Designing the B2B Experience (Magento Imagine 2016)

I spent the last four years advocating for responsive design as a scalable strategy to beat consumer’s expectations in a multi-device world. The B2C world shifted dramatically from designing for a screen to designing for users, which put tremendous pressure on B2B businesses to keep pace.

My last two years were focused on the B2B space and extending the considerations of RWD to customers that behave differently than a consumer but have the same critical eye.

This presentation details my thought process designing the user experience and services for the B2B customer and what it really takes to beat the curve.

More info: http://gravitydept.com/blog/magento-imagine-2016

Conference: Magento Imagine 2016
Speaker: Brendan Falkowski @ http://gravitydept.com
Location: Las Vegas, USA
Date: April 12, 2016

Transcript

1. Designing the B2B Experience Brendan Falkowski Gravity Department Magento Imagine Las Vegas, USA April 12, 2016
2. Brendan Falkowski @Falkowski
3. GravityDept.com
4. Frontend Consulting For GEMAIRE
5. gravitydept.com/to/acumen Acumen Theme Acumen 2 (April 30) Powers 1400+ stores Supported for 6+ years
7. Advisory Board Member Magento Certification
8. 1. RWD as Multi-Device Strategy 2. Budgeting for RWD 3. RWD in the Trenches 4. Evolving RWD Strategy 5. RWD and RESS in the Enterprise 6. RWD Along the Conversion Path
9. I help companies solve business challenges with design.
10. Communication Information Persuasion Emotion Visuals Typography Interaction Motion Art direction User experience Bigger logos
11. Good design puts the business and customer on equal footing.
12. 2009 to 2013: B2C and RWD
16. What I learned designing for B2B
17. B2C Market
18. $341.7 B 2015 US retail eCommerce sales https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/17/us-e-commerce-grows-146-2015
19. https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/17/us-e-commerce-grows-146-2015
20. 7.3% eCommerce’s share in total US retail sales https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/17/us-e-commerce-grows-146-2015
21. 66.4% Total retail growth attributed to eCommerce https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/17/us-e-commerce-grows-146-2015
22. B2B Market
23. 30% of Magento Enterprise sites are B2B http://magento.com/blog/best-practices/10-ways-boost-b2b-shopping-experience
24. Retail e-commerce may still be sexier, but B2B is where the biggest sales and growth figures are. “ Paul Demery Managing Editor for B2B eCommerce Internet Retailer
25. $780 B 2015 US B2B online sales http://magento.com/blog/best-practices/10-ways-boost-b2b-shopping-experience
26. $1.13 T Projected US B2B online sales in 2020 https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce
27. $6.7 T Projected global B2B online sales in 2020 https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce
28. B2B Growth Segments
29. B2B growth will be driven by channel shift. https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce
30. Petroleum products Pharmaceuticals Top B2B categories today https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce
31. Motor vehicles + parts Electronics + parts Industrial machinery + parts Fastest growing B2B categories https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce
32. B2B Challenges
33. Site traffic Conversion rate Average order value 1. Revenue Growth
34. Buying Selling Growth 2. Complexity Management
35. Simplicity Visibility Personalization 3. Customer Experience Management
36. B2B businesses have more complexity and move slower
37. B2B technology often feels dated compared to B2C
38. B2C escalation is forcing B2B to change rapidly
39. B2B buyer expectations are anchored by B2C experiences
40. Under 33% B2B sites that invested in multi-device support https://www.b2becommerceworld.com/2015/11/23/b2b-e-commerce-sites-have-lots-upgrading-do
41. 18% B2B companies with native mobile apps https://www.b2becommerceworld.com/2015/11/23/b2b-e-commerce-sites-have-lots-upgrading-do
42. 26% B2B companies with responsive websites https://www.b2becommerceworld.com/2015/11/23/b2b-e-commerce-sites-have-lots-upgrading-do
43. B2B businesses need to leapfrog a generation of technology
44. 56% B2B buyers prefer to be purchasing online by 2017 http://magento.com/blog/best-practices/10-ways-boost-b2b-shopping-experience
45. 74% B2B buyers who research over half their purchases online https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce
46. 30% B2B buyers who can actually complete purchases online https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce
47. Shopping vs. Buying
48. Shopping noun: the action or activity of purchasing goods from stores
