TALKING business

However , the business to business ( B2B ) market is beginning to rely on great customer experiences more than ever , with many companies adopting user interfaces , such as portals , that reflect the personalized and fast experiences most often seen in the B2C market . These great B2B customer experiences are continuing to grow in importance for companies as more and more processes move online .

According to Forrester , B2B eCommerce will account for 13.1 % of all B2B sales in the United States by the year 2021 , indicating a steady increase for the foreseeable future when compared to the 11 % share of B2B eCommerce seen in 2017 . Additionally , by the end of 2020 , customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator . With B2B digital experiences continuing to play an increasingly crucial role in the long-term success of companies , it is important that businesses work to improve and refine their online presence . But the question remains , what makes a great B2B customer experience ?

The influence of B2C on B2B customer experience

According to McKinsey research , B2B customer experience index ratings rank far lower than their B2C counterparts , with the average B2B company scoring below 50 % compared to the typical 65 % to 85 % scored for B2C companies .

This indicates that the majority of B2B customer experience audience members are dissatisfied with their online interactions with companies in the industry . B2C companies are continually providing the latest in digital experiences in an effort to compete with one another in ways that may not be seen as often in the B2B realm . The result is that consistently rising customer expectations regarding B2C experiences are migrating to the B2B sphere .

Currently , B2B buyers feel that making a purchase is very complicated and time consuming so it is even more critical for

Corbin Murakami , Product Manager at Liferay

sellers to provide their B2B audiences with well-designed user interfaces that remember their interests , services and products that predict needs based on past purchases and more features that make the journey quick and easy to navigate .

What is holding back your B2B customer experience ?

As discussed by Customer Think , only 17 % of B2B companies have fully integrated customer data throughout the organization , which means that the decisions being made by these businesses are often based on flawed or incomplete data insights .

Should a company be unable to access customer insights from all departments , such as customer service or social media , they may miss out on specific aspects of the experience that highly influence the www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO

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