While B2B sellers are increasingly turning to ecommerce solutions, customers still encounter issues when trying to order online. At least 32 percent of B2B buyers said that finding products is the biggest online issue. A more personalized shopping experience could solve that issue.
These data come from Intershop, a B2B ecommerce platform provider. The company’s report last year noted that B2B customers prefer digital interactions with manufacturers, self-service and online purchases for big transactions and complex products.
Personalization in B2B
However, as customers still encounter issues when trying to order online, B2B sellers must find ways to improve the online customer experience. Intershop looked into the effects of personalization in B2B. With personalization, sellers tailor the buyer’s experience to each individual user within an organization based on collecting and customizing data about that person and organization.
‘Purchase history, search behavior and channels used are important data for personalization.’
Data often used for personalization involves data on behavior, such as purchase and browsing history, search behavior and channel used. Information about the industry installed base, demographic and structure of the buyer’s company are also helpful. Some companies also store data about the buyer’s context, such as weather, economic climate and whether the shopping is done on a mobile or desktop device.
‘Personalized results increase conversion 21%’
The easiest way to implement personalization is with AI. An AI-driven online search can show personalized search results, which helps customers find what they are looking for. According to research, this can increase conversion by an average of 21 percent.
‘Displaying alternative products increases order values 5%.’
Another example of personalization is using data to display additional products on a product page, also known as cross-selling. Displaying alternative products when a product is not available can increase order values by 5 percent. It also increases the average revenue per visitor by 27 percent.
Ways to use AI in B2B
Intershop also lists other ways to use AI successfully, like proactively offering relevant information, making digital information easily findable and dynamic pricing. It can also be used to provide assisted self-service and smart assistants, to make the online shopping experience easier.
AI is also often used to send reminders for repeat purchases and to make repeat and bulk orders quick and easy. In B2B, it can also be used to display contract pricing or even customer-specific offers. That way, buyers have even more information available to them online.
Download the free “Personalization in B2B” whitepaper to learn more about how artificial intelligence can be leveraged to create a more personalized customer experience.