49. Consumers care about the store experience
50. Prices online are generally the same everywhere
51. When price/selection/quality are equal, services set you apart
53. Procurement
54. Constantly shopping around is expensive for businesses
55. Product specifications Quantity Price flexibility Need by date Supply location
56. Businesses prefer long-term relationships with suppliers
58. Revzilla builds trust through season after season of revised gear advice
59. I buy from Revzilla because their service is a reliable expert
60. A service is more valuable than your products
61. Manufacturers prefer to diversify their partnerships
62. Manufacturers selling direct online changes the landscape for distributors
63. Design services that are critical to your customer’s success
64. Stocking products and fulfilling orders isn’t enough anymore
65. Designing Services
66. Businesses need to be sold on the long-term relationship
67. One-off buyers can cost B2B sellers because their margins are low
68. Stable buying patterns come from building indispensable services
69. 1. Onboarding customers 2. Onboarding employees 3. Data advantage 4. Wayfinding and search 5. Personalization 6. Real-time pricing and inventory 7. Power user features 8. Merchandising 9. Omni-channel efficiency
70. Onboarding Customers
71. 44% B2B buyers say onboarding is too complex Oracle, “Taking the Wheel” B2B report
72. Customer acquisition is hard: 1. Value is hidden 2. Complex registration
73. They buy below minimum quantities Restricted by partner agreements Products require a license/authority to buy B2B sellers may block consumers completely because:
74. B2B sites may sell to consumers with different terms and pricing
75. Selling direct to consumers will frustrate B2B buyers who markup products
76. These challenges add complexity to B2B onboarding
77. New Customers
78. Tell customers everything they will need before they start registration
79. Avoid delays between registration and activation
80. Consider disabling order functionality pre-activation so new users can still explore
81. Automate contract creation if possible
82. Standardized terms enable a customer to start buying immediately
83. Existing Customers
84. Don’t assume existing customers will adopt new services
85. Build a pathway so existing customers can link their offline accounts together online
86. Be liberal when accepting account info for verification
87. Picky validation frustrates legitimate customers
88. The best way to onboard existing customers is making accounts for them
89. Sales reps should schedule time to promote and demonstrate online ordering’s benefits
90. Onboarding is an opportunity to redefine the sales relationship + get raw feedback
91. Onboarding Employees
92. https://www.b2becommerceworld.com/commentary/2016/03/07/building-b2b-e-commerce-site-get-your-employees-board If you don't get nearly all of your employees supporting your e-commerce initiative, it's not going to have legs. “ Michael Mayer Director, E-business Strategy & Commerce Crescent Electric Supply Co.
93. Didn’t know what we rolled out Didn’t know how it helped customers Couldn't support customers using it They didn't feel any ownership of the service To them, the eCommerce channel was a competitor Employees in the dark
94. Source
95. Educate early not after introducing eCommerce to customers
96. Create opportunities for employees to invest in ownership of the system
97. Record training to make onboarding new employees easier
98. Don’t be surprised or worried by channel shift
99. Sales attribution models need to reflect the changing weight of channels
100. Sales’ role will shift from quoting/ordering to being more proactive about customer needs
101. Not inviting salespeople inside eCommerce is setting them up for failure
102. Data Advantage
103. Omni-channel customers need service consistency to transact fluidly
104. PIM Product Information Management
105. Develop a process to intake, evaluate, and normalize product info from vendors
106. akeneo.com pimcore.org informatica.com cobby.io
107. Wayfinding and Search
108. Hierarchical navigation is less important for B2B buyers
109. Most B2B sessions start with search
110. B2B buyers often know the exact product needed before reaching your site
114. Query highlighting Search scopes Result types Search Enhancements http://baymard.com/blog/autocomplete-design
115. Search needs to behave consistently between websites and apps
116. homedepot.com search scopes suggested queries products categories brands
117. m.homedepot.com suggested queries categories brands
118. Home Depot iOS app suggested queries
119. Home Depot makes it harder to search for products on their mobile services
