Customer service has always been important for B2B sellers, but the demands of B2B buyers have shifted in line with what they have come to expect from their experience as consumers. Corbin Murakami, Sr. Product Manager of Commerce at Liferay, tells us why an excellent customer experience is the key to B2B success.
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
- 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)
- 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)
- CX is considered very important by 86% of B2B CMOs, but 57% of those reported only marginal CX performance. (Accenture, 2019)
- Specifically, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for great customer experience. (PWC, 2018)
- By the end of 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. (Walker, 2020)
Complexity of the buyer journey
- At least 80% of B2B buyers are not only looking for but expect a buying experience like that of a B2C customer. (Lumoa, 2019)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
Omnichannel offerings and experiences
- In their 2020 report, PWC found that the number of companies investing in the omnichannel experience has jumped from 20% to more than 80%. (PWC, 2019)
- 46% will leave a website because of a lack of message (it’s not clear what the company does), and 37% will leave because of poor design or navigation. (Blue Corona, 2018)
- 80% of B2B buyers are using mobile at work, and more than 60% report that mobile has played a significant role in a recent purchase. (Boston Consulting Group, 2018)
- 91% of B2B buyer searches are carried out on a mobile device. (Frost & Sullivan, 2020)
- More than 90% of buyers say they’re likely to buy again from a vendor that had a superior mobile experience, compared to just 50% of those who report a poor experience. (BCG, 2017)
Future of B2B e-commerce
- Gartner has predicted that B2B companies with e-commerce personalization will outsell by 30% competitors that are not providing a personalized experience. (Lumoa, 2019)
- By 2025, 72% of sellers expect the majority of their business revenue to come from e-commerce sites. (Digital Commerce360, 2019)
- Furthermore, 91% of customers would use an online knowledge base, if it were available and tailored to their needs. (ZenDesk, 2019)
- Weighed on a five-point scale, B2B buyers rank the importance of self-service tools at 4.41 and knowledgeable sales reps at 4.35. Coming in for third place is 24/7 service, which scored a value of 4.21. (Digital Commerce 360, 2019)
- 26% of B2B online purchasers think their company’s online purchase volume (total $) will increase in the coming year. (Digital Commerce 360, 2019)
Turning data into action
As shown by these statistics, the B2B customer experience (CX) has become top of mind and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Make the most of your B2B relationships by creating easy buying experiences akin to B2C but keep a careful eye on the factors that make the B2B buyer journey unique.
Corbin Murakami is a Sr. Product Manager at Liferay, a software company that helps businesses develop and realize Digital Transformation strategies. He oversees the vision and strategy for Liferay Commerce.
