Most business-to-business (B2B) companies are interested in selling their products or services to groups of people, corporations, and government agencies. In the uniform industry, many uniform retailers and manufacturers sell their products to hospitals, restaurants, law enforcement agencies, airlines, and even ski resorts. Hospitals fall into the medical supply industry as well, but think about all of those uniforms and scrubs needed in that entire industry — for employees of nursing homes, doctor’s offices, or home healthcare.
Businesses already selling to these groups of people know the demands of fulfillment, and not every company is prepared for it — especially in the areas of accurate online ordering. It is critical for a company to understand online processing requirements and set up a website to fit the needs of its customers. There are B2B companies that only have a handful of employees managing the purchasing, and then there are companies that have thousands of employee buyers. You want to be prepared to handle them all.
When selling to groups on your B2B website, ask yourself; What types of products will be sold? How will employees be able to buy the products? And probably the number one question that should always be in the front of your mind — how can you customize the buyer’s experience and purchasing rules to fit the needs of every type of customer?
To acknowledge all of these dynamics, we’ll look at B2B buyers in three types of purchaser profiles, including:
A Group can be any local or regional business that purchases from your company on a regular basis. These accounts typically include special pricing on specific (or all) of the products they purchase from you. Groups are different from the Public shopper in that they already know what they want and are familiar with your company. Our tips for selling to groups are to keep in mind that they are expecting specific products tailored to their business, contract pricing, accurate ordering, and reliable delivery.
Implementing group sales on B2B websites is an integral part of the overall success of your business, especially since so many people shop online these days. Determining ways to always improve your ecommerce shop and retain those loyal customers — especially the groups — is an absolute must.