B2C companies are striving to move beyond acquisition and are working toward building loyalty and retention among their key customer segments, according to two new surveys conducted by Oracle Commerce.
B2B companies, however, are increasingly seeking to deliver the types of commerce capabilities and customer experiences that have been connected to great B2C ecommerce companies.
“Consumer expectations continue to change the way both B2B and B2C businesses sell online,” John Andrews, Vice President of Product Management, Oracle, said in a release. “In B2C, there is a renewed focus on increasing loyalty as competition grows at a fever pitch. Meanwhile, B2B organizations are still under increasing pressure to adopt B2C commerce best practices. Developing customer-centric approaches and investing in omni-channel initiatives will be key to online revenue growth for both B2B and B2C organizations in 2014.”
According to the studies, B2B and B2C commerce professionals find integrated, omni-channel customer experiences increasingly valuable to their organizations, and are continuing to invest in technologies and digital content strategies to facilitate them. What’s more, 77% of B2B respondents said that customer expectations have been raised due to B2C practices.
Here are some key takeaways from the studies:
B2C Companies Personalize Experiences, Build Loyalty
In 2014, B2C commerce will focus on knowing the customer and building loyalty. Key performance indicators are changing to become increasingly customer-centric. Nearly half of the respondents, (49%) said customer retention is their most important metric for success after revenue.
Personalization is becoming more important as organizations seek to battle price competition and develop loyal customer bases. Big Data initiatives are also growing in priority, as organizations seek to learn more about their customers.
B2C companies will focus on unifying content and commerce to improve the customer experience. The majority of respondents, (59%) said they are investing in rich digital content to enhance the overall customer experience, in addition to increasing purchase confidence, overcoming competitive sites, and helping with SEO efforts.
The omni-channel experience is critical to success, but difficult to manage and measure. Organizations appear to embrace omni-channel and its positive impact on their bottom line, but struggle to connect the various customer touch points to provide improved experiences.
B2B Organizations Replicate B2C Customer Experience Strategies
Customer expectations are changing to match B2C retail experiences. B2C practices such as search engine marketing, personalization, social and mobile are increasingly being used to encourage repeat business and drive revenue.
Company priorities and metrics are shifting to include more customer-focused areas such as customer loyalty and retention, as well as omni-channel experience. Just 8% of respondents said customer loyalty and retention was their top area of focus in 2013, but 45% said it was going to be one of their top priorities in 2014. Also, 28% of respondents said they now consider customer loyalty as a key measure of success.
Customer acquisition remains important, and 51% of respondents said it would be an important measure of success in 2014.
40% of respondents said that mobile is a key capability B2B buyers need, but only 2% said mobile is driving significant revenue.
Complexity across pricing, products, channels, online experiences and back-end systems remains a challenge in B2B commerce, as 98% of respondents acknowledged organizational complexity.