Unlocking B2B Business Growth: Top 3 Strategies to Implement in 2024

With the B2B eCommerce sector expected to grow by 18.2% per year until 2030, there has never been a better time to expand your business and diversify your income.

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To grow your company effectively, though, you need to follow the right strategies. We at DJUST are experts in this — having helped many of our partners shift from B2C to B2B, scale their existing B2B businesses successfully, and enjoy huge boosts in revenue.

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In this guide, we share three killer B2B growth strategies to make your business more competitive and more successful in 2024.

Strategy 1: Diversify your business from B2C to B2B

If you are at the helm of a B2C business and looking for your next big growth leap, pivoting toward B2B can be just the strategic shift you need. The global B2B market is five times bigger than the global B2C market, representing massive room for growth and serious potential you can tap into.

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At DJUST, we specialize in guiding businesses like yours into B2B commerce and helping them enter markets they may have never considered. We know firsthand how diversifying from B2C to B2B can open new revenue streams and help mitigate risks to your business by broadening your customer base.

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With B2B, you are not just selling. You are building long-term partnerships that often come with the promise of steady contracts and recurring subscription revenue. Such relationships can be your buffer against the ebbs and flows of B2C sales, allowing you to plan and invest in your business’s future with greater confidence. 

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B2B commerce also gives you an opportunity to increase your average order size. According to Schubert B2B, the average B2B order is $491, compared to just $147 for the average B2C order. So, by stepping into B2B, you can generate more revenue per order and offer value-add services without significantly increasing the size of your workforce.

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Let’s examine a case study that illustrates how B2B cross-selling can help your business.

Case study: Wayfair Professional

Wayfair Professional is an excellent example of how shifting from B2C into B2B commerce can support a business’s overall growth. This B2B platform targets seven key industries: interior design, commercial office, contractors, property management, accommodations, education, and food service.

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Since launching in 2017, Wayfair Professional has become a cornerstone of Wayfair’s business. It contributes 10% of the company’s overall revenue, and sales on Wayfair Professional are growing at a 30% compound annual growth rate.

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Wayfair Professional’s success highlights how crucial it is to adapt international eCommerce offerings to the specific needs of business customers in different industries. It enables B2B sales to a wider range of customers and encourages those customers to become loyal buyers.

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Expert advice: DJUST makes the transition from B2C to B2B as easy as possible. Our software enables you to establish a custom online B2B storefront, unify your B2B sales channels, and integrate with all your existing software. Plus, our software-as-a-service (SaaS) approach means you can focus on growing your B2B business instead of building and maintaining your eCommerce platform. DJUST is also highly scalable so it can grow as your new B2B business expands.

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Strategy 2: Make the move to omnichannel sales

If expanding your strategy into B2B is not on your roadmap, diversifying your sales channels is another great way to grow. 

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Research from McKinsey reveals that B2B customers want more ways to place orders, more convenient ordering processes, and more personalized ordering experiences. For B2B sellers, this means adopting an omnichannel sales approach is no longer merely optional. Rather, it is essential to include omnichannel selling in your global retailing entry strategy framework to attract and retain B2B customers. 

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With that in mind, let us introduce you to the 10-channel approach.

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The 10-channel approach

McKinsey’s research also underscores a dramatic shift in the B2B sales landscape. Instead of a traditional four- or five-channel approach to sales, successful B2B businesses have complex, 10-channel sales ecosystems. In fact, 72% of B2B companies that use seven or more channels are seeing increased B2B sales.

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This transformation reflects changing customer expectations for seamless interactions across various channels. The 10 B2B sales channels McKinsey identified include:

• Email
• In-person
• Phone
• Supplier website
• Procurement department
• Mobile app
• E-procurement portal
• Video conference
• Live chat
• Google

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You could be at a competitive disadvantage if your company offers only a handful of these channels. That is why we at DJUST offer multiple ways for customers to order. They can place orders online or chat with a sales rep, who can submit an order on their behalf. Customers can also send an email and our AI will scan it and convert it into an order.

