Business-to-business companies need to act now to forge a digital strategy for dealing with customers, Forrester Research says in a new report projecting $1.132 trillion in U.S. B2B e-commerce sales by 2020.
Manufacturers and distributors, if they haven’t already, must take a hard look at how they can best meet the needs of their customers in a digital world, Forrester Research e-business analyst Andy Hoar says in the report, “US B2B eCommerce Forecast: 2015 to 2020.”
The report urges B2B companies to “become an order of magnitude more digitally savvy,” and suggests the following strategies:
Produce a digital plan for 2018. First, envision how customer journeys will appear three years from now, then work backward to the present to build the right mix of data, analytics and other technology and expertise required to understand customers’ needs at a time when many buyers go online to obtain instant information on products available in a global marketplace.
Become a customer-first operation. Too many companies still operate in an offline-first selling mode, which is incompatible with modern buyers who expect the convenience of research and purchasing products online.
Prepare to operate in a market where manufacturers and distributors both compete and cooperate to get products to end-users. As manufacturers sell more direct to customers, for example, distributors are must learn to offer some of their exclusive products and services.
The report also lays out several trends that are driving B2B e-commerce in the United States to more than $1 trillion by 2020. It says the growth will be driven largely by “channel-shifting” B2B buyers who are buying more online than through phone and other offline channels, and the opportunity for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors to cut their operating costs by processing more sales to customers through self-service e-commerce sites and electronic processing of orders.
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