How social media can be an effective tool for small businesses

If you are a small business owner, you always look for new ways to attract more business.

One of the most effective and proven ways to grow your customer base and your reach is through social media.

It provides ways to engage with existing customers and to create meaningful conversations with the new ones.

This is how social media usage and SEO services can benefit small businesses today:

Budget-friendly advertising

Even though there are several channels for paid advertising, social media usage is free.

You can easily advertise your products and services within the radius you intend to.

In other words, this is a form of free advertising. They do not have the burden of launching expensive marketing campaigns but have to focus their attention within the local community.

Also Read: Best B2B marketing KPIs that directly impact sales growth

Features like stories, photos, videos, and their description contribute to creating a good understanding and promotion for your products.

Further, your customers can act as your ambassadors. Since small businesses know their customers personally, it becomes easier for them to share their experience on social media platforms.

Small businesses focus on communities and individuals

Apart from the huge differences between big and small businesses in factors like employee count and revenue, there are other factors like customer engagement.

Small businesses are more involved with smaller communities and individuals. This means that they can easily mingle with their customers and their community through social media.

Further, there are several features in social media, which allows you to create engaging conversations about new products and services.

If the businesses can respond to the queries, reviews, and feedback, this will be a bonus for the business.

Also Read: 5 benefits of marketing automation for a CMO

Personalised attention

Small businesses can give more priority to personalisation.

Since the number of customers involved is limited, it is possible to provide a personalised experience for every customer. Survey shows that more customers are interested in small businesses if they receive a customised experience.

Social media can aid this by forming an effective medium through which conversations can be conducted. Survey shows that more customers are interested in small businesses if they receive a personalised experience.

Combined social media marketing campaigns

Many small businesses can join hands and target customers through different strategies. For instance, you can use one platform to mention that you would get offers for buying from another entity.

The reverse can also be worked out. This way, your business can reach out to customers while attracting sales through different means.

Small businesses can use the help of big advertising

Several large organizations hold events which can assist small businesses through their social media marketing campaigns.

People might be familiar with the big names while you can participate in their campaigns through your active social media presence.

This will help you reach thousands of customers which would otherwise have cost you huge amounts of money.

Also Read: 5 content marketing trends you need to heed

It is obvious that social media is a very effective tool at the hands of small businesses.

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Goola specialises in selling authentic Indonesian drink. One of its co-founders is Gibran Rakabuming, son of Indonesian President Joko Widodo

Alpha JWC Ventures just added Goola into its rapidly expanding F&B portfolio with a US$5 million investment, the VC announced today.

This investment is made after the Indonesian VC firm completed funding in Kopi Kenangan, a local coffee chain startup.

With the fresh fund injection, Goola said it will expand its presence in first, second, and third-tier cities, and kick off their expansion to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries next year.

Goola is an “authentic Indonesian beverage chain startup” founded by Gibran Rakabuming, son of President Joko Widodo. He founded the company with Kevin Susanto and Benz Budiman (who is also known as CEO of Pomona).

Since 2018, Jakarta-based Goola aims to bring local delicacies to the mass market through grab-and-go version of local drinks: Es Doger Jeger (shaved sweetened ice served with glutinous rice, fermented cassava, and coconut meat), Es Kacang Hijau (iced mung beans with coconut cream), and Es Goola Aren (a traditional twist of popular brown-sugar boba).

Also Read: Alpha JWC invests US$8M to help Indonesia’s coffee chain Kopi Kenangan go mobile

“Goola was initially set up as a traditional F&B business, but then we realised that we can do something much bigger if we change how we conduct our business and if we incorporate tech in our daily operations,” said Susanto.

On their pipeline, Goola said, it is in the process of implementing a New Retail approach. It wants to set up a mobile application to reduce waiting time in stores. The app will also help the company analyse users’ consumption habits and preferences to improve overall customer experience.

“If bubble teas can do it, why can’t we? Goola is here to level the playing field against foreign brands,” Rakabuming added.

Alpha JWC Ventures Managing Partner Jefrey Joe also put out a statement regarding the continuous investment in the Indonesian F&B tech scene.

