Just as craft breweries are prospering because they hit home with beer connoisseurs, companies involved in B2B commerce must figure out what’s important to their customers.

Local craft beers make up a strong, ongoing trend because they provide beer connoisseurs the taste they want. So when I moderated a panel of B2B e-commerce experts last week about pleasing B2B customers, it seemed appropriate to have the discussion at the Surly Brewery in Minneapolis. As I traded ideas with the panel of five industry experts, an audience of more than 150 kicked back among craft brews and took note. 

As you might expect in a craft beer pub, ideas flowed easily as we addressed a topic that’s often missed in networking events: modernizing the B2B industry.

The five panelists were: 

  • John Moberg, chief operating officer  and co-founder of Modern Climate, a provider of brand-building services and marketing technology;
  • Bob Jenkins, manager of marketing education at LeadPages, a website landing page optimization firm;
  • Darin Lynch, founder and CEO of Irish Titan, a developer of e-commerce websites developer and digital strategies;
  • Mike Pierce, chief technology officer of Echidna, a developer of e-commerce websites and growth strategies;
  • Tim Allen, vice president of management consulting at Pragmatek, a management consulting firm.

Here are the top three highlights from the discussion: 

The B2B User Experience Matters

I posed an important question to the panel on whether experience matters in B2B as much as it does in B2C. We all know that in the B2C world, a good user experience is the foundation for every single site created, especially when it comes to millennials’ expectation that every buying experience mirror that of Amazon’s. John Moberg of Modern Climate talked to his company’s challenge of making agriculture sexy for a client in that industry. Is user experience really important there? Yes. Whether you’re talking B2B or B2C, everyone is a buyer, and maybe more importantly, everyone is human. 

As Darin Lynch from Irish Titan pointed out, “If you get on your phone and a website is not mobile-responsive, you’re going to have a bad user experience and never go back…no matter who you are.” Agriculture may not be “sexy” per se, but by creating a positive user experience within a site, you’re drawing in customers who expect a modern user experience, making it easier for them to do business with you and ensuring they keep coming back.

Business First, Online Second 

A strategy isn’t complete without the right technology, and the right technology isn’t complete without a strategy. Mike Pierce from Echidna noted that, “I.T. projects don’t fail because of the technology; they fail on low stakeholder buy-in.” If you are going to modernize your B2B business and initiate a digital transformation, your entire company must be on board. It’s essential to have strong leadership and an adaptive culture in order for technology within your business to be successful. However, you also need the right tools to move forward in your strategy. As Lynch from Irish Titan mentioned, “Offline, paper-driven or fax-driven customer engagement simply isn’t scalable.” If you’re looking to grow, you need to find a solution that will grow with you.

Personalization is Key 

All sales are built on human interactions, even in business-to-business transactions. As Pierce from Echidna said, “It’s not about B2B and B2C. It’s people-to-people commerce.” You have to give your buyers exactly what they need, and that starts with personalization.

Tim Allen of Pragmatek said, “Be sure to know the voice of your buyer” so that you can make your customers feel successful. When a user comes to your site, she is looking for a product, service or resource that helps her get her job done. Continually learn from your customers what they need, and then adapt your strategy to deliver highly personalized, highly relevant experiences to them on a user-by-user level. And, as Bob Jenkins of LeadPages put it, “Make it easy on yourself by choosing tools and technology that allow you to create that personalized experience your customers are demanding in the fastest and easiest way possible.” 

For further insights from the event, check out the hash-tag #B2BandBrews on Twitter.

Chip House is chief marketing officer of Four51, a provider of B2B e-commerce technology and services, which hosted the “B2B and Brews” event at the Surly Brewery. Follow him on Twitter @cehouse.

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