productivity, boost sales, etc.

 

The benefit for the end consumer is different as it will solve general problems or serve customers’ usual demands like decorating rooms, boosting power for a long working day, etc.

Why Should B2B Business Go Online?

If you are running only brick-and-mortar B2B stores, you should consider setting up a B2B webshop right now for several reasons.

Reach More Customers

Recently, many people spend time online using their computers or mobile phones to search for goods or services they need to acquire.

 

Therefore, you should not overlook this opportunity to increase your brand awareness as the more people know about your business, the more likely you can attract your target customers.

 

Once you can attract more customers, you will have more chances to convince them to buy your products. Hence, you can quickly boost sales and gain more profit.

 

Additionally, setting up a webshop is beneficial when running any sales campaign or implementing marketing strategies. It helps you attract your target customers in a short time.

Enhance Credibility

At present, rarely does a company not have its website. Most customers search on the Internet to find the company that they are going to partner with. And if you don’t have a website, they cannot see you and don’t know about your existence.

 

Furthermore, before contacting you for more information, they will carefully investigate the information you provide on the website. Therefore, you need to design your website and provide the necessary information that you think might impress your customers.

Optimized Business Processes

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Using an online website is more convenient for you as the whole business process can be operated more effectively than a physical store. While physical stores have a limited space that cannot contain many people at the same time. But this is not the case for a webshop.

 

Many Internet users can simultaneously visit a webshop and search for their ideal products through descriptions, images, prices, and services. Besides, once customers choose the product, they will be directed to the next step.

 

In the checkout process, shipping orders are also quickly handled, minimizing human error. All in all, the purchasing process will be made transparently, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness. It will save you a lot of effort, time, workforce, and money.

Support Customers Even in Out-Office Hours

Once the physical store is shut down, customers cannot come to the place to seek assistance anymore. But this is not a disadvantage for a webshop. You don’t have to worry about what to do if your staff are absent because of illness or personal problems.

 

Through a webshop, you can provide 24/7 assistance, run your business all days and nights throughout the year, offering the best support for your customers. As a result, you can make more transactions and see an improvement in sales.

What Features Make A Successful Magento B2B Webshop?

Among those platforms that we have mentioned, Magento is considered one of the leading eCommerce platforms with more than 250.000 merchants that are using it worldwide. For that reason, we cannot overlook this platform.

 

If you are planning to generate an online B2B webshop with a Magento Ecommerce platform, you had better include these essential features as follows.

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Access Restriction

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Restricting access is vital for any B2B website. It doesn’t allow unregistered visitors to view the whole or parts of your website until they sign up for an account at your online store. And of course, those clients cannot place orders at your webshop.

 

This feature is essential as it affects your business predictions and evaluation. If you let all individual customers view your product page, you may misunderstand that your product is in high demand, which is actually not.

CHECK RIGHT NOW Magento 2 B2B Registration & Login Combo to Segment B2B & B2C Customer Sign-up & Access!

Business Registration Form

With B2B customers, usually firms and enterprises, it is necessary to maintain a long-term relationship with them. For that reason, you need to provide a separate registration form for those businesses.

 

With the information your customers provided, you need it to evaluate their business performance and their problems. Thenceforth, you can offer suitable solutions to solve their issues. Furthermore, such information will also help with your marketing and PR activities.

Pricing Personalization

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As we have mentioned, there is no fixed price for each item as B2C businesses. And on most B2B webshops, prices do not appear along with the product. If customers are interested in a particular item, they need to contact the company for the exact price.

 

And then, the pricing negotiation begins. The price informed by the company is not the final price. Business buyers would want to negotiate the pricing terms in their favor. This process may take a long time and goes through various steps before reaching the final decision.

 

Therefore, including pricing diversification will help you not to offend any customer and maintain relationships with them.

LOOKUP for More Details about Magento 2 Hide Price/Call for Price to set up personalized pricing.

Minimum Order Quantity

This feature has been referred to in the previous section. The Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) feature helps you avoid orders in small quantities and are unconcentrated as B2C customers. To successfully place an order, customers need to meet the lowest amount required.

Quantity Discount for Bulk Ordering

As you have known, B2B customers often order in bulk, large quantities. Accordingly, you must enable quantity discounts on your webshop to encourage your customers to order as much as possible and gain their loyalty.

 

You can allow the purchase volume and bulk discounts through your eCommerce platform to set up your webshop. Once allowing the bulk discount, you can set different discount levels as the price is not fixed.

QUICKLY SATISFY Customers with Magento 2 Bulk Order Processing Kit                                         

Real-time Inventory Updates

What happens if your customers have added everything they want to cart but then find out such things are out of stock? They will surely lose trust in your brand, exit your webshop and rarely come back. When ordering in bulk, it is essential to let your customers know about the inventory updates in real-time.

 

With real-time inventory updates, you can give your customer the accurate information they want. It also helps you have an overall view of what you have on hand and which item you need to procure or produce more. In this way, you can streamline the operation process.

