Developing a digital commercial strategy in a B2B context is not a simple undertaking. In retail, when the relationship is between the company and the final consumer, the winning dynamics are already known, in manufacturing, for example, not always. B2C ecommerce has a certain length of service, greater than a company-to-company digital sales model. It is therefore not surprising that many industries, just like manufacturing, are not up to speed: building a commercial model based on online in a B2B context is a complex process, which must take into account many peculiarities.
Firstly, in manufacturing the technological maturity of the companies involved can be lower than that of the markets that deal with the final consumer. Furthermore, the technological platforms for business development are more complex, the so-called touch points with customers change and in B2B there is also the need to correctly manage the reseller partner network.
Historic goals, new challenges
Salesforce’s State of Commerce 2022 is the annual appointment with the state of the art of commerce in the world and in the various Industries. The report is built on the basis of 4 thousand interviews with managers and company resources engaged in the field and has analyzed up to a billion data generated by buyers all over the world.
The 5 priorities highlighted by the interviewees in manufacturing do not change: we are trying to expand the business and the customer network, to automate processes, to lower costs and to grow internationally. In particular, however, process automation ranks first in Italy and second is an item not present among the top five in the general classification: the implementation of a marketplace.
In Italy, therefore, in B2B contexts we are still behind compared to the rest of the world. Here we are often still grappling with the creation of a marketplace, the virtual place, often managed by third parties, where supply and demand meet and conclude the deal.
The reasons for this lack can be seen from the ranking of the challenges. There is no training and no budget. Furthermore, the Italian interviewees complain of technological limitations, little internal alignment on business objectives and the risk of a conflict with their own sales channel. For Italian manufacturing, the ranking of challenges in the Salesforce State of Commerce 2022 report highlights a transversal phenomenon: the lack of corporate technological culture.
In particular, the commercial departments in Italy are not yet (enough) data driven. 47% of those interviewed are not fully convinced that the use of data leads to the acquisition of new customers, process automation (50%), dialogue between the commercial division and other business areas (52%) and to personalizing the user experience and understanding its expectations (51% and 47%).
Even if it should be emphasized that the data relating to the manufacturing sector are more optimistic than for the total of industries, it is understood that there is still some way to go to convince commercial operators in the manufacturing sector of the benefits of technology applied to B2B trade.
Headless commerce is the approach of the future
One hope comes from headless commerce, which peeks out among the wishes of the interviewees. The trend, on which Salesforce has been insisting for some time with its customers, involves using methods that allow a dynamic update of the front-end tools, those with which the customer interfaces, regardless of the back-end, the application and integrated engine on which the commercial structure rests. This means implementing solutions that respond in real time to user behavior, so that they have what they are looking for immediately available.
It is a complex approach, which requires innovative technologies including user experience customization features, already included in the Salesforce offer, but which today cannot be done without. B2B commerce today is distributed and complex. The channels to be managed grow, warehouse management must adapt to global demand and there is a resale channel to manage, satisfy and coordinate.
Digital revenue will grow
As mentioned, manufacturing companies cannot hold back. Salesforce data say that for them, globally, the turnover from digital channels, today at 38%, will reach 51% in two years. Salesforce found that, between the first quarter of 2020 and that of 2022, B2B digital revenue increased by 95%, an exaggerated value.
And the main touch point in the sector remains the company website, with 60% of preferences. In Italy we are behind, with a horizontal present value on the various markets of 32% and a forecast of 40% in two years. In Italy, moreover, the first point of contact remains the sales agent, while the site is positioned only in sixth place. This means that the world is going at a higher speed and this, in a global economy, means risking loss of competitiveness.
Ultimately, in Italy and in the sector we have examined, it is necessary to work on the creation of marketplaces, internal or external to the company, and to invest in touch point integration technologies in order to equally control those that customers prefer moreover. finally, another distinctive feature of B2B is the management of the order after the purchase. For 44% of respondents, optimizing the order fulfillment path will be a priority in the coming years. Therefore, it is necessary to work on the integration between the commercial platforms and the logistics ones, until reaching greater accuracy in assistance and after-sales service.