Update: B2B-Portals and Web shops – Currently more important than ever

Did you know that online platforms are now the most widely used distribution channel? According to statista.de, more than 40% of all company purchases are processed via B2B portals. This sales channel thus occupies first place in the rankings - ahead of written, phone or personal orders.

It is obvious that e-commerce platforms have become much more important in recent weeks - and feedback from our customers confirms this. But why are B2B portals and web shops in general experiencing this boom? Is personal contact no longer important? And if you do not have a B2B platform yet: How can this be activated promptly?

An important finding of the current situation is that sales and marketing are moving closer together. In times when personal on-site appointments are no longer possible, customers are breaking new ground - digital paths. But this is nothing new. It is rather a trend that has accelerated in recent weeks and months. The keyword here is: 24/7 self-service. National and international buyers of your customers use the Internet around the clock.

Only if your marketing activities and sales offers are coordinated and available in a digital form you will achieve the two essential goals: To retain your existing customers, because everything they are looking for (and hopefully a little more) will be found - and to attract new customers to your products and services. In this context one also speaks of a successful "Customer Journey", a digital journey of your customers to the point of purchase, which extends over several contact points.

One of the most important contact points is an integrated webshop. It can be set up in a few days with dedicated e-business solutions such as Sana Commerce. Seamless integration into existing ERP systems such as Microsoft Dynamics NAV or Business Central is crucial. This allows you to easily add an online version to your classic sales channels. You then may offer your customers and prospects a central platform with the following advantages:

• Inspection of stock levels and detailed catalogue information
• Access to the order history
• Easy upselling - related products at a glance
• Open 24/7 for your customers incl. orders outside business hours

If you have not invested in a digital customer journey so far, you should consider this possibility now. It may still be possible in the short term to retain customers through good contacts and with great personal commitment. In the mid-term, however, these customers could migrate to your competitors who are ahead of you in terms of modern online sales channels. The hurdles are conceivably low: e-commerce systems are quickly implemented and do not cost much. Two more reasons, then, not to ask the question of why - but only when.

We at COSMO CONSULT as a your innovative end-to-end solution provider, have been digitally available to our customers around the clock since 2018: on our COSMO Marketplace.