“Goola shares the same mission and ambition as us and we are excited to partner with experienced businessmen Gibran and Kevin to introduce local culture to the mass market and later, to the world. As Indonesian investor and team, we take pride in our mission to help Indonesian founders and companies to be successful in Indonesia and bring them to the global stage,” he said.

Also Read: Alpha JWC Ventures welcomes NS Solutions to its second fund

In October 2018, Alpha JWC Ventures made a notable move to invest in a local coffee chain startup riding the grab-n-go coffee chain trend, Kopi Kenangan. The investment was a seed funding of US$8 million that the startup said would be used to set up new stores, invest in R&D, as well as to develop its own mobile app.

Alpha JWC Ventures is a Southeast Asian venture capital firm with an Indonesia angle and a focussed value-add approach. The firm currently manages two funds of US$ 50 million and US$ 100 million; and more than 28 active portfolio companies.

Today, Goola said it has opened five stores in Jakarta with 15 more ready to open doors this year. By 2020, they aim to reach 100 stores in Indonesia and reach for regional and even global expansion.

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Image Credit: Goola

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In addition to 99.co and ShareChat, there are also updates from An Vui and Alpha JWC Ventures

Singapore-based proptech platform 99.co raises US$M Series B funding round – Tech In Asia

Singapore-based proptech startup 99.co has raised a US$5 million Series B funding round, Tech In Asia reported.

In an email to e27, 99.co co-founder Darius Cheung stated that the platform’s Singapore traffic is about 1.5 million per month and has doubled in the last six months.

This number is said to be close to PropertyGuru’s traffic of 1.7 million.

PropertyGuru itself has recently made headline for increasing prices by 1,149 per cent in nine years.

Twitter leads US$100 million funding round into India’s ShareChat – TechCrunch

Indian social network platform ShareChat raised a US$100 million Series D funding round led by social media giant Twitter, TechCrunch wrote.

TrustBridge Partners, as well as existing investors Shunwei Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, SAIF Capital, India Quotient and Morningside Venture Capital, also participated in the funding round.

ShareChat declined to comment on valuation but a source said that the round has pushed it to US$650 million.

“This investment will help ShareChat grow and provide the company’s management team access to Twitter’s executives as thought partners,” said Twitter India managing director Manish Maheshwari.

Also Read: Sharp rhetoric as Singapore court rules 99.co did not violate PropertyGuru copyright

Vietnamese logistics startup An Vui raises funding from VinaCapital Ventures – Deal Street Asia

Vietnam-based venture capital (VC) firm VinaCapital Ventures announces an investment into local logistics startup An Vui, according to a report by DealStreetAsia.

The company said that the investment by VinaCapital Ventures would be used to enter into more strategic partnerships for its business growth.

An Vui provides end-to-end software that helps build websites to facilitate mobile applications, ticket management, and parcel shipment management, and fuel cost management.

Alpha JWC Ventures expands F&B portfolio with US$5M investment into Goola – e27

Alpha JWC Ventures just added F&B company Goola into its rapidly expanding F&B portfolio with a US$5 million investment, the VC announced today.

This investment followed an investment into local coffee chain startup Kopi Kenangan.

Goola will expand its presence in Indonesia and kick off their expansion to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries next year.

The Jakarta-based company aims to bring local delicacies to the mass market through grab-and-go version of local drinks. It also aims to implement New Retail approach to its business.

Also Read: Following acquisition, Indonesian property portal UrbanIndo rebrands to 99.co

Carousell introduces new logo, claims fourfold revenue growth in 2018 – Press Release

Singapore-based classifieds platform Carousell introduced a new logo on its seventh anniversary.

The company also announced a fourfold revenue growth in 2018. It has expanded into six markets, added new channels for properties and automobiles, and recorded over 250 million listings.

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Image Credit: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

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With strong negotiation skills, you may be able to win over a hard-to-get prospect or ensure better pricing on a specific business project

Startups are busy trying to scale up. In doing this, they need to ensure they address multiple tasks: supplies should be fully stocked and business should be open on the expected day, among a wide range of responsibilities. While these tasks are important, the art of negotiation is invaluable for the success of any startup – and any organisation today.

