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B2B E-Commerce Personalization:

Trends and Best Practices

B2B E-COMMERCE PERSONALIZATION: TRENDS AND BEST PRACTICES | 2 © 2016 EVERGAGE, INC

B2B E-Commerce Personalization: Trends and Best Practices

It may not be well publicized, but business-to-business (B2B) global e-commerce revenues

exceed business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce revenues…by a large margin. In fact, by 2020

the B2B e-commerce market is expected to be twice as large as the B2C e-commerce market,

according to Frost & Sullivan, at $6.7 trillion vs. $3.2 trillion globally.

It’s no surprise, then, that e-commerce giants like Amazon are making aggressive plays

to dominate the B2B market. And they’re doing it using their own proven successful B2C tactics.

Amazon Supply, for instance, offers detailed specifications, customer reviews and free shipping on orders

over $50 – which is very similar to the favorite features everyday Amazon consumers enjoy. Along the

same lines, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba – which does more trade volume than Amazon and

eBay combined – has made a name for itself with $27B in B2B transactions in 2015.

Of particular interest and importance is the growing use of personalization among

B2B e-commerce sites – leveraging many B2C tactics while accommodating the unique aspects of

B2B transactions. According to Gartner Research, by 2018 more than 70% of B2B e-commerce companies

will offer personalization features for customers. What’s more, companies with effective personalization

are expected to outsell lagging competitors by nearly one-third.

So, what does personalization look like in B2B e-commerce, what trends and best practices are emerging,

and how is it similar and different from B2C environments. Let’s take a closer look.


B2B e-commerce combines elements of a traditional B2C

online store with elements of a software-as-a-service (SaaS)

solution. Business customers not only access the front-

end website like typical shoppers, but they also research,

discover and place orders from the logged-in area of a B2B

site. Therefore, it’s important to be able to monitor shopper

behavior and deliver personalized experiences on both

channels.

The best B2B e-commerce personalization programs incorporate a hybrid approach of both B2B and B2C tactics. Solely relying on one or the other will lead to missed opportunities in forging long-term

relationships and generating incremental revenue. When planning and implementing personalization for B2B e-commerce, the following unique aspects need to be taken into consideration:

Business relationship details are often formalized in annual contracts. These contracts commonly address details that need to

be factored into a successful B2B e-commerce personalization strategy. Examples include:

Although e-commerce makes it easy for businesses to quickly purchase goods on their own, accounts are often managed by

an account representative. And in order for the representative to provide responsive service, help increase customer value, and

minimize churn, it’s important that he have access to account-level behavioral insights as well as relevant order history data. Since

most companies use a CRM application to help manage accounts, it is critical to be able to pass details into and out of the system.

Whereas traditional B2C retailers cater to individual

shoppers, successful B2B companies must cater to both

business “accounts” and their “employees” (or individuals

authorized to make purchases under the account). Tracking,

understanding and responding to business customers needs

to occur at multiple levels.

What Makes B2B E-commerce Unique

Store + SaaS Individuals + Accounts

Contracts

Account Management

PRICING

Assuming larger order volumes and the importance

of loyalty, B2B e-commerce companies often

provide discounts or negotiate special pricing.

In these situations, pricing is different from what

is typically displayed on a website. As such, B2B

retailers must be able to adjust pricing details in

real time based on the account.

INVENTORY

Whoever negotiates a contract with a vendor

– whether the business owner or procurement

department – may choose to limit the types of

products that can be purchased. Because of this,

suppliers should to be able to control the

catalog of products displayed to specific accounts.

ROLES & PERMISSIONS

It’s common for individuals associated with a

particular account to have different roles and

permissions. An account administrator, for instance,

may define which products an individual within a

particular department can purchase and/or certain

spending thresholds before approvals are needed.

Companies at the forefront of B2B e-commerce

accommodate different shopper classifications.


Lifecycle & Account-level Recognition in Real Time An important objective of B2B e-commerce marketers should

not necessarily be to target an individual; rather, the goal should

be to target groups of people associated with a company (or an

“account”). After all, most companies employ more than one person.

Equally important is being able to recognize business shoppers

based on the stage of their relationship, or lifecycle, with the vendor.

