ITscope Blog - News and trends

Help, my customer doesn't want a B2B shop!

Written by Sylvia Schreiber | 23.5.2023

Seriously, it's 2023 and you're still dealing with orders by email or Excel spreadsheets? Come on, it's high time to introduce a B2B shop and save yourself some precious time through automated processes. We're here to show system houses how to get their clients on board and turn the shop into a win-win business.

Assessing the Acceptance of Your B2B Shop

It's common to hear the phrase "Never change a running system" in IT. However, sometimes it's best to make changes to improve processes. Before introducing a B2B online shop, it's important to check in with your customers and employees to see if they have any concerns or fears about the new technology. It's possible that some may not feel comfortable with the new system, worry that personal contact will be lost, or even fear for their job security. To address these concerns, transparent communication is key. As a company, it's important to explain how a shop can simplify processes and provide more freedom for maintaining relationships.

Training is the formula for successful e-commerce

With just a few clicks, your B2B shop is up and running and understandably you would like to forward the link to your customer right away. However, there is more to a successful launch than just an email. Take your customer by the hand and first introduce them personally to the new shop system. We recommend that you only give out the link to the shop afterwards, together with written instructions. This way you ensure that your contacts get to know the most important features of the shop directly. The inhibition threshold to learn new procedures is high and so sometimes is the support effort when introducing a tool. By the way: the ITscope team will be happy to support you with training and can provide you with material for your customers.

Encourage and simplify: how to persuade your system house to embrace the shop

Once customers have come to appreciate the benefits of an e-commerce solution, they won't want to miss it. But how do you get sceptical employees to give the new system a chance? The solution is based on the reward principle. Set purchase incentives such as discounts for the introduction of the customer shop or special offers in the online shop. An incentive can also be to sell certain items, services or bundles only online. More drastic, but no less effective, is the penalty principle: for example, charge a handling fee for manual orders or exclude outdated ordering methods (for example, by fax) altogether.

Focus on customer feedback: How to continuously optimise your B2B shop

Done, the customer is using the B2B shop and as the operator you can now sit back and relax, right? Not quite: Get regular feedback and let us tell you what your customers are missing and/or where things are sticking. This way you can identify weak points early on and improve your shop or service if necessary. Also think about a regular newsletter in which you inform your customers about innovations.

As a valuable suggestion, it is recommended to integrate your e-commerce offer into your marketing documents and encourage new customers to opt for the shop solution in the future. This way, you can ensure a seamless experience for your customers and streamline your business operations.

Create an IT B2B shop and sell smart

Are you still on the fence about whether a B2B shop is worth it for your system house and customers? No worries, we've got your back. Let's set up a personal meeting and we'll introduce you to our ITscope sales package. With just five minutes of your time, you can create individual shops for your customers and start selling smart.