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B2B commerce is experiencing a reformation. A new online- › B2B companies that wait too long to implement
driven and omni-channel-centric paradigm has emerged — eCommerce assume a big risk. Every day that B2B
one in which the longer and more often B2B companies sell companies fail to offer a compelling B2B eCommerce
online, the more pronounced and disproportionate the experience, they fall farther behind more advanced
positive results are. competitors. Specifically, they risk losing market share to
B2B rivals already executing an eCommerce strategy and
A profound shift in customer behavior from offline to online B2B versions of consumer websites that have recently
channels is fundamentally changing the way in which B2B emerged in the B2B space. For B2B distributors and
companies interact with, sell products and services to, and wholesalers in particular that rely on adding value as
build loyalty with their B2B customers. In short, online and middlemen, failing to exploit online and mobile as leading
mobile are radically remaking the B2B commerce channels for driving customer engagement represents an
proposition. existential threat to their businesses.
In May 2013, hybris commissioned a study by
Forrester Consulting to explore what impact online and
mobile is having on how B2B companies sell their products
and services. To that end, Forrester Consulting surveyed
717 B2B companies across North America, EMEA, and
Asia Pacific — including 353 companies currently selling
direct to businesses online.
KEY FINDINGS
Forrester’s study yielded three key findings:
FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
The Majority Of B2B Companies Are Ending Print eCommerce Is Fundamentally Changing B2B
Catalogs Within Five Years Commerce
B2B Customers Are Establishing A forcing B2B companies to develop and execute their
mobile strategy in parallel with their online strategy.
New B2B Buyer Journey
FIGURE 3
Today’s B2B customers are emulating B2C consumers and
50% Of B2B Companies Say Their Customers Use
fundamentally transitioning their browsing and buying into B2C And B2B Websites To Buy For Work
online and mobile environments. This dramatic shift— from
traditional top-of-the-funnel activity based on searching print
catalogs and talking to sales representatives, to starting the
browse process by performing digital searches— is
remaking the B2B buyer journey. In fact, Forrester’s
research shows that no less than a sea change in B2B
buyer behavior is taking place, one reflective of a continuing
shift in decision-making power in organizations away from
central authorities and toward end users. According to B2B
companies around the world that currently sell direct to
business partners online, today’s B2B end user customers
are:
› Browsing and buying on B2C and B2C-like B2B Base: 353 online B2B companies around the world
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on
websites. Fifty percent of B2B companies currently
behalf of hybris, September 2013
selling direct to business partners online indicated that
their end user B2B customers are using either consumer
websites or B2B versions of consumer websites to
purchase products or services for their companies (see FIGURE 4
Figure 3). Similarly, nearly one-half of B2B companies B2B Customers Are Using Mobile Devices To
said that their customers are “starting” their research at Research And Buy Products Online
2
consumer websites. Further, Forrester’s research shows
that the more B2B companies sell online, the more likely
their customers are to shop in these nontraditional
3
channels.
FIGURE 6 FIGURE 7
Online-Only Customers Are More Active Than Online-Only Customers Have Higher AOVs Than
Offline-Only Customers Offline-Only Customers
Base: 353 online B2B companies around the world (147 B2B companies
with greater than 25% of sales online, 156 B2B companies that have been
selling online for five years or more)
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on
behalf of hybris, September 2013
FIGURE 8
It’s Easier To Reach Customers With Cross-Sell
And Upsell Offers Online Than Offline
Base: 353 online B2B companies around the world (147 B2B companies
with greater than 25% of sales online, 156 B2B companies that have been
selling online for five years or more)
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on
behalf of hybris, September 2013
FIGURE 9
B2B Companies Can Online Than Offline More
Effectively Build Loyalty
Base: 353 online B2B companies around the world (147 B2B companies
with greater than 25% of sales online, 156 B2B companies that have been
selling online for five years or more)
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on
behalf of hybris, September 2013
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Demand Is Growing Rapidly For smartphone — a number that rises to 65% for B2B
companies that book more than 25% of their business
Web-Based Self-Service Capabilities online. B2B companies are finding that the more they sell
online and the longer they sell online, the more demand
By large margins, B2B companies say that “our customers they see from their B2B customers for online and mobile
are asking us to offer them greater ability to buy online.” A product purchase environments.
majority of B2B companies across the board indicate that
their customers want new and better self-service tools in › Make it possible to get customer service online and
order to research, buy, and get customer service. In a new on mobile phones. B2B customer demands for self-
world of 24x7x365 “whenever and wherever” commerce, service tools are not limited to researching and buying
B2B customers are increasingly demanding tools and environments. B2B customers today are increasingly
technologies capable of serving them on their own terms — expecting B2B companies to make the complete
which means online and on mobile phones. B2B companies customer interaction lifecycle web-centric — from the top
today are being asked to offer self-service eCommerce of the marketing funnel to the bottom. For example, a
technologies that: majority of B2B companies currently selling direct to
business partners online report that their customers want
› Facilitate online buying experiences. Forrester found self-service tools in order to receive customer service
that 62% of B2B companies currently selling direct to online and on smartphones. Tellingly, 35% of B2B
business partners online say that their customers want companies that are not currently selling online said that
self-service tools for buying online (see Figure 10). For their B2B customers want the ability to get customer
B2B companies that have been selling online for five service online, and 25% said that their customers want to
years or more, the percentage rises to 71%. Moreover, get customer service on their smartphones.
