Customer Experience in a B2B World

Customer experience has become ‘the way’ for brands to differentiate themselves form their competitors. This might sound self-evident when thinking about the relationship between brands and individuals as customer experience (CX) has deeply changed how B2C marketing is done.

Since brands have started to understand and anticipate their customers’ unique needs, they are able to personalise their interactions.

But what about B2B businesses?

This is something that Adweek Branded, on behalf of Dun & Bradstreet, decided to explore with a multinational survey conducted in September 2019 which saw 255 B2B marketers and their agencies take part.

‘B2B enters the Experience Era’, the 2020 Data-Driven Marketing and Advertising Outlook, reports how over 80% of B2B marketers consider it important that businesses deliver a consistent customer experience. Also, almost 90% feel that B2B organisations need to be as focused on customer experience as their B2C counterparts.

However, only 31% declared being able to deliver a service better than their competition (36% quoted their performance as good as their competition, 25% worse) across various digital and offline channels.

As there are multiple individuals involved in a B2B buying decision, it can be difficult to deliver a consistent experience to all group members, especially as most of the online traffic remains anonymous.

B2B vs B2C Buying Behaviour

What are the main differences between B2B and B2C’s reasons to buy?

Consumer purchases are often more emotional and based on aspects like what the product’s look and feel or price.

Business decisions, on the other hand, are often more complex.

Corporates’ purchasing decisions are made by people, which means that (frequently) B2B buying decisions are made by a range of decision makers, not just a single one.

Moreover, decisions involve numerous aspects, covering everything from specific product requirements and price and payment terms to logistics and legal considerations.

So, what are the challenges that B2B marketers are facing?

What are the main barriers to deliver a strong and unique customer experience to their clients?

Where do they need to improve the most?

Stay tuned, we’ll reveal this and more in the next article.