Among other things, these details can be used to recognize and

respond to situations when more than one person from a company

has shown interest in a particular product, to ease the onboarding

of new customers, or to preemptively troubleshoot issues.

When your e-commerce site is able to recognize users at both the

lifecycle stage and the account level – as well as the individual

level – it means you can also offer personalized, account-specific

experiences. For example, particular brands and categories or

pre-negotiated pricing may be shown to certain accounts. Special

incentives may also be offered to select accounts (e.g., new vs.

established customers, or high volume purchasers) that may not

be broadly communicated. Automatically recognizing and applying

the appropriate pricing and product selection in real time improves

loyalty and efficiency with business accounts.

Recognize individuals and accounts

Deliver personalized account-specific experiences

Showcase approved brands and categoriesOffice Manager

OMNI CORP


Relevant, Account-appropriate Product Recommendations

Promote individualized product recommendations

Limit recommendations only to approved products

Recommend industry-related productsOffice Manager

OMNI CORP

Business buyers respond to many of the same personalization

strategies that are effective in B2C e-commerce, such as relevant

product recommendations. Whether placed on the homepage, a

product detail page, or on the order confirmation page, effective

recommendations need to consider an individual’s personal

shopping preferences – similar to a B2C-focused site – as well as

details like a company’s purchase history, industry, and any pre-

negotiated terms. For example, if a shopper works for a restaurant,

recommended items could be limited to those related to that

industry and/or take into consideration what the

shopper’s coworkers have viewed or purchased.

The B2C practice of up-selling or cross-selling complementary

products using recommendation algorithms may be even more

important to B2B commerce. Why? Because it demonstrates an

effort on the seller’s part to provide added value and help the

buyer be more effective at his or her job. Done well, personalized

recommendations can act like a personal assistant helping business

buyers save time and money and make better decisions.


Responding “In the Moment” Based on Industry & Behavior

Recognize company and industry based on IP address

Personalize experiences based on behavioral patterns

Prioritize recommendations according to interests/industryGeneral ManagerOMNI RESTAURANT

While it’s important to target “known” business customers using

both their individual behavior and the account to which they belong,

it’s imperative that B2B retailers be able to respond to “unknown”

visitors, or prospective customers, the moment they arrive on your

site.

When new visitors arrive, for instance, with the right technology

you can detect their industry and company name based on their

IP address. Then, with real-time personalization, you can instantly

adjust their experiences to be more relevant. Case in point: a

shopper from a hospital can see a home page headline and main

image about healthcare-specific products, while someone from a

manufacturer might see featured content about factory supplies.

Furthermore, with personalization technology that processes and

interprets online behavior in real time, your e-commerce site can

learn what visitors are looking for and respond – in milliseconds –

with relevant content, incentives and product suggestions. If the

healthcare visitor starts looking for “drapes,” it very likely could

be that they are looking for surgical drapes or privacy drapes for

patient rooms, as opposed to window drapes. So you could start

to suggest pertinent products. And once they demonstrate a

preference for, let’s say, the surgical drapes based on products they

spend the most time on, you can refine your product suggestions

and perhaps even present a new customer incentive or offer.


Order Anticipation & Predictive Offers

Offer a personalized boutique

Suggest reordering of previously purchased items

Customize search results based on approved products

General ManagerOMNI RESTAURANT

The ability to anticipate the needs of the business buyer can help

to cultivate long-term relationships. Whereas recommendations

aimed at cross-selling are designed to anticipate needs associated

with a one-time order (e.g., recommending a rack following an order

of rack-mounted servers), a sophisticated B2B e-commerce site

should be able to anticipate a customer’s needs based on previous

and current site behavior, purchase history and predictability of use.

There are a couple ways to cater to business buyers at this level.

One way would be to offer returning shoppers a customized

store or “boutique” (e.g., a store within a store) that could include

approved items they are allowed to purchase on behalf of their

company, products they (or someone at their company) recently

viewed or purchased, or even items based on common buying

patterns (e.g., the shopper typically buys in bulk). Another approach

could simply include organizing search results based on similar

parameters (e.g., approved products or those the shopper has

expressed interest in). A B2B e-commerce site might also predict

the time to reorder a product. So, if an office manager orders 20

reams of copy paper approximately every 45 days, you could make

an offer to re-order paper via email or an online message after 40

days. Or, in an effort to increase order size, you could present a

discounted offer after 35 days or 25 reams. Paper is an easy way to

demonstrate this value, but imagine the revenue benefits if you can

use this personalization tactic to increase order size or frequency

for machine parts, chemicals and other items with higher margins

that require regular replenishment.