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FIGURE 10
B2B Customers Want Self-Service Tools In Order To Get Customer Service Online And On Mobile Phones
Key Recommendations
With unprecedented numbers of B2B customers beginning the search process online at mostly big B2C and
specialized B2B websites, B2B companies are being forced to rethink the fundamentals of their go-to-market
strategies. For B2B companies that are early into eCommerce, this research should serve as inspiration and
motivation to accelerate existing efforts. For more advanced B2B companies that are actively evolving their business
models and recalibrating customer acquisition channels, this study identifies opportunities to further differentiate and
gain market share.
To succeed in this new, more complex, and rapidly evolving B2B eCommerce space, B2B companies must:
› Invest aggressively in delivering a world-class customer experience. It isn’t enough to match your B2B
competitors’ standards. B2B customers are also B2C consumers, and they increasingly expect that their B2B
online customer experiences should rival the gold-standard B2C shopping experiences they enjoy today on
leading B2C sites. B2B companies that want to be players on a global B2B commerce stage must recruit talent
that can create robust online buying experiences as well as upgrade legacy technology infrastructure that cannot
deliver a wherever, whenever commerce experience to customers across all channels.
› Focus on mobile as a critical “channel of the future.” With over one-half of B2B companies reporting that
their customers are using smartphones and tablets to research purchases, as well as buy online, B2B companies
simply must see mobile as an integral part of their next-generation eCommerce offering. Increasingly, B2B
companies are reporting that mobile has created whole, compelling new use cases that never existed before —
such as harnessing new process workflows around approving purchases. For B2B companies that embrace
mobile and purpose-built sites and applications for their mobile users, the mobile channel offers new in-the-field
sales opportunities as well as more personalized customer service scenarios that were simply impossible or
infeasible before.
› Assiduously woo omni-channel customers. The research is quite clear on this one: B2B companies identified
omni-channel customers as their best overall customers. By converting weaker single-channel offline-only and
online-only customers into omni-channel customers, B2B companies effectively transform those customers into
more active, more loyal, and higher-spending customers. Nearly 80% of B2B companies currently selling direct to
business partners online identified omni-channel customers as “profitable” customers (versus 57% of online-only
customers and 53% of offline-only customers). Also, twice as many B2B companies said that their omni-channel
customers were their “most profitable” customers as B2B companies said that either their online-only customers
or offline-only customers were.
› Prepare for competition from all across the broader ecosystem. In today’s rapidly evolving B2B eCommerce
market, distributors are now selling against wholesalers, and manufacturers are competing with one another by
selling direct to customers. In fact, 41% of B2B companies Forrester surveyed said that they are currently selling
directly against their own wholesalers, distributors, and suppliers. We are rapidly approaching a time when most
companies in the supply and demand chain will likely be selling against one another at the same time as they are
partnering with one another. B2B companies must prepare for an emerging new reality wherein channel purity is
eroding and “co-opetition” prevails.
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Appendix A: Methodology
In this study, Forrester surveyed 717 B2B companies across three major geographies (North America, Europe/Middle
East/Africa [EMEA], and the Asia Pacific region), or an average of about 240 respondents per geography. Nearly 50% of all
respondents, or 353 companies across all three major geographies, indicated that they are “currently selling direct to
business partners online (B2B).” Each of the major geographies (North America, Europe/Middle East/Africa [EMEA], and the
Asia Pacific region) produced a minimum of 100 respondents that are “currently selling direct to business partners online
(B2B).” All respondents must represent companies that produce a minimum of $250 million in total sales annually, and must
be personally responsible for, or deeply involved with, selling the company's products or services online.
In addition, Forrester conducted seven in-depth interviews with a variety of B2B eCommerce professionals responsible for
managing and maintaining their respective online selling organizations. Questions to the B2B survey participants focused on
eCommerce and omni-channel buying behavior, incorporating tools and technologies into the buying experience, and
identifying details about the internal organizational structure required to deliver world-class B2B eCommerce. The study
began in May 2013 and was completed in July 2013.
Appendix C: Demographics
FIGURE 11
Total Online Revenue (Nearly 50% With Greater Than $100 Million In Revenue)
FIGURE 12
Company Size — Total Number Of Employees (With 71% Having Greater Than 1,000 Employees)
Appendix: Endnotes
1
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of hybris, September 2013.
2
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of hybris, September 2013.
3
Companies that book more than 25% of their B2B sales online indicated that fully 63% of their customers use consumer
websites or B2B websites to purchase products. Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on
behalf of hybris, September 2013.
4
Seventy-six percent of companies that book more than 25% of their B2B sales online report that their customers use tablets
to research products for purchase. Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of hybris,
September 2013.
5
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of hybris, September 2013.