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Expert advice: You do not necessarily need to offer all 10 of these sales channels to grow your business. However, it is important to offer all the channels your customers want. A good option is to survey your customers to see what channels they prefer to use for purchasing, then focus on developing those channels.

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Let’s look at a case study showing how a major B2B seller uses omnichannel sales to reach more customers and reduce friction in their purchase experience.

Case study: Amazon Business

Amazon Business has used an omnichannel approach to engage customers, enhance sales, and improve operational efficiency. This B2B platform integrates physical stores, online platforms, mobile applications, and push notifications to offer a seamless shopping experience for a vast range of customers.

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Amazon Business’s strategy has had numerous benefits, including:

• Improved customer service
• Higher reported customer satisfaction
• Increased brand visibility
• Increased customer retention rates

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Additionally, Amazon Business has analyzed data from various sources to adjust its products and marketing approaches to better serve its business customers’ changing needs. That, in turn, has driven better sales outcomes and increased revenue.

Strategy 3: Make B2B as easy as B2C to improve customer experience

Another strategy you can use to drive growth in your B2B business is to improve your customer experience, especially for online sales. 

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According to VML, 49% of B2B transactions already occur online, and that figure is projected to increase 57% within the next five years. This means B2B businesses urgently need to simplify and enhance their online buying experiences. 

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To accomplish this, B2B companies should look to B2C. More and more, B2B customers are demanding B2C-like experiences, including ultra-fast delivery times and real-time order notifications.

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We recommend B2B companies take a page from the B2C playbook and offer the same outstanding customer experiences but adapt them to a B2B business strategy.

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Here are some of the best features to implement to give business customers a B2C-like experience:

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• Quick ordering and reordering: Enable customers to submit a CSV file to place an order or instantly repeat an order they have made in the past.
• Wishlists: Allow customers to add products to wishlists, share them to make ordering more collaborative, and turn wishlists into orders with a single click.
• Customer-specific catalogs: Personalize your customers’ experience with dedicated catalogs and prices.
• Multiple and evolving baskets: Enable customers to manage and collaborate on numerous baskets containing thousands of products at the same time.
• Flexible payment options: Accept multiple business-friendly payment options such as purchase cards, bank transfers, and checks.
• Order validation workflows: Create order validation workflows to simplify collaboration and order control. 
• User access permissions: Allow customers to create multiple employee accounts with customizable permissions to place and validate orders.
• Order tracking: Provide transparent order tracking tools to give customers real-time updates on order contents and delivery dates.

Expert advice: At DJUST, we offer a B2B eCommerce platform designed to smooth out the online purchasing process for your customers. Our platform includes all the essential components we have highlighted above — plus additional features such as multilingual catalogs, channel management, and shipping management.

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In addition, DJUST enables you to completely personalize the customer experience. When a customer logs into their account, for example, they will see a tailor-made catalog with custom pricing for their business.

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DJUST also helps you monitor your B2B business growth with a powerful back-end dashboard. It is a comprehensive solution to supercharge your B2B sales!

Case study: Socoda

Now, let’s see this in action with Socoda.

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Socoda is a B2B company that works with more than 200 independent distributors in the construction and industrial sectors. It recently revolutionized its purchasing process: Customers can now access a comprehensive product catalog with personalized pricing, customizable shopping baskets, and quotations. 

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In addition, Socoda introduced a stock pooling tool that enables distributors to view each other's inventory. This significantly broadens supply capacity within Socoda’s B2B marketplace and ensures that customers can quickly get the products they need.

The bottom line

The B2B market is expanding fast, offering a prime opportunity for B2C businesses to enter B2B sales and unlock a valuable new revenue stream.

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B2B sellers can also pursue growth by adopting a 10-channel sales approach that gives customers more ways to make purchases. By implementing a B2B-specific eCommerce solution such as DJUST, you can easily manage these channels, reduce friction in the purchasing process, and make your business more competitive in the digital B2B sales landscape.

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