I spent the last four years advocating for responsive design as a scalable strategy to beat consumer’s expectations in a multi-device world. The B2C world shifted dramatically from designing for a screen to designing for users, which put tremendous pressure on B2B businesses to keep pace. My last two years were focused on the B2B space and extending the considerations of RWD to customers that behave differently than a consumer but have the same critical eye. This presentation details my thought process designing the user experience and services for the B2B customer and what it really takes to beat the curve.

2. Brendan
Falkowski
@Falkowski

3. GravityDept.com

4. Frontend Consulting For
GEMAIRE

5. gravitydept.com/to/acumen
Acumen Theme
Acumen 2 (demo ready…for real)
Powers 1400+ stores
Supported for 6+ years

6. I help companies solve business
challenges with design.

7. Good design puts the business
and customer on equal footing.

8. 2009 to 2013:
B2C and RWD

12. What I learned
designing for B2B

13. B2B Challenges

14. Site traffic
Conversion rate
Average order value
1. Revenue Growth

15. Buying
Selling
Growth
2. Complexity Management

16. Simplicity
Visibility
Personalization
3. Customer Experience
Management

17. B2B businesses have more
complexity and move slower

18. B2B technology often feels
dated compared to B2C

19. B2C escalation is forcing
B2B to change rapidly

20. B2B buyer expectations are
anchored by B2C experiences

21. Under 33%
B2B sites that invested in
multi-device support
https://www.b2becommerceworld.com/2015/11/23/b2b-e-commerce-sites-have-lots-upgrading-do

22. 18%
B2B companies with native
mobile apps
https://www.b2becommerceworld.com/2015/11/23/b2b-e-commerce-sites-have-lots-upgrading-do

23. 26%
B2B companies with
responsive websites
https://www.b2becommerceworld.com/2015/11/23/b2b-e-commerce-sites-have-lots-upgrading-do

24. B2B businesses need to
leapfrog a generation of
technology

25. 56%
B2B buyers prefer to be
purchasing online by 2017
http://magento.com/blog/best-practices/10-ways-boost-b2b-shopping-experience

26. 74%
B2B buyers who research over
half their purchases online
https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce

27. 30%
B2B buyers who can actually
complete purchases online
https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce

28. Shopping
vs. Buying

29. Shopping
noun: the action or activity of
purchasing goods from stores

30. Consumers care about the
store experience

31. Prices online are generally the
same everywhere

32. When price/selection/quality
are equal, services set you apart

34. Procurement

35. Constantly shopping around is
expensive for businesses

36. Product specifications
Quantity
Price flexibility
Need by date
Supply location

37. Businesses prefer long-term
relationships with suppliers

39. Revzilla builds trust through
season after season of revised
gear advice

40. I buy from Revzilla because
their service is a reliable expert

41. A service is more valuable than
your products

42. Manufacturers prefer to
diversify their partnerships

43. Manufacturers selling direct
online changes the landscape
for distributors

44. Design services that are critical
to your customer’s success

45. Stocking products and fulfilling
orders isn’t enough anymore

46. Designing
Services

47. Businesses need to be sold on
the long-term relationship

48. One-off buyers can cost B2B
sellers because their margins
are low

49. Stable buying patterns come
from building indispensable
services

50. 1. Onboarding customers
2. Onboarding employees
3. Data advantage
4. Wayfinding and search
5. Personalization
6. Real-time pricing and inventory
7. Power user features
8. Merchandising
9. Omni-channel efficiency

51. Onboarding
Customers

52. 44%
B2B buyers say onboarding
is too complex
Oracle, “Taking the Wheel” B2B report

53. Customer acquisition is hard:
1. Value is hidden
2. Complex registration

54. They buy below minimum quantities
Restricted by partner agreements
Products require a license/authority to buy
B2B sellers may block
consumers completely because:

55. B2B sites may sell to consumers
with different terms and pricing

56. Selling direct to consumers will
frustrate B2B buyers who
markup products

57. These challenges add
complexity to B2B onboarding

58. New Customers

59. Tell customers everything they
will need before they start
registration

60. Avoid delays between
registration and activation

61. Consider disabling order
functionality pre-activation so
new users can still explore

62. Automate contract creation if
possible

63. Standardized terms enable a
customer to start buying
immediately

64. Existing
Customers

65. Don’t assume existing
customers will adopt new
services

66. Build a pathway so existing
customers can link their offline
accounts together online

67. Be liberal when accepting
account info for verification

68. Picky validation frustrates
legitimate customers

69. The best way to onboard
existing customers is making
accounts for them

70. Sales reps should schedule time
to promote and demonstrate
online ordering’s benefits

71. Onboarding is an opportunity
to redefine the sales
relationship + get raw feedback

72. Onboarding
Employees

73. https://www.b2becommerceworld.com/commentary/2016/03/07/building-b2b-e-commerce-site-get-your-employees-board
If you don't get nearly all of your
employees supporting your e-commerce
initiative, it's not going to have legs.
“
Michael Mayer
Director, E-business Strategy & Commerce
Crescent Electric Supply Co.