With strong negotiation skills, you may be able to win over a hard-to-get prospect or ensure better pricing on a specific business project. Interestingly, negotiation can be applied in almost every aspect of today’s business landscape. This, in fact, can work in your favor, as you strive to realise the best value from deals. Whether you are faced with difficulties fixing a price point for a product or new business deal, or you are looking to build networking relationships, understanding the art of negotiation will significantly boost your chances of achieving a positive outcome.

However, negotiation involves more than just applying a few sales tricks or using open-ended questioning for prospects, business partners, and potential networks. Here are nine simple ideas that will stand you in good stead and achieve high level of success in your negotiations.

1. Practice Confident Mental Strength and Body Language

Preparation is everything. According to negotiation experts, 55 percent of what goes on in our head is given away through our body language. Simple movements such as folding one or both arms across your chest can send the wrong message from the onset and turn people off even before the negotiations begin.

On the other hand, a strong and confident handshake sets the tone for a great conversation as it makes for a good first impression. Your ability to back up your words with corresponding physical actions that exudes confidence and honesty increases the desire of the other party to cooperate with you and reach a favorable agreement. So having the right mental approach is important. Before going into a negotiation, know the value of your offer and how it helps the other party. Always think: “We both need each other”. When you feel in control before negotiations begin, you can better take charge of conversations and achieve higher level of success.

2. Master the Gentle Art of Saying No

The truth is, you can never be as productive as you should if you always agree to everything during a negotiation process. While saying “no” may sound too simple, doing this comfortably is key to ensuring you get the best out of a negotiation. However, you must realise that saying “no” may disappoint the other party – and that is usually not fun. By practicing the art of saying no, you will be able to detach yourself from commitments that do not align with your priorities.

The fear of missing out or the desire to please people make many persons struggle with saying no to certain offers. While this art takes a lot of effort, mastering it will help you work your way through favorable outcomes.

3. Negotiate A Win-Win

Effective negotiation is like winning at poker. Both require that you play your cards close to the vest, maintain a straight face, and know when to hold or fold. Poker is a strategic game – and it would be wise to find a group so you can play it regularly if you are not currently doing so. If you stake too much in tha game, you risk losing other players in the deal.

As you improve your poker game skills, you will be better able to mitigate any potential risks and get the best value for your business during negotiations. Playing with a new group of people allows you an opportunity to win some new clients and customers over to your side. The game of poker helps you master the art of effective negotiations. The best hand is when a negotiation allows everyone to leave the table winning, when possible.

Also read: 10 negotiating tips every woman needs in her arsenal

4. Prepare Beforehand

Preparation is everything. In order to offer a tailored response to fit the demands of different individuals, it is important that you do your homework on the other party beforehand. Knowing all the right details: figuring out the type of individual involved and the language that best fits the negotiation process, will help you persuade as well as counter where necessary.

For instance, at the end of every negotiation, you want the other party to feel like everyone’s a winner. Preparation will give you a chance to understand what you can bring to the table so you can get what you want. It can also help you view the conversation from their perspective before going into it. By preparing and strengthening your negotiation skills before a negotiation process begins, you will be able to adapt your approach to fit the needs of the other party, and this goes a long way.

5. Rather than Sell, Discuss

Negotiations should revolve around discussions concerning how to achieve a mutually agreeable result. By offering a “this is how we can help you” pitch, you will have something to negotiate with, since this allows you tell the other party why they need your product or service.

It is also important that you identify trade-offs – those things that are off high value to the other party yet low cost. For instance, if your startup is into the sales of IT systems, and part of your offer includes a two-day on-site assistance from your engineer, you could offer three days, since you already you already cover the costs for that person, so an extra day will not cost you much.

But, if on the other hand, you charge $500 to send your engineer out for a service daily, your service will be really valuable to them. So how can you help them and receive help in return? It is important that you do not move away from your normal price point. But what can you offer that still brings value to the table?

6. Ask for a Break

Do not be scared to ask for some time out during negotiations. Negotiations may get really tricky and you may just need time to go away and collect your thoughts. If you are not against a fixed deadline, do well to ask for some time to recalibrate your thoughts and reconsider your options.

7. Understand Your Position

Before going into negotiations, consider three positions: what you could potentially get away with (often your opening bid), what you should expect (based on the outcome), and the other party. In the heat of the conversation, it is easy to offer more than you normally want to, hence, it is important that you understand your position well in advance.

