There is an increasing need for B2B brands to push the frontiers of the customer experience, a tech executive argued in a recent keynote address on the back of new research.
Buyers of B2B services are increasingly expecting consumer-grade experiences from companies, and B2B companies need to rethink their engagement with customers to keep pace with these changing expectations, Nicholas Kontopoulos, head of APAC and e-commerce marketing at Magento argued in a keynote at an event on Tuesday.
“A tsunami of change is hitting us and that’s resulting in B2B buyer’s perceptions changing significantly,” he told the audience at Magento Live in Sydney.
Consumers of B2B services are expecting the same grade of digital engagement that they get from the likes of retail giants like Amazon, Mr Kontopoulos argued, pointing to new research which found that 8 out of 10 B2B consumers agree they expect a consumer grade experience when engaging with websites.
Buyers are also expecting services to not only be personalised but ‘individualised’ – that is, addressed and targeted specifically to them.
B2B services need to amplify the personalisation of services by individualising the customer experience if they want a step ahead, Mr Kontopoulos said.
“Moving from personalisation to individualisation is the aspirational goal in terms of how we engage with individuals at a deeper level,” he said.
These changing expectations require a step-change from B2B businesses, typified by a focus on the individualisation of services and a seamless digital experience enhanced by data.
“Understanding the e-commerce experience and how you architect it is very important,” he said.