How to win merchants on the B2B E-commerce scene
In today’s article, we’ll talk about somewhat unconventional ways to acquire B2B merchants in the E-commerce world without focusing on obvious search advertising, social media promotion and so on.
These are the ways that not everyone resorts to but it’s worth knowing them still, as our techniques could help you yield some nice fruit.
1) Blogging
Yeah, many people are talking about blogging. However, many B2B E-Commerce solution providers still shy away from it and do not use this tool to its full potential.
A blog is the channel that will allow you to communicate with online merchants gradually gaining their trust. Chances are that it might take a merchant a few months to come to a decision and actually make a purchase. And this is when your blog can really shine.
By having a popular blog, you will acquire a great number of loyal visitors who can ultimately turn into:
- Customers;
- Partners;
- People who will recommend you to their friends.
2) Newsletter
This technique is somewhat similar to blogging. The difference is that perhaps there will not be random visitors coming from Google search results to read your articles. Well, in addition, it is believed that newsletter subscribers are more loyal to you than regular blog visitors. Furthermore, the conversion rate in email marketing is quite high.
In general, a newsletter is definitely a more complex option as opposed to blogging. But other things being equal, it can produce much better results.
3) White Paper
This is a paper that should help online customers make a decision and opt for your E-commerce solution. Usually, it is not very extensive and it should literally consist of 6–8 pages while being presented in the PDF format.
There are different ways you can construct a White Paper, but basically, it should contain a general description of the merchant’s problem & a description of the solution. In addition, you may want to present your E-commerce solution in the most favorable light and include a call to action. Lastly, a White Paper should be available for download on your website.
4) Case Studies
This is a more advanced version of White Papers but, it is also more difficult to create these. In case studies, the main emphasis is on the fact that it is about a particular merchant on whose specific need you worked. In addition, you will also need to include some specific numbers describing how well you performed.
It probably goes without saying that you need to first get permission from the merchant before making their data public. In general, the structure of case studies is rather standard:
- Information about the merchant (a short story about their online store);
- Description of the problem;
- Why you were chosen to solve the problem;
- Description of what you did in connection with the merchant’s project;
- Results (figures, graphs, photos — you need bring the specifics);
- Merchant’s feedback on your work;
- Call to action.
5) Infographics
A proper distribution of infographics on different E-commerce websites helps in the sense that over time your E-commerce solution/agency can gain the status of a data provider — the guys who know what they are doing.
The method is fairly complex and time-consuming. In addition, it can hardly be regarded as an alternative to the aforementioned techniques in terms of efficiency. But it should not be discarded if you have the resources to invest into infographics.
In conclusion, we hope that you find our tips helpful and you will make use of them when marketing your solution on the Internet. Lastly, we would like to encourage you to learn about Actonlytics and how it helps B2B E-commerce solutions and agencies acquire new merchants.