While it is fine to be extreme during negotiations, it is also ideal that you are realistic with your offers and opening bid. By taking realistic positions, you can win the trust of your deal breakers and ensure fruitful collaborations with your business.

8. Get to Know Their Position

One of the biggest mistakes startup owners make is failing to understand the position of their opponent. When selling a product or service, for instance, ask what a potential customer is willing to pay if they do not want to meet your asking price. When you are able to uncover the thoughts of the other party, you will now have two positions to work with – and there is an opportunity for negotiation.

9. Practice, Practice, Practice

Mastering strong negotiation strategies that become innate requires practice and more practice. As you prepare to utilise your negotiation skills in business, a sense of vigilance is required. Think about the best concepts that will apply to different individuals and businesses, practice them all the time: with friends, family, and even at work. If you consciously apply your new negotiation strategies in different applications, they would gradually become nature, and take the place of the old patterns.

Closing Thoughts

Negotiation is a key part of the business process – and even our everyday life. By applying these simple practices, you will be better able to scale up your business and achieve the best outcomes for your startup. Practice these skills, continuously challenge yourself, but be kind to yourself when you make mistakes. These mistakes help you develop stronger skills – and help you strike the best deals in the long run.

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This article was first published on e27, on October 24, 2018.

Mark Sands, co-founder of High Risk Merchant Account LLC, a leader specialising in high risk merchant account and high risk ach processing. Mark is an authoritative expert in the merchant services industry and enjoys writing about the issues facing entrepreneurs in the current marketplace environment.

e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

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Core reasons to be positive about logistics tech in Asia

Market size and lack of investment in technology

Also Read: 4 key points to consider when scaling in Southeast Asia

The logistics industry is in the top three sectors by size in every Southeast Asian country. However, the level of investment in logistics-tech startups has lagged other sectors, such as finance.

For example, in the last five years, eCommerce and FinTech startups have each closed over 1500 funding rounds, whereas logistics companies have only had 400 funding rounds.

This lack of investment has meant that startups entering a sector of the logistics market often face very little competition (with the notable exception of last-mile delivery) and have

Market structure

More important than the overall size of the market is the structure of the logistics market.

For example, in Singapore alone, there are over 7000 logistics companies, and 80 per cent of trucking companies have under ten trucks. The result is often an extremely inefficient market, in Singapore, for example, over 50 per cent of haulage trips are empty.

Also Read: These agritech startups will take Southeast Asia’s emerging market to the next level

These market inefficiencies are ideal for technology solutions to aggregate supply and demand and provide insights and guidance on operational efficiency.

E-commerce growth

E-commerce in Southeast Asia is currently growing over 50 per cent year-on-year and still only accounts for less than 3 per cent of retail sales. There are two pillars that support eCommerce – finance (primarily payments) and logistics. ‘

In our opinion, the opportunity for early-stage investing in payments is limited. This is because several well-financed payments companies are already established in each market, the same is not true of logistics where (apart from last-mile delivery) there are few well-financed startups.

For example, warehousing is an essential component of the eCommerce supply chain.

However, most warehouses have minimal technology to assist in stock management or to integrate the storage with last-mile delivery.

E-commerce also puts very different requirements on the logistics network. eCommerce loads are smaller and more frequent, and thus more expensive and complicated than the traditional FTL/FCL (Full-Truckload / Full Container Load) model.

Technology is an essential component of eCommerce logistics both to manage costs and increase supply-chain flexibility.

Deliveries were previous a low-priority function for most retailers and manufacturers. eCommerce has dramatically changed this, with delivery now being a key issue for customer satisfaction. Over 40per cent of all product reviews on Asian eCommerce sites are for the delivery experience as opposed to the product itself).

Customers are now demanding fast, low-cost deliveries and granular order tracking and eCommerce vendors will need to make extensive use of logistics-tech to fulfil those demands.

Low-profit margins

The low margin nature of the logistics industry provides an opportunity for startups to offer cost-saving technology solutions.

In trucking, for example, profit margins in Asia (ex-China) have declined from 30 per cent in 2007 to just over 10 per cent in 2017. Thus, trucking companies are actively seeking solutions that will reduce costs and increase efficiency to counter the downward trend in margins.

