Most B2B companies have moved their business online. B2B sellers are seeing a significant volume of the business move from offline to online. And that will continue to increase in the next few years. The costs of serving customers decrease by migrating them online.

But there’s still a gap between what they offer and what their customers need. Businesses struggle to meet expectations because they rely on outdated, inflexible systems.

Your business has to go beyond traditional eCommerce tools. You have to understand your customer's expectations, buying habits and preferences.

Many B2B businesses still rely on outdated commerce systems. They have a hard time meeting the needs of their buyers. The processes are mainly manual (sales reps, faxes or inflexible). And they limit the potential of the digital to make an impact on revenue.

The pressure for the use of digital channels is increasing. But there's a disconnect in investment priorities for B2B companies. Most fail to integrate customer information with eCommerce technology. There’s a gap between what they can offer and what buyers demand.

There are pain points for businesses they still have to overcome. Commerce system pain points made businesses miss out on revenue and sales:

 70% lost a deal

 31% missed out on at least $2M in sales

This is visible across industries: manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and software. They all face problems with eCommerce.

The B2B retail industry has the advantage with their mobile and user-friendly offers. But can’t keep up with complex capabilities (guided selling, multiple store orders).

The manufacturing industry is better at accommodating B2B complexities. Yet, they can’t lower costs.

For healthcare and software, there are unique challenges. They have complex products and relationships with customers.

Even with different issues, B2B businesses still have the same pain points. The biggest being:

Today’s B2B customers expect a modern eCommerce experience. And they’ll remain loyal to the businesses that offer it.

B2B buyers want what’s more advantageous for them:

There’s a gap between customer expectations and current offerings. Buyers want more advanced and personalised features. Businesses can’t provide them.

This is because they don’t integrate their systems with customer information. They also rely on outdated platforms.

 83% of B2B buyers will spend more on suppliers who offer a robust eCommerce experience.

 Nine out of ten procurement officers (89%) are buying more online now then they did last year.

 97% say a customer portal is a critical factor when choosing a supplier.

Buyers spend more overall when interacting with multiple channels. They’re also more likely to become a repeat and long-term customers.

To put in place an eCommerce experience you need flexible architectures. You can adjust your strategy based on customer needs.

You need to make fast adjustments to your strategy based on customer needs. Amazon evolves faster than most. 65% of B2B buyers make their purchases in Amazon because of their digital offerings.

Quality content gives the confidence your customers need to make purchases. Which gives your business the advantage.

Make your customers feel more confident in buying your products. Give them rich and relevant content and improve your competitiveness. Provide buyers with the information they need to make informed decisions. Images, detailed product specifications, videos and use cases.

If your site gives buyers the information they need, you’ll win them over.

To offer the personalised features your customers expect, integrate eCommerce with customer data.

B2B businesses have to put the customer as the focus of the eCommerce experience. A CRM that does that, is exactly what you need. A solution to help you understand your customers' needs and how to make it happen.

But, it seems businesses aren't using CRM information to their advantage. Only 27% of businesses have CRM and eCommerce integrated.

They treat eCommerce as a separate channel. Still, the businesses going for a more integrated approach are seeing advantages.

Your eCommerce platform and strategy have to be agile. Your business needs meet customer expectations. You need enhanced customer insights and analytics to understand their feedback. Invest in actual customer needs, not on a “build it and they will come” approach.