Moving from an offline-only sales model to online-only sales model, or a hybrid approach makes a lot of sense. More buyers begin their decision-making process on the web, either by distinguishing items to purchase, who to get them from, or both. In any case, this progress is a major one for any organization.
Role of your website in your sales process
The answer to this inquiry will drive your overall strategy. For example, some B2B sites feature an entire catalog with rich product content, however, don't allow customers to buy online. Think about a site like this as a search engine-friendly catalog web page that creates leads for offline sales. You may go this route in the event that you have highly customized offline pricing, or you're bound by agreements with merchants. Maybe you need to funnel buyers to a store locator– an extraordinary feature for reseller buy-in. Some B2B websites are completely value-based, but only for signed in users with accounts with an assigned sales representative or account manager. Now and then the same website may offer distinctive levels of functionality for specific brands, categories, or customer groups.
Online sales model pricing strategy
You may acquire a pricing structure that has grown organically over the years, with customers who have negotiated particular price books. Duplicating a complicated set of agreements online can appear like an overwhelming task, so if customer particular pricing is a necessity, you'll require a platform that is supporting it. It might be beneficial for you to not show the pricing at all unless the customer is signed into their account. Many organizations "set it and forget it" and their online pricing strategy floats apart from the prices offered by their 'creative' marketing team. It's critical to keep them aligned!
Other systems powering your business
So as to sell effectively on the web, your customers hope to see real-time inventory, pricing, and shipping information. Frequently the master record for that information lives in at least one of those other systems. You'll have to outline which key information point is controlled by which system, and have some preliminary conversations with your current vendor to see how they integrate with different systems. Do they have an API, and is it publicly documented? Can files be imported and exported in an automated manner? Would they be able to recommend trusted sellers middleware to conquer the gap in your platform?
