Intelligent CIO North America Issue 06 | Page 37

TALKING

‘‘ business

Fluent in the world of online shopping , consumers know what a good buying experience looks and feels like , resulting in an increasing number of B2B buyers expecting the same type of customer experience .

Thanks to the vast number of resources and competitors readily sourced online , the controls are in the hands of buyers .
The journey to checkout is more complex than ever due in part to an increased amount of research used to inform a final buying decision .
With customer experience expectations top of mind , buyers are willing to spend more for a better experience . A staggering 86 % of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience and buyers are willing to pay an average of 13 % more for added features and luxury items when customer experience is high-quality .
These B2C buying habits are informing B2B buying habits – making customer experience the linchpin to B2B customer experience success .
From the importance of self-service tools to how ROI analysis is commonplace in the customer journey , the following statistics give a clearer view of the B2B customer experience .
Value of great B2B customer experiences
1 . According to Temkin Group , companies that earn US $ 1 billion annually can expect to earn , on average , an additional US $ 700 million within three years of investing in improved customer experiences . ( Qualtrics , 2018 )
2 . CX leaders outperformed those lagging in CX on the S & P 500 index by nearly 80 %. Additionally , their customers are seven times more likely to return to the company , eight times more likely to try other products or services offered and 15 times more likely to spread positive word of mouth . ( Forrester , 2017 )
3 . CX is considered very important by 86 % of B2B CMOs , but 57 % of those reported only marginal CX performance . ( Accenture , 2019 )
4 . Specifically , 86 % of buyers are willing to pay more for great customer experience . ( PWC , 2018 )
5 . By the end of 2020 , customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator . ( Walker , 2020 )
Complexity of the buyer journey
6 . At least 80 % of B2B buyers are not only looking for but expect a buying experience like that of a B2C customer . ( Lumoa , 2019 )
7 . According to Gartner , 77 % of B2B buyers feel that making a purchase is very complicated and time consuming , 90 % of survey customers do not follow a straightforward customer journey , often looping back and repeating at least one or more tasks in the buyer journey . ( Gartner , 2019 )
8 . B2B buying cycles are getting longer and more complex – 58 % of buyers said their decision process was longer in 2017 than in 2016 and just 10 % said purchase time decreased . ( Demand Gen Report , 2019 )
9 . 77 % of B2B buyers are conducting more detailed ROI analysis before making a purchase decision , 75 % are using more information sources for research and evaluation , and 52 % are increasing the number of buying group members . ( Demand Gen Report , 2019 )
10 . More than half of all B2B buyers view at least eight pieces of content during the purchase process , and 82 % of buyers viewed at least five pieces of content from the vendor prior to purchase . ( Forrester )
Corbin Murakami , Sr . Product Manager of Commerce at Liferay
www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO NORTH AMERICA 37