Implementing a boutique, customizing search results, and

anticipating a customer’s next order are all ways to streamline

the discovery and checkout process for the buyer while driving

incremental revenue for your business.


Testing and Optimization Combining A/B and multivariate testing with personalization can

be particularly powerful. It allows you to test personalized content,

offers, messaging, and even product recommendation strategies.

Targeted testing helps you find the optimal experience and moment

for reaching different audiences. Personalization strategies can

also vary from account to account, so being able to test at the

account level is particularly important if you’re looking to optimize

conversions.

Targeted testing is important to understand what’s working best,

what’s not working, and where to make adjustments to optimize

results. Effective personalization tactics deployed to one particular

segment on a B2B e-commerce site, like first-time visitors, might

not be effective on another, such as returning customers. And some

groups of customers, like healthcare accounts, might not be as

responsive to special offers as, say, small business accounts.

A/B and multivariate testing can help you determine which

campaigns are outperforming the control so that you can deploy

those personalized experiences that are most successful. The

key is to set goals and use testing to assess the most effective

personalization strategies.

When you have a deeper understanding of the customers

visiting your site, it enhances the possibilities for testing promotions,

messages, recommendations and more. According to Forrester

Research, as more B2B e-commerce companies pursue web

personalization, we can expect to see more of the best practices

that are used in B2C e-commerce, including customer reviews,

interactive catalogs, and real-time inventory availability. With

personalization, you can ensure this type of information is

directed at the right audiences at the ideal moments.

Test Candidate A Test Candidate B

Run A/B and multivariate tests

Test recommendation strategies

Restrict tests to specific accounts or segments

Office ManagerOMNI CORP


Personalization has changed B2C e-commerce by making dynamic customer experiences an important part

of the value proposition for consumers. The same can be said about the emerging presence of personalization

strategies for B2B e-commerce. It is not just about selling more products or increasing order size, it is also about

making the customer’s job easier and developing better, longer term customer relationships. And those companies

that get it right are almost assured to realize greater revenues and produce a more loyal customer base.

Evergage can help you implement an industry-leading B2B personalization strategy that will outpace your

competition. We not only provide an industry-leading, comprehensive personalization platform for B2B and B2C

companies, we truly understand personalization, the many ways to employ it (and not to employ it), and

the value it can bring to our clients and their customers.

CRM Synchronization

Although B2B e-commerce has simplified the buying process for

many companies – by removing steps in the process and often

multiple sales rep interactions – most business customers are still

overseen and managed by an account representative who remains

actively involved. In fact, the account representative is often

responsible for winning the business, negotiating contract terms,

and maintaining customer satisfaction. As such, it’s imperative

that he or she has insight into account status – both in terms of

transaction volumes and digital engagement. Using these insights,

the representative or other staff members can monitor the overall

health of an account and intervene if and when needed.

To this end, it’s important for both the B2B retailer and account

managers to maintain regular visibility into important accounts.

And since CRM applications are essential for managing

relationships, this information should appear in a manner

that is familiar to the CRM users.

Although the primary use case for a personalization solution is

to deliver unique individualized and account-level experiences,

the analytics data collected can be relevant for “off-line” use as

well. For instance, the solution can analyze behavior at both

the individual and account level and, through easy-to-set-up

integrations, send important statistics and behavioral data to the

company’s CRM system. So, for example, if a customer whose

contract is coming up for renewal has not been engaged online

recently, an account representative can be notified in time –

through the CRM – to take action to improve the relationship.

Make Personalization a Top Priority


About Evergage Evergage’s cloud-based platform empowers e-commerce companies to convert

more shoppers into buyers and increase average order values with real-time 1:1

personalization based on deep behavioral analytics and customer data.

Contact Evergage at 888-310-0589 to speak to an expert about your needs today!

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