How Millennials and Gen Z are Changing the B2B Buying Experience
The B2B landscape is rapidly evolving, and the shift to eCommerce is no longer a "nice to have.” It's imperative.
According to an article by Digital Commerce 360, Millennial and Gen Z buyers now constitute 64% of all business buyers. With Millennials and Gen Z now comprising such a large chunk of corporate decision-making teams, it's critical for businesses looking to stay ahead of current trends in the marketplace to understand how this generation is impacting the way products are bought and sold from one company to another.
In this blog post, we'll examine how these two generations have changed the buying experience for other businesses – from their expectation of omnichannel experiences through ecommerce platforms to their desire for data analytical capabilities that can give businesses actionable buying insights.
The Impact of Millennials and Gen Z on B2B Buying
The youngest generations are accustomed to a consumer shopping experience that is as seamless and consistent across all channels. Capabilities like recommendations, personalization, context-centered discounting, shopping carts, and more are now standard in the consumer sector, and younger buyers want the same user experience when they interact with a business.
According to Forrester, companies that can't live up to these expectations risk losing business.
"Generational shifts in the workplace are turning the business buying process on its head,” says Amy Hayes, vice president and research director at Forrester. "Lack of understanding about millennial and Gen Z buying behaviors can adversely affect providers’ ability to reach, engage, and ultimately win these buyers over.”
Think of it this way: On a Sunday night, a Millennial or Gen Z B2B buyer might purchase multiple consumer products for their home on a popular eCommerce site like Amazon. If they go to work the next day and are forced to make a phone call or use a cumbersome legacy system to order products for the company, they'll know the process could be better and may decide to search elsewhere.
Additionally, Millennials and Gen Z have high expectations when it comes to convenience, speed of delivery, customer service, and after-sales support. Companies must ensure they can meet these expectations and provide customers with a seamless, frictionless omnichannel buying experience that can be accessed from anywhere to build trust and loyalty.
Enhancing the Buyer Journey with Omnichannel
B2B organizations can take notes from the B2B sector and enhance the buyer journey with an omnichannel approach.
Naturally, an omnichannel B2B eCommerce system must be accessible from most devices, including smartphones. However, most omnichannel buying experiences only start with an accessible website. They also include integrated features such as chatbot or virtual assistant support, order tracking, warranty registration, analytics-driven product recommendations, and more.
Some companies have chosen to create proprietary B2B eCommerce platforms to support this new buying behavior, but there are an increasing number of solution providers available that can assist with implementing an omnichannel buying experience.
Deeper Personalization in the B2B Buying Experience
Millennials and Gen Z buyers expect the companies they buy from to have deeper insights into their organization's purchasing behavior, and they don't want to have to rely on costly enterprise software to get those insights.
B2B sellers can use data-driven insights to better understand customer needs, inform product decisions, and target specific customers with personalized offers. Additionally, predictive analytics can be used to identify opportunities for upselling or cross-selling products.
Any B2B eCommerce solution should also be equipped with useful tools for the buyer, especially at suppliers that sell to large organizations. Many procurement departments encompass multiple buyers, each with certain permissions, budgets, and approval processes. Personalization efforts should also include solutions to support these systems at the buyer level.
Incorporating AI into the B2B Journey
Finally, Millennials and Gen Z are at the forefront of the AI revolution, and they are already leveraging AI tools in their lives as consumers.
The most standard version of AI in a B2B buying environment is a chatbot. However, there are other applications of AI that sellers can use to enhance the buying experience. For example, AI can be used to develop an automated order process that takes into account dynamic pricing, inventory levels, customer preferences, and other factors.
AI can also be used to power certain aspects of the supply chain, such as intelligent routing and more efficient warehouse management. By incorporating AI technologies into their B2B platforms, organizations are essentially future-proofing their buying experience.
Build a Better Buying Experience at B2B Online Florida
Many B2B organizations have already made strides in implementing the types of buying experience the younger generations expect, but there is always the possibility of improvement.
If you'd like to learn more about how you can enhance the B2B buying experience, don’t miss B2B Online East. It’s happening October 16th to 17th at Hilton West Palm Beach, Florida.
Download the agenda and register for the event today.