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Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic has compelled B2B businesses to fundamentally alter the way they conduct their operations. B2B sales may be the place where digitalization is most demonstrated.
As we now enter into a new era of the Covid-19 endemic, more B2B businesses have started to pick operations, most of them beginning adopting and implementing the idea of digital transformation.
Let’s examine the 3 megatrends that B2B businesses should expect in 2023.
1. Demographic shift - Most B2B buyers are now millennials
According to research by Merit, up to 73% of B2B buyers are now millennials which are changing the B2B purchasing pattern.
Digital technologies have largely rendered outdated notions about B2B buyers.
Millennials are considered an education-driven generation who grown up together with smartphones, social media, and home Internet access. In a way, technology has altered the way millennial consumers conduct research on purchases, evaluate suppliers, and make final decisions, which has profound implications in the B2B e-commerce market. In the earliest stages of any new procurement for goods or services, they will predominantly utilize digital channels, placing a strong reliance on top searches, social media presence, and to a certain extent, the source of supply and its sustainability.
According to Harvard Business Review, 73% of those involved in B2B research and decision making are millennials (age 25-39), over 1/3 identified as the sole decision maker. Research also states that even older buyers are increasingly picking up the same habits of millennials.
It is quite evident that B2B businesses could hardly continue operating in the traditional manner in the light of a generational transition in the industry. Instead, B2B businesses should come up with innovative solutions to serve their target customer base who now particularly prioritize speedy services – in which the best way is digitalization.
2. On demand - Instant gratification in B2B buyers
Putting B2B e-commerce on demand means marketing and selling your products and services using online platforms that are conveniently accessible.
87% of buyers say they would pay more for a supplier that can offer them an excellent ecommerce portal, according to an Avionos report. Companies that do not meet customers' digital expectations may also experience problems with customer retention, as Avionos also reports that 90% of B2B buyers say they would go to a competitor if their digital needs were unmet.
When a self-service feature with good personalization function is integrated within the B2B e-commerce platform, it provides seamless agility for B2B customers to achieve higher work efficiency at any convenience, in which allows B2B businesses to attain customer satisfaction.
3. Competition - Staying relevant and on top of the game
According to a market study by Digital Commerce 360, over 75% of distributors and wholesalers that are not doing e-commerce today plan to operate an e-commerce store within the next two years. This indicates that more B2B businesses are adopting the idea of digitally transforming and automating their business operations.
To stay compatible in the B2B market is indeed not an easy job for B2B business owners. As more B2B businesses are starting to acknowledge the importance and taking the bold move of shifting their business online and automating their sales, tight competition is gradually occurring among each other in the market.
Hence, if you are feeling reluctant towards B2B digitalization and still choose to stick with the traditional way of operating your B2B business, you are potentially missing out on possibilities to expand your business growth in the accelerating demographics of B2B modern trade.
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