The Rise of B2B eCommerce: Top 3 Reasons to Start Selling Online Today

Over the past few years, customer habits have changed rapidly to reflect the new normal that is working from home in your fanciest pair of sweatpants. More importantly, the average B2B customer has also transformed.

Millennials and Gen Z are taking over the workforce, and this younger generation prefers B2B purchases to flow more like B2C eCommerce. Easy, straightforward omnichannel experiences are becoming an increasingly vital part of selling your product to appease these new buyers.

So if you’re reading this, it’s a sign to ditch the telemarketing calls and finally roll up your digital sleeves to pull in those leads. 

In this article, you will learn the top three reasons why you need to start selling online today. Plus, we’ll share how to implement them for the best customer experience possible.

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1. Your customers’ expectations are changing

Consider this: your customer profile may have undergone a makeover this past decade. 

Millennials and Gen Z are taking the job market by storm, and a surprisingly high number of those millennials are now making major B2B purchasing decisions for their companies.

Gone are the days of handwritten signatures and the meticulously penned Little Black Book. These modern customers have been plugged in all their lives, increasing the demand for streamlined digital sales experiences. 

Plus, 44% of your new millennial customers prefer to entirely avoid interacting with sales reps. Instead, you should deliver a seamless omnichannel experience right at their fingertips. This way, when they are ready to pull the trigger, their purchase is as intuitive as the click of a button. 

2. Unlocking new revenue streams will scale your business

Take a moment to think about how much revenue you bring in through traditional channels. Now close your eyes and imagine the exponential business growth if you could double or even triple those streams. 

Selling online can deliver that growth to you in as little as a few months. The conventional methods are tried and true, but the internet can offer a practical and lucrative approach to expanding your revenue streams to places you never even dreamed of.

A. Sell online through your website.

Not only can you appeal more easily to modern customers, but you can choose unique products and services to sell through your online channels. 

Selling through your website allows you to have easy-to-understand information about your business available at the click of a button. The moment your customers are ready to buy, there’s nothing getting in their way.

B. Hold digital events

For many B2B businesses, webinars and digital conventions are an excellent way to garner interest in your services and provide immediate value to potential customers. 

The best part is that you can use all the online tools at your disposal to build those valuable relationships right away with customers worldwide. 

C. Add a paywall for digital content 

Once you’ve developed rapport and intrigue among your potential customers, it’s time to give them the chance to add to that value. Provide the juicy details and good bits of your service behind a paywall. 

Take The Copy Posse, for example. Alex Cattoni draws in potential students for her online copywriting course by offering educational online content. However, those who want to learn to apply her tips are prompted to purchase her online course to truly learn how to ignite their online business.

D. Start a subscription-based service 

When you move your selling online, you can also implement a subscription pricing model. Customers will benefit from the ability to conveniently repurchase your software. Meanwhile, you can easily retain that revenue to help your business grow better every month.

3. Drive a more efficient buying process for your customers and team

Once upon a time, the gilded age of in-person sales interaction was upon us. Now, selling online makes the sales process more efficient for both your customers and your internal teams.  

Contracts can finally be signed from miles away and there are millions to be made by streamlining your process. Now, you and your team can quickly onboard more customers and save precious time to focus on growing your business together. 

How To Get Started 

1. Define your goals

How would you like to see selling online change the game for your business? Whether you are looking to grow your revenue streams, attract more customers, or streamline your sales processes, defining your goals will guide your priorities.

2. Decide what to sell

Whether you want to sell your full product or move certain aspects of your business online, you must first decide what you want to sell and how to sell it. 

For example, the tech company Apps Without Code sells online boot camps that provide immense value by teaching their customers app coding skills at the click of a button.

If you are selling B2B products instead, online sales can open even more doors. For example, Plants Without Borders offers wholesale exotic plants to their online customers, with no trade shows or showrooms required. 

Even if you’re selling something a bit heftier, no product is too big for B2B online sales. Stone Products Unlimited, Inc. provides a streamlined buying experience for customers seeking trend-forward stone and tile for their home or business. 

The infrastructure nonprofit American Concrete Pipe Association offers no digital or physical products. Instead, they are utilizing their online platform to sell tickets for their upcoming week-long event, Concrete Pipe Week 2022.

 3. Decide how you will accept payments 

When you start selling online, you’re going to need a payment platform to bring it all together. Luckily, Hubspot offers a native payment system that streamlines the whole process. 

Instead of cobbling together your payment data with other tools that don’t talk with each other, Hubspot Payments are built together with the Hubspot CRM Platform.

Hubspot Payments allows you to grow by unlocking new revenue streams through online sales. Through digital payments, you will get paid faster and manage everything through your personalized all-in-one platform.

Plus, you save your team time when your payment data flows flawlessly from one Hubspot tool to another. With Hubspot Payments, you can trigger automation for emails, onboarding documents, and beyond. 

This means that you can rest easy knowing that your customers undergo a seamless, easy payment process and their information is securely organized with the rest of your essential business data.

 4. Start selling 

Finally, once you have your goals, your products, and your payments all in line it’s time to get out there and start selling! 

Moving your purchasing process online can be intimidating at first, but you will soon fall in love with the time and energy you save to focus on bringing your business to new heights.

The reality is that the market is rapidly moving towards hybrid and digital sales models. To keep up with your customers’ quickly changing needs and get a leg up on your competitors, it is essential that your business move online today.

If you’re already online or starting to ease into the transition, try HubSpot Payments to make the process even smoother. 

Your customers will thank you for the straightforward and secure checkout, and you will be thanking yourself once the revenue starts rolling in like magic from your online sales.

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