We all knew that eventually a time would arrive when boomers retire and millennial presence in the workplace grows. Well, that time is now. Born between 1981 and 1997, millennials represent America’s largest population and account for 25% of the workforce, and they are making drastic changes to the B2B digital commerce landscape.
Since 73% of millennials are involved in B2B purchasing decisions, B2B companies must keep pace with new buyer demands, especially as it relates to e-commerce experiences.
Let’s take a look at the habits of this new buyer group, and their B2B e-commerce expectations.
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Forget traditional sales: Digital presence is key
Wondering why modern B2B digital commerce is so important? Millennials will be more than halfway through the buying process before they even contact someone at your business – if they contact you directly at all.
Fiercely independent, millennials will approach you when they’re ready to buy, and you can expect that when they do, they’ll be informed about your product, the services offered to them, and what your competitors offer as well thanks to their online research savvy.
Citing internet search and vendor websites as the top two means of gathering information about products and services, the first step in the millennial buying process involves scouring the web. Seventy-four percent of millennials say that buying from a website is much more convenient than buying from a sales representative, so there simply isn’t anymore time to wait to update your B2B e-commerce site.
Forget cold calling – digital presence is key when appealing to millennials. Adopting a B2B SEO practice, blog, and thought leadership strategy will ensure that your company ranks when these new buyers begin looking for your products or services. Harnessing the power of marketing automation tools, you can track how millennial prospects consume content, enabling a data-driven marketing approach that responds to buyer behaviors.
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You must up your e-commerce experience
Heavy Amazon users, millennials list Amazon as the most essential app that they can’t go without. That being said, they expect that their B2B experiences will offer the same personalized environment and customer experience.
Here are three best e-commerce practices that your B2B business should adopt:
- Simplified online checkout process: Abandoned online shopping carts is a fatal flaw for many e-commerce sites. Amazon combats this issue with a one-click checkout process – and so can you. The average large-sized e-commerce site can gain a 35.26% increase in conversion rates though better checkout design.
- Personalization: The moment that you log into your account, Amazon feels personal to the user. By recommending products based on past site behaviors and conversions, and making your account information easily accessible, Amazon offers familiarity and consistency to their users. Likewise, when B2B enterprises display personalized product and service assortments, average order sizes are proven to increase.
- Advanced search: As Amazon collects customer information, they tailor search results to end-users’ preferences and needs. By adopting this feature, your B2B organization can make it quick and simple to find what the user is looking for, ultimately driving conversions.
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If you don’t have B2B digital commerce, you don’t have a path to success
Today’s millennial B2B buyer has redefined what a great customer experience entails. The overwhelming majority of millennials prefer to make transactions online, and organizations are rising to the occasion with 3/4 of B2B firms are already upgrading their e-commerce platform or planning to within 3 years.
If your B2B enterprise is considering digital transformation, you’ve got to know what questions to ask in order to guarantee success with the next generation of buyers. The next updates to your e-commerce platform could be your last if you don’t plan accordingly.