B2B buyer loyalty is in retreat. Great CX is your only defence

Our survey results make it clear that B2B buyers are using digital channels more and more. But at the same time, they are far from satisfied with everything they are getting online. To the extent that they are ditching suppliers in search of a better experience elsewhere.

Digital buying is on the rise

According to buyers’ own breakdown of their purchasing, 49% of all B2B spend now goes through digital channels. But tellingly, 68% of buyers expect their use of digital to increase in years to come. Asked to predict what percentage of their budgets would be spent online in five years’ time, the mean figure increased to 57%.

But half of all buyers are frustrated with the digital experience

In total, 46% of global B2B buyers say they are frustrated with buying B2B products online. Not an overwhelming majority, no. But half of all buyers saying they are dissatisfied with the digital B2B experience cannot be ignored. To put it another way, that’s half the world’s buyers who could be convinced to switch supplier on the basis of the digital experience alone.

The proportion of dissatisfied buyers rises to 60% in India and 57% in South Africa - the two countries where buyers are switching suppliers most.

Buyers find the digital experience too complex

So what exactly are these buyers finding wrong with the digital experience? 66% told us they wished buying online was more straightforward, and 45% said they felt digital was more complicated than buying offline. This figure actually rises to 49% if you discount China, which is something of an outlier with just 6% of buyers there feeling online is more complicated. As we’ve often stated, there’s something the rest of the world can learn from the digital experience Chinese vendors are offering.

And they don’t think vendors understand their concerns

51% of global B2B buyers told us that they don’t feel B2B sellers understand the friction points in the online buying experience. A similar number (53%) said they doubted vendors were adequately reviewing their online offers in order to make improvements. What is more, 68% said they got the impression they were more digitally advanced than the suppliers they bought from - an obvious source of frustration if confronted with clunky, somewhat outdated channels that never seem to improve.

Understanding how your customers view your company is important at all times, but never more so when you are trying to lock in loyalty and stem the tide of rising churn rates. Luckily, as we will see below, B2B buyers are far from shy about sharing what they want from the purchasing experience.

Buyers expect a similar digital experience to what they get as consumers

Where are these high expectations for the digital experience coming from? In no small part from what buyers are used to as consumers.

66% of buyers told us they expect a similar experience when buying on a B2B site as they get on a B2C site. Which makes perfect sense. Buyers are, after all, just ordinary people like the rest of us away from their day job, everyday consumers who have had their role as shoppers transformed by the choice and convenience of eCommerce.

We asked buyers which specific experiences they were used to getting as consumers they would like to see more of in B2B. The top five answers (or seven, because four all scored the same) were:

• Faster Delivery - 23%
• Easier Returns - 22%
• Ratings and Reviews - 20%
• More Product Choices - 19%
• More Convenient Delivery - 19%
• Rewards and Incentives Program - 19%
• Easier / Faster Checkout - 19%

This makes for an interesting comparison with the reasons buyers gave for switching suppliers in the last 12 months. Although pricing and cost savings feature heavily in the top 10 reasons given, product choice, delivery speed, returns and payment/checkout options are all present, too. And with only a 3 percentage point difference separating the most popular reason for switching (Better Contract Terms / Pricing - 14%) from the tenth (Seeking Cheaper Alternatives - 11%).

So not only are expectations carried over from consumer experiences influencing decisions to switch suppliers, they are on a par with the financial incentives, too.

You’ll recall that 68% of buyers told us that they feel they are more digitally advanced than their suppliers. The other side of this coin is 69% of buyers said they were more likely to buy from a supplier who was digitally innovative.

Again, there’s an element of buyers bringing their expectations as consumers to work with them. But at the same time, let’s not forget that buyers often find the digital purchasing journey as it currently is in B2B complicated. Digital innovation is strongly focused on simplifying and smoothing the buying journey, on making the customer experience more satisfying.

So what kind of things are buyers looking for suppliers to innovate on? There’s a clear appetite for embracing emerging technologies in the B2B space. For example, 67% of buyers said they would be keen to do their buying in the metaverse in the future, using avatars to reimagine those face-to-face interactions with sales reps, and browsing immersive virtual salesrooms. We’ve already seen that the same proportion of buyers are keen to see more virtual workshops where they can learn about products without the trouble and expense of travelling.

And investment in mobile is a top priority

When we asked buyers where they felt suppliers should be focusing their technology investments, the metaverse made the top five with mentions from 24% of buyers. Another interesting high performer is biometric payments (26%).

But the top technology buyers want to see suppliers invest in, mentioned by 31% of respondents, is mobile apps. Closely followed by mobile-first websites (28%) and, in fourth place, mobile contactless payments (25%).

Overall, 69% of buyers worldwide told us that they wished their suppliers had a mobile app they could use. And 71% say they’d like to be able to complete the entire purchasing journey on mobile.

Mobile tech might not have the wow factor of something like the metaverse. But as far as technology investments go, it’s the biggest win out there. You can guarantee all your customers carry a mobile with them nowadays. Investing in mobile channels leverages a technology that is already there and is clearly very popular with buyers.

From direct messaging to frictionless in-app purchasing journeys that can be completed with just a handful of taps, mobile is perfectly placed to improve both connection to customers and the quality of their experience. It really should be treated as a priority by every B2B vendor.

Last but not least, buyers around the world were clear in telling us that what a brand stands for matters to them. Again, this is a trend that we can see echoed in consumer attitudes.

Overall, 69% of global B2B buyers said they are more likely to buy from a supplier who has a purpose that goes beyond just selling goods and services. But we saw some very high figures for individual countries - India (90%), South Africa and UAE (82%), China (76%).

As for what that ‘purpose’ might be, it’s no surprise to hear buyers saying they want to see suppliers take their responsibilities on the environment and sustainability seriously. In particular, 69% of buyers worldwide told us they wanted better information about the carbon footprint impact of B2B products and services. So there’s a clear demand around communication there. Which starts with vendors having to benchmark their carbon footprint accurately across all areas of operation (including their own supply chain) so they can provide the correct information.

Interestingly, there’s evidence to suggest that B2B buyers are prepared to compromise on certain aspects of service if it means a reduced carbon footprint - something that can’t always be said of consumers, who have a tendency to want to have their cake and eat it when it comes to balancing sustainability with service.

For example, 65% of buyers told us they’d be happy to accept slower delivery if it was more environmentally sustainable. This makes sense when you consider that, for B2B buyers, the carbon footprint of their supply chain contributes to their own environmental credentials.