Chris Tsai

As consumers, we’re accustomed to a B2C journey that’s virtually free of hiccups. That’s the standard, but it’s not always met in B2B spaces — and we need to be asking why.

This is a field with larger transactions, more risk, and greater reward. You’d assume any SMB in the B2B world would bend over backward to create the perfect buyer experience, but still, brands fall short.

This isn’t entirely their fault, though. Historically, solid tech solutions have been hard to find — thanks in part to the complexity of B2B transactions. But this simply isn’t the case anymore.

Forward-thinking companies and proactive buyers recognize that, and they’re pushing for a process that works in a 24/7 digital world.

Knowing this, it can be tempting to dive haphazardly into automation, digitization, and change. Please don’t. Trust me when I say there’s a balance to be struck here, and that you should be very deliberate with your approach.

Below, I draw from years of experience in B2B and fintech to show you how tech (and humanity) can transform your buyer’s journey for good.

Audit the journey

If you want to improve the buyer’s experience, you must first understand it.

Before you change anything, know your critical touchpoints, what buyers are missing, how they like to learn, and how they interact with your team members.

Here are some questions you should ask:

• How do prospects discover us?
• Is the information they need easy to find?
• How do buyers connect with our team?
• How does our experience differ from competitors’?
• And what is our purchasing journey like?

Start from “the top”

Remember, if you confuse, you lose. Brands of all kinds lose leads during discovery, and B2B buyers are savvy, so they really do the work. Please make this process easy for them.

As wholesale purchasing moves online, trade shows and wholesale floors become less popular. A digital, interactive product experience is more important than ever, and with innovations like augmented reality and interactive demos, you can automate and expedite the research phase for your customers — and your team members.

Close the deal

Now that you’ve made the discovery process easy, you should also leverage tech solutions to close that deal. But first comes pricing.

To avoid losing leads and raising suspicions, transparency should always come first. If you can’t provide an easy-to-access pricing page, consider an automated CPQ (configure, price, quote) solution.

If you don’t feel confident in your pricing, it might be time to reassess. Today’s price optimization software uses factors including the season, competitive analysis, and macroeconomic variables to determine the ideal price point for your product.

Once you’ve fine-tuned your self-guided marketing program, it’s time to streamline the purchasing process, a crucial part of the buyer’s journey we often undervalue.

This stage is especially important for B2B brands, as your transactions are generally more complex and, while B2C brands are not your competition, they do set a standard that virtually everyone gets to experience — so the bar is high for your business.

To make things easy for buyers, you should always offer flexible net terms (with 15, 30, or 60-day grace periods). Granted, this seems complicated, but without this option, you will lose leads to competitors.

In this economy, net terms isn’t an option; it’s a requirement. This is flexibility that drives sales and allows customers to buy what they need while maintaining control of their own finances. Many companies see revenue growth when they extend their grace period as it fosters loyalty, repeat purchases, higher sales volumes, and opportunities to work with larger buyers with more money, and higher standards.

This is another phase where software is key. These days, you can simplify net terms, and even leverage embedded credit to boost revenue, reduce risk, and optimize cash flow — all through a third-party solution.

Be a “cyborg” in business

Remember, if you want long-term success, you can’t rely exclusively on tech. You need a world-class customer support team to answer questions, build relationships, and foster trust that is essential to loyalty and sales.

No matter how much you work to automate your process and streamline things for customers, you need human touch points to maximize conversion.

Imagine yourself as a confused (and maybe less-than-tech-savvy) customer. You fumble around a website searching for information. When things are unclear, you need that email, phone number, or direct messenger to rely on. It is human connection that closes the deal, and without it, you’d simply move on.

Great B2B business should be like a cyborg — striking the perfect balance between human and tech to optimize performance. This isn’t about going all digital or all human, it’s perfecting the blend.

It’s time to follow in the steps of B2C, leverage humanity and the latest tech, and raise the bar for B2B transactions.

About the author:

Chris Tsai is CEO and co-founder of Resolve Pay, a provider of B2B payments technology and services.

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