Half of all business-to-business (B2B) companies currently selling online expect that half or more of their total customer base will be using the online channel to buy from them within three years.In addition, B2B companies are already seeing average annual online sales growth of 19%, according to a new Forrester/Internet Retailer survey of 100-plus B2B e-commerce professionals.
But with the shift to online selling comes a slew of complications to the B2B ecosystem, where B2B buyers increasingly bring their B2C expectations to the workplace.
And, to make things more difficult, B2B companies must not only find a way to meet these expectations but must do so while competing with Amazon and Google, which are each stealing market share and controlling B2B lead generation.
According to the study, while 48% of B2B e-commerce executives say they deliver a “better” customer experience than their direct B2B competitors, just 17% indicate that their company’s customer experience is “better” than Amazon’s.
B2B execs must also prepare for mobile’s impact – Forrester anticipates B2B mobile traffic will soon match the 22% currently seen in the B2C environment.