Technologies, which can reduce costs by just a few percentage points, will have a meaningful impact on profitability. In contrast, industries with high margins (like finance or healthcare) are often less receptive to cost-saving technology since it will not make a significant difference to profitability.

Also Read: How to get smart capital in Southeast Asia

Low regulation

Logistics tends to be very lightly regulated compared with many other large industries such as finance, insurance or healthcare. The lack of regulation allows startups to grow faster and more efficiently.

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Co-leading the investment into Logisly are Convergence Ventures and Genesia Ventures

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Convergence Ventures is an investor at Optimatic, the parent company of e27.

Image Credit: Krzysztof Kowalik on Unsplash

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Meal Temple will deploy its tech and operations locally through its food delivery unit DrukFood

Meal Temple Group, a Cambodia-based food delivery and logistics company with operations in Laos, has announced its entry into the Kingdom of Bhutan with an investment in DrukRide, an online bus ticket booking platform.

Founded by Jigme Thinley Yoezer Rinzin, DrukRide.com has developed an app that allows local and international travellers to book and buy bus tickets in the country.

The partnership with Meal Temple will help Thimphu-based DrukRide to expand its operations into other parts of Bhutan. Although it is small compared to others in the region, Bhutan is still untapped, and the demand for online and delivery services is growing.

Meal Temple will deploy its tech and operations locally through its food delivery unit DrukFood. More than 80 restaurants are already working with the local team to offer meals to customers throughout the city, leveraging a network of thousands of drivers that DrukRide has collected through its ride-hailing service MyDrukRide.

Also Read: ShweProperty raises US$3M in fresh funding as 500 Startups makes an entry into Myanmar

DrukRide will also offer a range of new services it is offering in other markets to become a super app eventually.

“Thanks to our local knowledge and their (Meal Temple’s) industry experience, acquired through other similar frontier markets in Asia, we will be able to address hundreds of daily orders within the next few weeks,” Rinzin said.

In June, Meal Temple Group announced a strategic equity investment into Freshgora.com, an on-demand food and grocery delivery startup in Myanmar.

Last October, Cambodia-based startup Meal Temple raised a six-figure round from private Australian and European investors.

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Why is a representational approach towards training managers more effective?

Several weeks ago, I attended a 4-day workshop in Singapore about facilitating powerful conversation. This short excursion is part of the personal development program in Product Narrative. 2 that of us went to.

The workshop covered a lot of materials about somatic (body), language, and emotion.

However, one thing that struck me the most was how the workshop was set up and conducted. It was apparent that a lot of effort, if not all, was done to create an environment or situation that supports real learning. Hence, for example, during a discussion of sadness or pity, the environment was able to evoke that emotion for many of the participants.

This experiential learning environment made the participants learn and understand the material in the real context.

This is not an attempt to summarise the content or experience of that multi-day workshop into a short article. I’d be sceptical of the quality of any of such effort, really.

But, I’d like to call out a similarity between the setup that was created in the workshop and the learning environment created from adopting OKR (Objectives and Key Results)

As it is challenging to learn about emotions just by reading, it is analogously hard and incomplete to learn to become a better manager by merely reading or attending workshops.

Both require experiential learning. Real circumstances must support learning.

Also Read: How to help managers improve performance appraisals?

We’ll explore how implementing OKR in your organisation essentially creates a real environment to train your managers to become better leaders.

“Managers matter a lot and can have a significant impact on employee performance “— Google re Work

Also, how does it eventually encourage behaviours that support more efficient meetings? We’ll look into the former topic in this article and continue with the latter in the next post.

When learning does not support the real environment

Have you read a typical how-to-become-a-good-manager article?

Such an article usually lists down a few pieces of advice such as “learn to delegate” or “do not micromanage.” Or, perhaps, had you enrolled in a training program that covers a long list of skills for managers?

A quick Google search will give us many to choose from, e.g. essential skills for managers, new manager boot camp, or how to supervise and manage your team effectively.

If you answered yes to any of the questions, you understand that they provide valuable knowledge.

To take it further, you might also agree that many of those materials were created based on good intention: to help managers to get better.