74. Didn’t know what we rolled out
Didn’t know how it helped customers
Couldn't support customers using it
They didn't feel any ownership of the service
To them, the eCommerce channel was a competitor
Employees in the dark

75. Source

76. Educate early not after
introducing eCommerce to
customers

77. Create opportunities for
employees to invest in
ownership of the system

78. Record training to make
onboarding new employees
easier

79. Don’t be surprised or worried
by channel shift

80. Sales attribution models need
to reflect the changing weight
of channels

81. Sales’ role will shift from
quoting/ordering to being more
proactive about customer needs

82. Not inviting salespeople inside
eCommerce is setting them up
for failure

83. Data Advantage

84. Omni-channel customers need
service consistency to transact
fluidly

85. PIM
Product Information Management

86. Develop a process to intake,
evaluate, and normalize
product info from vendors

87. akeneo.com
pimcore.org
informatica.com
cobby.io

88. Wayfinding and
Search

89. Hierarchical navigation is less
important for B2B buyers

90. Most B2B sessions start with
search

91. B2B buyers often know the
exact product needed before
reaching your site

95. Query highlighting
Search scopes
Result types
Search Enhancements
http://baymard.com/blog/autocomplete-design

96. Search needs to behave
consistently between websites
and apps

97. homedepot.com
search scopes
suggested queries
products
categories
brands

98. m.homedepot.com
suggested queries
categories
brands

99. Home Depot iOS app
suggested queries

100. Home Depot makes it harder to
search for products on their
mobile services

101. Their native apps actually have
the weakest search

102. Multiple platforms and search
implementations will
disconnect customers

105. Personalization

106. Any offering that adapts to the
customer is personalization

107. 1. Algorithmic merchandising
2. Crowd sourced buying
3. On demand production

108. Convert better relative to the user’s journey.
Increase order value when suggested together.
Higher margin or clearance priority that are equivalent.
1. Algorithmic Merchandising

109. Shield the maker from inefficiencies of finding market fit
2. Crowd Sourced Buying

111. 3. On Demand Production
and Customization

113. Source

116. Source

117. Real-time Pricing
and Inventory

118. Actionable self-service quotes
mean your doors never close

119. 50%
B2B buyers say personalization is a
key reason they choose suppliers
Oracle, “Taking the Wheel” B2B report

120. List / trade price
Negotiated price
Direct sales
Quantity-based pricing
Pricing tiers by annual sales volume
Pricing

121. Warehouse management
Freight or parcel delivery estimates
Store / warehouse pickup
Governmental licensing for hazardous materials
Contractual restrictions to sell in territory
Fulfillment

122. Legacy terms may need to be
grandfathered or renegotiated
online

123. Customers expect the same
services and accommodations
they receive offline

124. Digital services must be an
order of magnitude better than
calling a sales rep

125. B2C customers generally only
care about inventory if an item
is out of stock

126. There are too many variables
with personalization not to
calculate real-time quotes

127. Real-time processing is slow, so
load personalized content
asynchronously

128. Power User
Features

129. “Add to Cart” is a bottleneck for
high volume buyers

130. Enable re-buying of past orders
Order History

131. Convert past orders to
subscriptions

132. Quick Order

136. Wish lists can be supercharged
for B2B buyers

143. Enable merging, splitting, and
renaming lists

144. Listen for customer feedback

145. Merchandising

148. PIM systems turn connected
data into merchandising
advantages

149. Product History

152. B2B buyers appreciate tools
that help them purchase
smarter in the future

153. Omni-Channel
Efficiency

154. Support teams need training
and authority to resolve issues
across channels

155. $4.7 B
Home Depot online sales 2015
https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/24/mobile-sparks-q4-sales-home-depot

156. 5.3%
Home Depot online sales from
total revenue
https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/24/mobile-sparks-q4-sales-home-depot

157. https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/24/mobile-sparks-q4-sales-home-depot
Over 40% of our online orders actually end
up in the store in some way, shape or form.
“
Kevin Hoffman
President of Online Operations
Home Depot

158. It’s your job to make channels
seamless

159. Buyer
Demographics

160. 56%
B2B executives say some
customers can only be served
online
https://www.internetretailer.com/2015/04/02/new-report-predicts-1-trillion-market-us-b2b-e-commerce

161. Consider who will leave and
join the workforce in 5-10 years

162. Millennials are the first
generation where internet use
will become universal
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/22/key-takeaways-global-tech/

163. 72%
US adults with smartphones
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/08/one-fifth-of-americans-report-going-online-almost-constantly/

164. 92%
US millennials with smartphones
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/08/one-fifth-of-americans-report-going-online-almost-constantly/

165. 75%
Millennials have purchased from
phones
http://insights.mobify.com/16-stats-to-convince-your-boss-to-invest-in-mobile-in-2016/

166. 36%
18–29 year olds who report being
online “almost constantly”
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/08/one-fifth-of-americans-report-going-online-almost-constantly/

167. Under 35
Average age of B2B buyer
Oracle, “Taking the Wheel” B2B report

168. 34%
Millennials in US labor force
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/

169. Millennials represent more of
the labor force than Baby
Boomers or Generation X
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/

170. Technology will push out
businesses that can’t adapt

171. 74%
B2B buyers who prefer
researching online vs. talking to
sales reps
Oracle, “Taking the Wheel” B2B report

172. Digital services will be a major
factor when B2B buyers choose
suppliers

173. Wrapping Up

174. Designing services adds value
to your business
+ your customer’s business

175. Thank you

176. Gravity Department
GravityDept
gravitydept.com
magefrontend.com
Brendan Falkowski
Falkowski