Customer Interaction for B2B
How B2B is different from dealing with consumers directly when it comes to Customer Interaction?
Business-to-business vendors seem unaware that corporate purchasing decisions are made by human beings. Corporate buyers accustomed to easy, quick, and customized online transactions from sites targeting consumers now demand the same or better customer experience in digital business transactions.
For most B2B companies, meeting these customer expectations for consumer-level experiences will be difficult. To succeed, they need to personalize and customize their digital interaction process through high-performance technology and customer-centered business models.
As customer expectations evolve and technological advances create new possibilities, the foundations of an efficient, responsive, personalized customer experience in B2B transactions and interactions must take shape. Like their counterparts in the consumer market, B2B companies will need to shift to a human-centered design model and make effective use of internal streamlined processes, automation & integration, artificial intelligence & analytics, and other tools to discern customer needs and predict buying behavior.
Three Driving Forces in B2B Markets
In order to capitalize on opportunities offered by meeting B2B customer expectations, companies need to understand three fundamental drivers of customer interaction and experience trends in B2B markets.
Consumerization of customer expectations. Widespread digital technology adoption and automation of many commercial and business interactions has affected the way businesses purchase products and services. Increasingly, they think and act like consumers — accustomed to fast, seamless online transactions, fulfillment, and account servicing tailored to their unique specifications. Yet according to Salesforce, less than 30% of B2B customers say suppliers provide excellent customer experience.
More than 80% of business purchasers surveyed by Salesforce want consumer-level customer experience, and two-thirds have switched vendors to get it.
Improving customer experience through better technology and automation represents a huge opportunity for most B2B businesses.
Distinct characteristics of B2B purchasing. Business customers expect a customer experience as consumers, but they don’t always act like consumers. Fundamental differences exist in their purchasing behavior, transaction processes, and decision-making dynamics.
Consumers typically base decisions on vaguely defined factors: price, perceived quality, or a product’s attractiveness. Business buyers have complex, specific requirements for product characteristics: price and payment terms, service levels, legal and tax considerations, and logistical needs.
B2B relationships are also more complex than those with consumers. A single consumer usually makes purchasing decisions, while B2B purchases often require input and approvals from stakeholders throughout the company.
Evolving analytics and algorithms. Big data analytics, coupled with algorithmic decision-making, reshape both sides of B2B interactions. More corporate buyers use these tools to optimize purchasing, while sellers use them to predict purchasing trends and personalize products and services. Analytics gather, enrich, and synthesize customer data, revealing patterns in customer buying behavior and illuminating sales and service opportunities.
Algorithms turn insights into action, triggering automatic responses to customer needs highlighted by analytics platforms. An effective combination of analytics and algorithms helps sellers develop and present timely, highly customized offers in frictionless, automated customer experiences.
When you are doing B2B, Customer Interaction System should be shaped around those three driving trends and forces:(1)Consumerization of customer expectations (2)Minding the specificity of B2B purchasing (3)Evolving analytics and algorithms
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