But, why is it challenging to follow through and practice the knowledge in the real world, e.g. in your office?

Wendy Palmer, in her book “Embodied Leadership” shares a useful hint:

“When I read books on personal development, I am in a safe place, usually my bed or favourite chair, and all of the recommendations make sense to me. However, when I experience a stressful situation outside of my comfortable environment, all those good ideas about how to work with stress go out the window”.

It is about the learning environment.

Also Read: 4 reasons why startups should recruit more women than ever

OKR facilitates a real learning environment and frequent practice

When you implement OKR in your organisation, you mainly facilitate the creation of a learning environment to practice the essential skills to become a good manager.

Let’s take two things that always come up in any to-become-a-great-manager material:

1.Delegating work

2.Communicating with your team, as in giving feedback

And, let’s see how OKR provides a framework that naturally positions you to delegate and communicate frequently:

The timeframe referred in the above table (e.g. “… each person’s weekly OKR …”) assumes that we’re doing a weekly OKR. Bi-weekly is another typical timeframe for OKR cadence.

The Setup and Review sessions, which shape the cadence, allow you to learn and practice frequently in the real working environment.

Closing thoughts

Becoming a good manager will not happen soon after graduating from a management training course, nor by reading a hundred articles that list down the how-to.

It requires real learning context to practice the skills, such as delegation and communication, and a healthy dose of repetition.

Another quote from the same book by Palmer:

“If reading a book were all we had to do to achieve our full potential, then we would all be there. Part of the problem with just reading and understanding the information is that we do not have the embodied experience of the theory”.

Also Read: 7 effective ways to motivate employees

OKR facilitates that embodied experience of the (how-to-become-a-good-manager) theory.

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The investment into StakeWith.Us will be a second lead investment that LuneX Ventures has concluded since its appointment to SGInnovate’s panel of co-investors

Singapore-based blockchain infrastructure startup StakeWith.Us today announced a S$825,000 (US$595,000) seed funding round led by SGInnovate and LuneX Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures’ dedicated fund for blockchain investments.

The investment will be a second lead investment that LuneX Ventures has concluded since its appointment to SGInnovate’s panel of co-investors, under the Startup SG Equity to identify and co-invest with SGInnovate in early-stage deep tech startups founded in Singapore.

StakeWith.Us wants to use the funding to scale its team across Asia and expand its offering.

In an email to e27, StakeWith.Us Co-Founder Michael Ng explained further details of this plan.

“We started off as a three-man team and have scaled up to seven people (with five in Singapore and two in Vietnam) to date. The main focus of our new hires is to maintain our core infrastructure … and build institutional facing products,” he wrote.

Also Read: (Exclusive) Merkle Science raises US$804K in seed funding round led by LuneX, SGInnovate

“As of now, we are providing staking services for three protocols, and with our current pipeline, we aim to provide up to nine protocols by the end of this year. We are also pro-actively approaching potential institutional clients to provide bespoke staking services for them,” he continued.

StakeWith.Us offers digital asset owners a secure, performant and reliable service to secure new decentralised Proof of Stake networks.

“Even though StakeWith.Us is formally incorporated only early this year, we have been hard at work since Q3 last year. Providing staking infrastructure is complex; you are required to have a deep understanding of each protocol and technical know-how to properly configure, secure and maintain your nodes,” Ng explained.

Prior to starting StakeWith.Us, the company’s founders have also worked together to invest in blockchain startups. The team has expertise across financial markets, software development, and cybersecurity.

In a press statement, Kenrick Drijkoningen, Founding Partner of LuneX Ventures, named staking services as the core infrastructure needed for decentralised, permissionless networks and that they are the “asset managers of tomorrow.”

Also Read: College admission platform Cialfo raises US$3M Series A funding

Pang Heng Soon, Head, Venture Building, SGInnovate also predicted Proof-of-Stake protocols to become a “dominant trend” in the blockchain industry.

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Image Credit: StakeWith.Us

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Essential tips for B2B entrepreneurs who would like to modernise and take their traditional businesses online.

B2B E-commerce can be defined as the online sale of products and services from one business entity to another.

This is different from B2C e-commerce, wherein products and services are sold to personal consumers. B2C e-commerce sales are relatively easier because of fixed pricing and the simplistic nature of the transaction.

