Business customers also want to shop online

B2C or B2B? Why not both?

Webshops and online ordering options. What has been common practice in the business-to-customer sector since the coronavirus pandemic at the latest is only slowly gaining momentum in the B2B space. Yet business customers also need goods and would be glad if they no longer had to place orders in a cumbersome way via catalog or by phone.

It practically lends itself to implementing webshops for both customer groups at the same time. Whether B2C or B2B - the basic framework is relatively similar for both types. Only later, shortly before completion, do a few corresponding switches that mark the difference need to be set. It’s just as easy when a shop already exists. The basic structure of a webshop can be adapted at any time. This way, a B2C webshop can be developed into a B2B shop with comparatively little effort, and vice versa.

The top rule: Know your customer

This is important, as with any e-commerce project: knowing your target group precisely and taking their wishes into account. A B2C customer, for example, shops differently than someone from the B2B sector. The end consumer wants an experience when shopping online, to be courted as a buyer and inspired by possible offers. The classic B2B customer, on the other hand, is primarily looking for practical solutions to problems. As a rule, they want to receive information on ordering, delivery, and their individually negotiated price and shipping conditions without much fuss.

With the right tools and functions, perfectly tailored to the respective customer group, it becomes possible to deliver the maximum experience for both groups. Long-standing syreta customers such as Diakoniewerk, Biohof Achleitner, or the natural cosmetics manufacturer Velvety, who took the step and had us implement not only a B2C webshop for them, can confirm this.

What is often underestimated in practice: after work, B2B buyers are B2C consumers. They know Amazon, they know convenient checkout processes, they know real-time availability displays. When they want to order goods for their company in the office the next day and suddenly have to pick up the phone again or leaf through a PDF catalog, frustration arises.

The difference between a good B2B shop and a good B2C shop is not the basic principle, but the details: individual prices instead of list prices, order history instead of shopping carts, purchase on invoice instead of credit card. Those who understand and implement this win business customers who come back - and need less field sales.

Typical B2B features a webshop should offer

Technically, a B2B webshop differs in some key respects from a classic B2C shop. Customer-specific prices and tiered discounts, displaying net instead of gross prices, individual payment terms, or the option to order on invoice are just some of the requirements commercial customers place on an online ordering system. Functions such as order history, quick ordering by item number, or integration with an existing ERP system are also often added. Those who consider these requirements from the outset not only create a better user experience for their business customers - they also lay the foundation for a scalable, efficient sales channel that saves costs in the long term and noticeably relieves field sales.