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 sector. But business customers also need goods and would be happy if they no longer had to place orders in a cumbersome way via catalog or by phone.

It actually makes perfect sense for a company to implement webshops for both customer groups right away. 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 is just as straightforward if a shop already exists. The basic structure of a webshop can be adapted at any time. This means that a B2C webshop can be developed into a B2B shop with comparatively little effort, and vice versa.

The top rule: Know your customer

As with any e-commerce project, it is important to know your target group precisely and take their wishes into account. A B2C customer, for example, shops differently than someone from the B2B sector. The end consumer wants to experience something when shopping online, to be courted as a buyer and delighted with 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 about ordering, delivery, and their individually negotiated price and shipping conditions without much frills.

With the right tools and functions, perfectly tailored to the respective customer group, it is possible to get the maximum experience out of it for both customer groups. Long-standing syreta customers such as Diakoniewerk, Biohof Achleitner, or 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: B2B buyers are B2C consumers after work. They know Amazon, they know convenient checkout processes, they know real-time availability displays. If 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 in the basic principle, but in the details: individual prices instead of list prices, order history instead of shopping carts, invoicing instead of credit cards. Those who understand and implement this win business customers who come back – and need less field sales support.