In contrast, B2B e-commerce is more complicated with differential pricing, customised workflows, multiple touchpoints and flexible payment terms.

However, since most B2B users of products and services have become accustomed to the streamlined process of B2C, they are increasingly expecting a similar experience from B2B companies.

The B2B e-commerce industry is snowballing, with some estimates projecting the size of the market at US$1.2 trillion by 2021.

Furthermore, according to Forrester, 74 per cent of customers prefer to buy online as compared to buying from a sales representative. This number rises to 93 per cent when they’ve already decided what to buy and need to make the purchase.

With this in mind, B2B companies and other wholesalers cannot afford to stick to their traditional offline approach of dealing with clients and customers. They need to quickly adapt and chalk up a digital strategy that will help them capitalise on the growing trend of online buying.

Also Read: Best B2B marketing KPIs that directly impact sales growth

Here is a round-up of the different steps B2B companies can take to grow their e-commerce business:

Acquiring customers

The first step is to create an online storefront which serves as the digital equivalent of a brick and mortar set up. This can be done through a custom-built site or using a suitable technology platform like Magento, CS-Cart, Woo-commerce etc.

While selecting the right e-commerce platform, it’s essential to consider the specific requirements of the business such as size and complexity of the product catalogue, variations offered, MOQs, tiered pricing, etc.

Once the platform is set up, B2B e-commerce companies need to be able to draw customers to their sites. A robust search engine strategy can help attract the correct target audience to the e-store.

Firms should invest in both technical search engine optimisation and a content-rich strategy that will help drive highly relevant organic traffic to the site.

They can also leverage advertising tools like search engine ads, product listing and display network ads to capture the eyes of potential users of their products. Social media can be another essential channel for acquiring customers.

It helps in brand building exercises and informing customers of seasonal offers and exclusive discounts.

Customer evaluation and decision making

Once a customer is on the site, they should be provided with a shopping experience that is at par with a brick and mortar store.

B2B Firms can leverage case studies and testimonials from satisfied customers on the home page to instil immediate trust in their products and services.

The site should have a powerful search engine that enables users to find the products they are looking for quickly. The product catalogue needs to be categorized in a logical manner, which makes it easy for users to browse through the offerings.

The B2B site needs to be closely integrated with the backend ERP system to sync up product availability and inventory levels, minimum order quantities and tiered pricing. Sites can further improve the customer experience by introducing features like smart product filters, product recommendations and comparison of product alternatives.

It is also important for B2B e-commerce sites to have distinct client-side interfaces to deal with the more complicated requirements of purchase teams. In addition to the straightforward add-to-cart feature, the store should have a way of capturing an indent, spreadsheet or a long list of product requirements from the client.

Also Read: Is customer centric approach applicable in B2B structure?

Sales support

B2B e-commerce sites need to bring in automation to the entire sales workflow. While users can quickly checkout with their fundamental orders, they will need assistance from a sales rep for their more complex orders.

Onsite chat, call and email support can all play an essential role in guiding a user’s purchase journey.

Sales reps should be trained in encouraging customers to place their simpler orders and reorders online so that they can have more time to address the bigger deals.

Configure Price Quote (CPQ) tools can help firms provide a highly accurate and configured quote to the client.

CPQ puts upper and lower limits in place so that your sales team is always quoting with the latest approved pricing and discounting rules.

Order status information and previous order history of a client should be easily accessible to a sales rep so that they can always provide the right information to a client.

 

Customer Retention

 

B2B customers tend to be more loyal as compared to their B2C counterparts. This provides a great opportunity to tailor solutions to clients.

B2B e-commerce sites can create user profiles for their customers based on their past order data and browsing behaviour on the site. These profiles can then be used to cross-sell and up-sell highly relevant user-specific product recommendations.

They can also implement customer-specific pricing and product bundles. Recurring requirements can be dealt with by offering automated reordering and subscription services to clients.

By offering flexible payment terms and lines of credit to customers, B2B e-commerce sites can smoothen the ordering and checkout process. Providing automated tax-compliant invoices is another essential platform feature that can reduce costs and streamline accounting for the company.

Also Read: The changes B2B marketing has felt over the past 5 years

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