B2B personalization: discover key strategies to help your business engage prospects better, increase conversions, and drive long-term customer loyalty.
B2B personalization: buyers’ new expectations
As the B2B e-commerce sector grows, so do the expectations of customers. A new generation of digitally-native B2B buyers have come to expect online journeys similar to their B2C experiences: user-friendly e-commerce websites, flexible payment options, and speedy delivery. And there’s a further important feature the online B2B customer experience now demands: personalization.
According to a Forrester-Adobe study1, 72% of B2B customers expect fully personalized content when using products and services.
Personalization is the key to your business achieving higher engagement with B2B decision-makers and ultimately achieving an increase in sales. Let’s explore the benefits a little closer.
Benefits of B2B personalization
Increased engagement and conversions
In a crowded market, businesses which serve personalized content, recommendations and communication will appear more relevant to potential buyers, and move them through the sales funnel more effectively. Additionally, cross-selling and upselling become more effective when based on customer preferences.
Enhanced customer loyalty
78% of customers are more likely to make repeat purchases from businesses that personalize2. These recurring interactions provide your business with valuable data to strengthen its future marketing and sales strategies – generating a flywheel of long-term customer loyalty.
75% of B2B buyers would switch to suppliers that offer better online buying experiences3.
More efficient marketing
Personalization taps into customer data to help marketing and sales teams target the right audience with relevant content. They can focus their time on high-value prospects who are more likely to convert.
Enhanced competitive advantage
Businesses that use personalization will stand out from competitors. They demonstrate superior customer understanding and service, positioning themselves as credible experts in their industry. This ensures they are front of mind when the prospect comes to buy.
B2B personalization: Five strategies for success
B2B sales have traditionally been built on long-term, carefully nurtured relationships between buyers and sellers. As the sector moves online, the challenge for businesses is how to replicate this personal experience online.
Follow these five strategies to help your business add the personal touch:
1. Offer account-based personalization
When a customer logs in to their account on your online portal, they should be served with tailored content from the get-go. This can include:
- A personalized dashboard displaying their order history, pending invoices, and the status of any live shipments.
- Adapted landing pages based on the user’s role within their organization. For example, buyers would see catalogs and pricing, while finance personnel would see billing and payment history.
- Product suggestions based on their previous browsing behavior and purchase history.
- Personalized discounts and bulk pricing tailored to their purchasing history.
- Automatically adjusted currency, taxes, and shipping options based on the user’s location.
2. Provide customer-specific pricing
B2B pricing has traditionally been based on close negotiation between two parties. This highly personalized approach can be replicated online:
- Adjust pricing based on order quantity: implement a tiered pricing structure where bulk orders receive better discounts.
- Use AI-driven dynamic pricing to respond to real-time demand, stock levels, or competitors’ pricing, ensuring the prospect is always offered the best deals.
- Negotiate and store custom pricing agreements within your e-commerce platform so that the customer automatically receives their agreed-upon rates when logged in.
- Reward long-term customers and high-value accounts with unique offers and deals. You might want to consider a subscription pricing model too, to encourage recurring orders.
3. Use AI chatbots
These are a powerful tool to use across your online channels to assist buyers on their journey. Their personalization capabilities mean that they can enhance the B2B customer experience significantly. They can:
- Recognize returning users and greet them by name.
- Fetch and display order history, pricing agreements, and past conversations.
- Provide tailored answers based on the user's account details and past enquiries.
- Offer customized recommendations based on previous purchases.
- Display customer-specific pricing, bulk discounts, and special offers.
- Use AI-driven insights to suggest upsells and cross-sells based on purchase patterns.
Best of all, they’re available 24/7 (in multiple languages), meaning your business will never miss a sales opportunity!
4. Personalize your marketing
B2B customer segmentation is essential for personalizing marketing experiences. Unlike B2C, B2B segmentation is more complex because it involves multiple decision-makers and varying purchasing behaviors, so tapping into AI and data analytics is crucial. Once you have segmented your B2B buyer personas, you can:
- Send tailored email campaigns to prospects and customers based on their previous browsing/purchase history.
- Leverage retargeting ads to offer specific deals and discounts to incentivize those who have abandoned their carts.
- Share “non-sales” content, too. Sending prospects whitepapers they may be interested in, for example, will pique their interest and position your business as a credible, knowledgeable source within the industry.
5. Take a hybrid approach
The typical B2B buyer’s journey often involves multiple channels – websites, emails, chatbots, and sales reps. The challenge for your business is to create a unified and personalized buying experience across these touchpoints. And that’s where a mix of online and offline interactions with the customer will pay off. Here are a few examples:
- AI-powered insights help to anticipate customers’ needs – such as when they might require reordering, upgrades, or support. At this point, a sales rep can reach out to the customer to offer extra help.
- Your site and CRM analytics can identify that a prospect has downloaded a whitepaper, attended a webinar, or engaged with an email. This should trigger a follow-up call or email from one of your sales reps to discuss further.
- After a sale has been completed online, a friendly follow-up phone call from a sales rep to gain feedback and offer some further support will be highly appreciated and leave a positive impression with the buyer.
For more B2B insights, strategies and best practices, download The Ultimate Guide to B2B E-commerce.
