Goodbye, Digital Transformation. Hello, Digital Evolution.

Digital Transformation:

Anyone involved in modernizing a B2B commerce strategy has eventually come across this buzzword. It evokes a time when digital alternatives were just beginning to solve analog problems, it transcends departments, and it affects pretty much every industry, from hospitality to healthcare.

While digital transformation projects tend to look promising on paper, research shows that 70% of them don’t reach their goal. Attempting to inject new technology into old processes and infrastructures is particularly ineffective for B2B commerce, an industry whose modernization has been obstructed by unique business complexities, increasing competition from digital giants, and decreasing margins.

In order for B2B organizations to succeed, every ecommerce investment needs to answer a simple question: “How is this going to provide value to the end buyer?”

It’s a different kind of mindset, as it encourages B2B players to prioritize integrations, tactics, and technologies that allow them to build the experiences that their buyers are demanding.

We call this approach Digital Evolution, and it responds to three main changes that are currently unfolding:

#1
B2B Buyers are Increasingly
Acting Like B2C Buyers

B2B buyers are now demanding to choose how they want to interact with your business. They are looking for a “get in, get out” experience, but they also need 
to be intuitively directed to the product education that will allow them to complete purchases in a self-service manner. In 2015, according to Forrester, 53% of B2B buyers shared that they wanted to gather information on their own before talking to a representative. Only two years later, the number went up to 68%.

 

As customer expectations continue rising, removing friction from the buying experience is becoming an imperative.

73%
of Millennials are
now involved in B2B
purchasing decisions
source: Forrester
68%
of B2B buyers want to get
info on their own before
talking to a sales rep
source: Forrester
The term “business-to-business” can be deceptive. You’re never really selling to a business; you’re selling to people who happen to work at a business.
TJ Keitt, Principal Analyst, Forrester
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CX Audit

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+ 39.7%
conversion rate
source: K&N Engineering
We were coming out of a real failed implementation. We lost a lot of 
traffic and, obviously, we lost a lot of revenue. Conversion was really poor. 
We've since climbed out of that and we're now coming close to doubling 
our conversion rates.
K&N Engineering
#2
Mobile-Optimized Experiences are
yet to Outpace the Competition

In 2017, Google found out that 50% of B2B queries were happening on mobile. According to BCG, the number is supposed to grow to 70% this year. To get their work done, B2B users need to multitask on multiple screens and leverage mobile to perform research quickly.

In this scenario, fast load times and optimized mobile experiences are becoming a strategy to outpace the competition. Corra predicts that Progressive Web Apps will soon outpace responsive design to become the new B2B ecommerce standard. This is due to their advanced capabilities such as instant load times, offline browsing, and camera access.

For us, PWA is about making sure that our customers get easy access to product schematics, even when they’re on the field and don’t have mobile connection. This mobile experience is going to put us a step ahead of our competition.
Jennifer Hill, Ecommerce Manager, Tacony Corporation
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FWRD

A future-proof PWA solution to deliver ultrafast mobile experiences that look and feel like an app.

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#3
B2B Organizations Need to
Own Their Destiny

Leading B2B organizations are now perceiving direct selling as a necessity,
and for a good reason. In addition to offering an opportunity to increase margins 
and meet spiking online demand, direct sales are the best channel B2B companies 
can leverage to access valuable customer information. With the understanding that lack of adequate customer data hampers the delivery of tailored experiences, B2B suppliers will have to mimic the success of B2C personalization programs, from product recommendations tailored to specific customer groups to cross-selling and up-selling tactics triggered by customer behavior.

80%
of consumers say they’re
more likely to purchase
from a brand who provides
personalized experiences.
source: Epsilon
3x
Customers that receive helpful
information are 3x more likely
to purchase the most expensive
option with less regret
source: FORRESTER
The majority of B2B buyers want to be able to get to pricing without speaking to anyone. How do you do that? You have to truly put your customer at the center of your business processes which, increasingly, means giving them an experience that matches expectations.
Michael Harvey, Chief Strategy Officer, Corra
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Digital Evolution
is Now an Imperative
As a specialized division within Corra, IN-DSTRY was founded
to help you navigate the age of the customer.
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Corra’s product knowledge and experience was extremely important to us. When I looked at Corra, it was refreshing to see such a unique mix of individuals with different backgrounds presenting their research.
Ahmad Rashidi, VP, Information Technology, Zest Dental Solutions