Business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce has grown steadily in recent years to a point where it is considered a normal part of business for many companies, but for some of these companies, making the most of the online opportunity is a real challenge.

The main failure of B2B websites is that when it comes to taking orders, quite a significant number are merely ‘online order sheets’ without the more personalised shopping conveniences that most business buyers have come to expect from their consumer lives.

PureNet's Chief Technical Officer, Ian Lawton, says: “For years, B2B customers have been the poor cousins of consumers in the web experience stakes, partly because the B2B marketplace changes at such a fast pace and companies struggle to keep pace with the latest market trends.
 
“That said there are several unique aspects to a B2B transactional website that you must get right – underlying software platform, key features and functions, business intelligence and processes - but the trick many companies are missing is that they are failing to adopt many of the online practices seen in business-to-consumer websites.”

As B2B customers become more ‘online savvy’ with ever increasing expectations, companies should be looking to review their B2B ecommerce channel to make sure that it provides great service, and is not unintentionally pushing away suppliers and customers alike.