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Our team at Aleran recently sat down with Kurt Dressel, an independent industry consultant specializing in B2B Commerce.
He and Tarak Patel, VP of Product at Aleran Software, discussed how manufacturers can take advantage of digital technologies to improve sales through improving customer experience.
In this first video segment, they covered the best practices to adopt B2B eCommerce for manufacturers in 2024.
We often hear about the complexity of the B2B buying journey with buyers often touching 10 or more channels during their consideration. Why is understanding the buyer journey so important for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors?
The B2B journey is more complex than B2C. But having that said, understanding the journey is critical – and that is because it is always human to human.
Also, as our personal and professional lives are more intertwined, B2B sales must make the process much easier and simple for buyers to take action.
Dressel also advised manufacturers develop and deliver content that helps them and adds value – and that can be shared with stakeholders with whom they need to create relationships for buy in.
Traditionally, manufacturers have relied on channel partners to help sell their product – an important role in the buying journey. But with B2B eCommerce, it offers more avenues for buyers to evaluate and shop. How do you advise manufacturers navigate the potential concerns of channel partners?
While we’ve previously spoken about the need of sales teams to be engaged early and often, the same is true for channel partners, said Dressel.
“Manufacturers need to create a new game plan custom for their organization to communicate early and often. Taking this kind of proactive approach will help create dividents in trust, deeper relationships and overall shared sales success.”
How can manufacturers begin to estimate the ROI from B2B eCommerce and multi-channel sales?
Patel reported this comes up often in discussions with manufacturers.
“In fact, we developed an online ROI calculator so manufacturers can see what the sales lift would be with Aleran’s platform,” said Patel.
“Understanding the ROI is important with the buying committee to ensure there is clear alignment among stakeholders and that requirements are also clear. The need: deliver results quickly and avoid surprises.”
For more, here is a link to the Aleran ROI Calculator. Check out our “Ultimate Guide for B2B eCommerce for Manufacturers” for even more to drive your 2024 sales success. To learn more about the solutions discussed here, browse our website or reach out to us to get started.
