Customer behavior has changed, and many people now prefer to buy goods and services online because it is convenient. After all, internet connectivity has reached every corner of the country. B2B buying and selling over the web are among the activities that have been quite successful today. A B2B ecommerce platform provides the necessary portal to buy and sell products and at the same time gives the seller all the tools they need to manage their business.
So, when an entrepreneur in a B2B is searching for the best platform to start their business, they look at the features of the platform. As mentioned, the B2B ecommerce platform should manage all aspects of the businesses from product and finance management to customer service and marketing.
Because there are so many B2B platforms on the market today, it is paramount that you know the important features to check and their benefits to help in making informed decisions.
Product Management on a B2B Ecommerce Platform
Have you heard of multivendor and multichannel capabilities in a B2B ecommerce platform? You probably have if you are already involved in ecommerce. They enable users of a platform to access their product pages through a login and to edit product descriptions, add new products, delete what is not needed, and manage prices.
This makes B2B management easy, fast, and convenient. Your product pages will stay up to date at all times, and you can decide where to sell your products through a multichannel capability, including on social media.
Account Management
There is an increasing need for B2B owners to control which employees and stakeholders can access the business systems and their level of access. As such, a reputable B2B ecommerce platform should have a feature to control access rights for product management pages, inventory management systems, and financial systems among others.
Those that provide access control features are the best to use today for efficient and secure B2B operation management. Since B2B are usually large businesses with many employees, they definitely need this.
Headless Ecommerce Approach
Probably, you have heard about headless ecommerce management and wondered what it is all about. With this approach, an ecommerce solution provider separates the head and body in operations. As such, the entrepreneur is only left with a few tasks while the platform handles all back-end operations.
The main benefit of the approach in a B2B ecommerce platform is that users can focus on their products and listening to customers, and they do not have to worry about the other tasks.
Customizable Features of a B2B Ecommerce Platform
When a B2B ecommerce platform offers modular and customizable features, any user gets the power to implement what is useful to their business. Of course, one business’s needs differ from another’s. So, you should look for an ecommerce platform that will perfectly meet your needs through the customization of features.
Fortunately, most reputable ones offer modular solutions. It is a trend, and you can look at more info on the web to understand this concept better. Customization is also the best way to get value for your money since you can pick features that suit your budget.
Secure Financial Management
Every B2B ecommerce platform can attest that the number of sales made on a daily basis is numerous. And they all need to be processed through a secure payment gateway. Fortunately, these platforms ensure the security of payment transactions and also partner with secure financial institutions to facilitate this.
If you are fortunate to use a platform with a secure payment system, then you will have smooth and successful operations.
Marketing Tools
What is a business without marketing? It is the most effective way to look for new customers. B2B owners must make use of the provided tools to aggressively market and promote their businesses on the web. The multichannel capability we mentioned earlier helps entrepreneurs to influence sales on different sales platforms such as social media websites.
Additionally, one can also use the SEO tools provided to increase the online presence of their products. Actually, one can still advertise products on other websites and have customers get directed to the product page.
Integrations with Other Features
A B2B ecommerce platform that integrates a lot of helpful features gives its users the power to improve their operations management and grow their businesses rapidly. For instance, integration with SharePoint features makes collaboration very easy.
The good thing is that there are thousands of integrations that can be implemented with a platform, especially if it uses the ASP.NET architecture. Some boast of thousands of plugins and integrations and allow users to pick what is ideal for them.
Self-Service Option
Some business people are also full-time workers or have multiple businesses to run. Hence, they need a completely self-service B2B ecommerce platform to manage their business on a flexible schedule. Usually, headless ecommerce platforms allow users to perform various tasks while the system manages others.
But one thing is for sure; the users should manage products through the multivendor capability and keep in touch with their customers. Self-service is great because you can keep your B2B up to date and stay involved.
Data Management and Reporting
Whether a B2B is using an ERP, a CRM, or relying on the B2B ecommerce platform’s data management, getting detailed reports is very crucial. Luckily, all reputable platforms have some form of inventory and data management and reporting system.
Data reporting gives entrepreneurs everything they need to make informed decisions. So, make sure that you know all the reports that you will be getting on a daily basis before committing yourself to an ecommerce platform.
Cloud-Based Ecommerce
To conclude, it is worth mentioning that a cloud-based ecommerce platform is the best option because it gives users the ability to manage operations remotely. All the features we have mentioned can be accessed remotely and with different devices. So, when looking for an appropriate B2B ecommerce platform for your business, ensure they have a cloud capability and that it is working perfectly.
With all these features, any B2B that intends to run its operations online will have an easy time creating a product page, launching a business on a thriving marketplace, and managing it perfectly. Additionally, the entrepreneur can influence sales by utilizing marketing tools. So, ensure they are provided and enjoy the benefits.