Advanced Checkout & Flexible Payments

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Checkout in B2B is more sophisticated than B2C. In B2C checkout, almost all processes are done automatically, and you don’t have to worry anymore. But, it is not the same for B2B checkout.

 

You need to optimize your B2B checkout process, making it simpler and streamlined to reduce shopping cart abandonment. You can adjust several factors for such purposes like:

 

  • Customers can quickly transfer shipping fees to their delivery partner accounts.
  • Customers can choose from various payment methods like a credit card, ACH payments, wire transfer, etc.
  • You can create a store credit, which is convenient for customers when they repurchase at your webshop

Payment in B2C can be made immediately before or on delivery. But for B2B payments, which is usually a large amount of money, it doesn’t work that way. Usually, payments will be made based on the agreement on the contract.

 

And to create the best user experience for customers, multiple payment methods are crucial for B2B. As customers have to pay a large amount of money, they will choose the best payment method convenient for them. You should enable both offline and online methods for your customers.

 

For more information about B2B payment methods, please check the link above.

One-click Reordering

Reordering is what you need after an order is completed. It proves that customers have trusted your brand, and they want to create a consistent relationship with you. And to create a better convenience for customers, you can add a reordering button so that customers don’t have to waste time repeating the whole process.

 

The information of the first purchase has been saved, and with just one click, customers can successfully place an order in a matter of minutes.

Mobile Experience Enhancement

Today, mobile phones are a daily-used device for everyone. According to research, 94% of people search for products or services using their smartphones. That’s why it’s a significant shortcoming if you don’t enable your webshop to be responsive with mobile phone devices.

 

To improve the mobile experience, please be sure about the fast loading time, one of the most critical factors. The site should also provide an optimal experience across all screens. Some other factors can be improved: CTA buttons at the top, minimal and neat web design.

CHECK IT OUT [New Updates] More & More Magento 2 B2B Features To Better A B2B Website!    

How to Optimize A Magento B2B Webshop with All-in-one Solution?

To optimize a Magento B2B webshop, just using the platform alone is not enough. You need to optimize your online store with features that we have referred to in the previous section. And using this Magento 2 B2B extension package will help.

 

The B2B extension package for Magento 2 supports any types of B2B business you are pursuing, including B2B, B2B2C, and B2B2C marketplace. It contains prominent features for a successful Magento B2B webshop:

Restrict Access

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Magento B2B extension package helps to avoid the dilemma of ruining your long-term sales strategy due to unauthorized viewers. You can restrict access by:

 

  • Hiding specific pages or the whole website for passers-by.
  • Allowing access to particular categories or CMS pages based on each customer group.
  • Encouraging visitors to sign up for an account and purchase at your site.

Manage Corporates

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You can quickly collect data from business buyers to implement better management strategies, segment customers, and develop appropriate marketing campaigns. With the extension, you can:

 

  • Have a separate B2B registration form to segment customers effectively.
  • Collect more detailed information like the business field, address, tax, identity, interests, behaviors, etc.
  • Manage members and tasks more effectively by specifying company accounts and multi-users.
  • Provide customers with detailed information about sales reps for better care and maintaining good relationships.

Diversify B2B Pricing

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It’s a must-have feature to personalize pricing. The pricing negotiation, which usually takes much time and contains many steps before the final decision, can be simplified and fasten by:

 

  • Strengthening the secret pricing scheme to retain competitive advantages against rivals.
  • Fastening the request for a quote system to get closer to closing deals.
  • Modifying different prices for each customer group.

Lighten Order Placement

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Optimizing the whole process of bulk order placement is a must to satisfy customers and gain their commitment. For such purposes, this Magento B2B extension will:

 

  • Attach files to reveal full product details.
  • Provide a quick order form and allow customers to add multiple products in one go to fasten the process.
  • Display a neat table of configurable products.
  • Require the minimum order quantity.
  • Smooth the reordering process for better convenience for customers.

Clarify Checkout

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All B2B businesses are worried about cart abandonment. Research by Baymard Institute has clarified that 60% of participants said they usually left carts because of unexpected shipping costs.

 

Therefore, this module will help you to specify shipping and payment methods based on orders and locations by:

 

  • Restricting shipping and payment methods for particular customer groups.
  • Creating a custom shipping method for each region and nation.

Retain Clients

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Maintaining long-term relationships with customers is an essential mission of all B2B firms. But you don’t have to worry anymore.

 

Using the Magento 2 B2B module, you can eliminate lengthy and complicated refund policies by providing your customers with refund store credit that customers can save for their next spending. In this way, they have more motivation to come back and do more transactions in your business.

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Final Thoughts

We have provided all necessary information about B2B webshop in general and how to optimize Magento B2B webshop specifically for Magento users. We hope you can understand the B2B webshop better and successfully build one for your own.

 

If you want to build a B2B webshop, don’t hesitate to talk with us. We listen to your story and resolve every requirement as soon as possible. Leave us your information and idea in this form and we will contact you immediately.

 

BSS Commerce is one of the leading Multi-platform eCommerce solution and web development service providers in the world. With experienced and certified developers, we commit to bringing high-quality products and services to optimize your business effectively

 

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