Are you a B2B-oriented company, but starting to think about selling directly to consumers as a B2C? Your eCommerce website and your enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is easy to integrate when you use erpCommerce™ for your B2B operation.
What you may not know is that we can streamline your B2C arm as well. You can utilize erpCommerce™ for integrating key data critical to successful B2C marketing and customer relationship management (CRM).
First, you need to understand the differences between B2B and B2C when it comes to integrations and workflows.
B2B eCommerce vs B2C eCommerce
With a B2B eCommerce website, you are selling to other companies, often in bulk.
- Your product lines may adhere strictly to a narrow vertical, and your inventory can be substantial.
- Your customers may place orders then settle invoices on a rolling basis. This can make accounting more complex.
- Fulfillment timelines may be written into a contract and be more critical with a B2B transaction in certain industries where delays can cause penalties or downtime for the receiving party.
With B2B, you need to be prepared for dealing with professional employees with direct questions that require answering and expectations in line with industry norms. The customer relationship and support flows are typically resolved via phone and/or email, since the total customer volume is lower with B2B compared to B2C.
B2C expansion brings an entirely new set of challenges to the table.
- Your customers may expect a broad variety of products to choose from, requiring you to expand warehouse space for inventory or leverage drop shipping options.
- Consumers can be convinced to purchase a wide range of products in a single order, and cross selling / upselling is a more common opportunity.
- Consumers typically pay at point of sale, and want to-the-minute updates on their order statuses as well as easy to find tracking information and notifications
With B2C, you also need to be able to integrate individual consumer data into your customer relationship management (CRM) system. End consumers typically need more personalized care and handholding than B2B customers, so make sure you can deliver an omnichannel experience as basic phone and email support may not suffice.
You’ll need a robust customer service solution, and the ability to allow customers to personally track their items through purchase to final delivery. Exchanges and returns are also more likely with B2C, so having processes in place for these additional workflows must be attended to. Make sure you’re ready to effectively handle the higher customer volume and additional variables B2C will entail.
Why Go B2C Now?
There are a lot of reasons you may be considering adding B2C to your eCommerce platform. As people have shifted further toward online buying, they often consider going straight to the source when possible, to cut out the middleman. You can take advantage of this ongoing trend to identify and target prime customers for your products or services outside of other businesses.
While B2B may remain the core focus of your company, there are plenty of opportunities to also service end users. Your erpCommerce™ integration can support you through the transition from a B2B company to a hybrid B2B / B2C organization.
Pixafy can develop the perfect customized solution for your B2B or B2C website, integrating your back and front ends and looping in your CRM to help you maximize the value of your customer data.
If you’re thinking about making the shift to service the B2C market, no matter what your industry, aligning your user experience with your business goals is key. Contact us today to learn more.