120. Their native apps actually have the weakest search
121. Multiple platforms and search implementations will disconnect customers
124. Personalization
125. Any offering that adapts to the customer is personalization
126. 1. Algorithmic merchandising 2. Crowd sourced buying 3. On demand production
127. Convert better relative to the user’s journey. Increase order value when suggested together. Higher margin or clearance priority that are equivalent. 1. Algorithmic Merchandising
128. Shield the maker from inefficiencies of finding market fit 2. Crowd Sourced Buying
130. 3. On Demand Production and Customization
132. Source
135. Source
136. Real-time Pricing and Inventory
137. Actionable self-service quotes mean your doors never close
138. 50% B2B buyers say personalization is a key reason they choose suppliers Oracle, “Taking the Wheel” B2B report
139. List / trade price Negotiated price Direct sales Quantity-based pricing Pricing tiers by annual sales volume Pricing
140. Warehouse management Freight or parcel delivery estimates Store / warehouse pickup Governmental licensing for hazardous materials Contractual restrictions to sell in territory Fulfillment
141. Legacy terms may need to be grandfathered or renegotiated online
142. Customers expect the same services and accommodations they receive offline
143. Digital services must be an order of magnitude better than calling a sales rep
144. B2C customers generally only care about inventory if an item is out of stock
145. There are too many variables with personalization not to calculate real-time quotes
146. Real-time processing is slow, so load personalized content asynchronously
147. Power User Features
148. “Add to Cart” is a bottleneck for high volume buyers
149. Enable re-buying of past orders Order History
150. Convert past orders to subscriptions
151. Quick Order
155. Wish lists can be supercharged for B2B buyers
162. Enable merging, splitting, and renaming lists
163. Listen for customer feedback
164. Merchandising
167. PIM systems turn connected data into merchandising advantages
168. Product History
171. B2B buyers appreciate tools that help them purchase smarter in the future
172. Omni-Channel Efficiency
173. Support teams need training and authority to resolve issues across channels
174. $4.7 B Home Depot online sales 2015 https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/24/mobile-sparks-q4-sales-home-depot
175. 5.3% Home Depot online sales from total revenue https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/24/mobile-sparks-q4-sales-home-depot
176. https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/24/mobile-sparks-q4-sales-home-depot Over 40% of our online orders actually end up in the store in some way, shape or form. “ Kevin Hoffman President of Online Operations Home Depot
177. It’s your job to make channels seamless
178. Buyer Demographics
179. 56% B2B executives say some customers can only be served online https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce
180. Consider who will leave and join the workforce in 5-10 years
181. Millennials are the first generation where internet use will become universal http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/22/key-takeaways-global-tech/
182. 72% US adults with smartphones http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/08/one-fifth-of-americans-report-going-online-almost-constantly/
183. 92% US millennials with smartphones http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/08/one-fifth-of-americans-report-going-online-almost-constantly/
184. 75% Millennials have purchased from phones http://insights.mobify.com/16-stats-to-convince-your-boss-to-invest-in-mobile-in-2016/
185. 36% 18–29 year olds who report being online “almost constantly” http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/08/one-fifth-of-americans-report-going-online-almost-constantly/
186. Under 35 Average age of B2B buyer Oracle, “Taking the Wheel” B2B report
187. 34% Millennials in US labor force http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/
188. Millennials represent more of the labor force than Baby Boomers or Generation X http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/
189. Technology will push out businesses that can’t adapt
190. 74% B2B buyers who prefer researching online vs. talking to sales reps Oracle, “Taking the Wheel” B2B report
191. Digital services will be a major factor when B2B buyers choose suppliers
192. Wrapping Up
193. Designing services adds value to your business + your customer’s business
194. Thank you
195. Q&A
196. Gravity Department GravityDept gravitydept.com magefrontend.com Brendan Falkowski Falkowski