9 Must-Have Features of a Salesforce B2B Commerce Platform

Following the pandemic-related events of 2020, Salesforce B2B commerce has undergone a significant paradigm shift. The sharp rise in revenue from B2B eCommerce is a clear indication that business is set to boom online.

B2C has already seen buyers acclimatize to ecommerce purchasing and Salesforce B2B commerce is not any different. So in 2020, B2B companies used platforms like Salesforce to boost their ecommerce activity and used the time to differentiate themselves from the competitors.

This definitely brings businesses at a juncture where they need to start leveraging their B2B commerce websites and optimize them to deliver an excellent customer experience.

Now the first question you might ask is, what features you should implement in your B2B website? Some may say that they do what the B2C stores are doing, but that is not the right answer. 

Salesforce B2B commerce is far more complicated than a B2C business and is not about one-time purchases. There are multiple levels of negotiations, not all payments come in advance, and if a deal is completed, the business often receives repeat bulk orders. 

Thus, your Salesforce B2B commerce platform needs to have particular features that can help you get through the challenges confronted when dealing with B2B customers. 

But before we get into the details of what features you must include in your Salesforce B2B commerce platform, we must also take a look at how Salesforce B2B commerce platforms are poised for success in the near future.

B2B companies can enjoy multiple benefits when carrying out complex negotiations for wholesale exchanges on their website. Though a few customers insist on interacting over the phone or email, they are slowly warming up to the idea of negotiating online. 

Complex exchanges can be carried out with ease on a website and help save time for the buyer and seller while selling more products. 

Also, if you are a new kid on the block and do not possess a platform like Salesforce to handle B2B dealings, then the first step is to upgrade your infrastructure.

Top Features That a Salesforce B2B Commerce Solution Needs

1. Self-Service

B2B clients like to be in control of their purchases. Enabling the self-service option beats the need to reorder via phone and allows them to have more authority over their purchases. 

By incorporating Salesforce Commerce in your business, you can have different options on your website, such as

• ‘Search for Items’ Bar
• Citing Requests
• Placing Requests
• Rapid Reordering
• Tracking Orders 
• Tracking Request Status 
• Access to Knowledge Base

Focus on finding the perfect balance between automation and human interaction and on saving time for buyers and sellers. 

2. Product Data and Catalogs

Make sure that you have excellent pictures and product descriptions on your B2B website. Work toward making the listing self-explanatory so that buyers are not left with any product-related questions when they visit your website.

Maintain a precise catalog for buyers to search for and order products conveniently. Moreover, provide descriptive product data to enhance user experience and improve the chances of conversions. 

3. Customer-Specific Pricing

B2B businesses usually offer different prices to their customers. You must have a feature that helps you structure the prices on your website. In addition, you will need to have specific discounted prices for different customer groups.

You should be able to regularly update prices for all your products and look for integration at bulk import pricing. You can also limit a range of products to very specific customer groups to make your job easier.

4. Inventory Management

If your customer places an order only to be informed that the items are not available, you will lose them forever. It will cause more problems for your organization, and your brand value will deteriorate.

Stay on top of your inventory on product pages and always inform your customers about the exact quantity you have in stock.

5. Mobile Responsiveness

Customers are now using multiple devices to shop online. So you must invest in creating a mobile responsive website that can be optimized for different devices. 

Spend some time researching which devices your customers usually use and what features you can offer on the respective devices.

6. Rapid Reordering

Incorporate a feature that allows your clients to reorder products rapidly using a mass request structure or SKU. Also, add the option to manage the amount of each line to expedite the checkout process. 

7. Flexible Ordering Options

Make the ordering process more straightforward by simplifying the tedious task of organizing the checkout processes with in-built features. Move toward real-time dynamic pricing and offer volume-based discounts to regular customers.

Keep a minimum ordering value to keep your net revenues on the positive side and make up for it with excellent customer service that offers automatic renewals and one-click replacement.

8. Customer Service

Change is often slow, and many B2B customers still see ecommerce as a potential risk. You must prove to them that your website is an asset and not a liability. Strengthen your customer relationships by keeping the service support representatives available when needed.

Let the reps sign in when customers need support beyond the standard procedure. In case a customer is skeptical about purchasing via your website, support reps can answer the customer’s questions related to stocks, samples, and pricing.

9. Price on Request

Some products are beyond standard pricing structures and can only be sold upon request. Your website should support such listings and enable customers to submit their requests if they are interested in them.

Wrapping Up

Now you have a clear idea about where to focus your efforts and what to expect from your B2B ecommerce solution. 

Take care of your client’s expectations, and they will take care of your revenue. Make sure you hold their hand across all touchpoints and continuously strive toward improving your business’s efficiency. 

Let’s start working together on developing your B2B ecommerce website. We help you incorporate the features mentioned above and more as we move closer to achieving your B2B ecommerce website's desired goals. 

Our Salesforce B2B Commerce expertise will significantly improve your key ecommerce parameters and will help you gain more conversions, boost revenue, and yield a positive return on your investment. 

To know more about Salesforce Commerce Cloud development services, get in touch with our team today!