One of the most important tasks in B2B sourcing has always been to find, select and develop new business partnerships with suppliers, with the ultimate goal of long-term cooperation. To achieve this, it is necessary to identify suppliers whose products or services best meet the requirements that need it. As far as this is concerned, nothing has changed in recent times, but what has changed is the way in which buyers look for these potential suppliers.
Find out below what it means for B2B export companies that want to effectively acquire new customers online.
Shift from traditional to digital channels
In the past, buyers usually relied on traditional research methods such as trade fairs and catalogues, but today they are increasingly turning to online research. As we know, the pandemic has given a major boost to digitalisation. Finding new suppliers or products has been a major challenge, mainly due to the lack of trade fair activities. Supplier websites, business social networks (e.g. LinkedIn), specialised B2B search platforms and online marketplaces are usually the first point of contact with a potential buyer and have long been the leading source for researching new products and buyers.
Over the last 2 years, the use of digital research methods - compared to traditional methods - has increased. increased by 2x. Finding customers usually starts with search engines. Buyers check all product information, supplier websites, LinkedIn employees, customer reviews on online and social profiles, etc.
Often, buyers contact a supplier at the decision-making stage. What 70 % decisions are made before the potential buyer contacts the supplier. So, of course, the online presence of a company and their products is crucial, but we must not forget that it is the basis for a well-organised website.
Research shows that 2x more likelyto select companies that deliver an exceptional digital experience across all channels.
Surveys clearly show digital transformation
The leading German B2B platform "WLW - Wer Liefert Was" has conducted a survey on the role of platforms and online marketplaces in product sourcing. Around 1,300 B2B buyers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were surveyed about their usage behaviour and the challenges they face when looking for new suppliers.
Summary of main results:
- Direct contact (59.4 %) with suppliers is still the most important research method in B2B purchasing departments.
- This was closely followed by online marketplaces (53.4 %) and platforms (45.9 %) - far ahead of traditional trade fairs (36.9 %) and industry catalogues (27.8 %).
- The majority of participants use platforms and marketplaces mainly to search for products (67.3 %) and to find new suppliers (47.9 %).
- 41.3 % stated that B2B platforms can easily open up new purchasing markets and that medium-sized companies can reduce their purchasing costs (35.6 %).
The study clearly shows that B2B search platforms are becoming increasingly important for companies looking for products. Personal contact is usually only relevant once a buyer has already found out about potential suppliers online.
They see platforms and online marketplaces as a driver of their own business, as they make it easy to open up new purchasing markets, reduce purchasing costs and are an important driver of business growth and innovation in particular.
Suppliers need to adapt to stay in the game.
And what does this mean for B2B companies looking for new customers? They need to be visible online - by adding relevant content to the company website, driving traffic to it either through search engine listings or well-maintained profiles on business networks, and above all by having a presence on specialised B2B platforms such as, for example Europages in WLW.
In addition, the aim today, more than in the past, is to demonstrate a company's competence in creating solutions rather than simply providing product information. Leading suppliers in a particular field who rest on their laurels and do not change with the times may be left behind by the competition.
The opportunities for positioning your company and products in the market are better than ever. And new suppliers will certainly be in high demand in the future. After all, they need to ensure that scenarios such as a renewed pandemic outbreak or political conflicts do not leave customers in the lurch - they need to keep their supply chains as flexible as possible and rely on the right alternative suppliers when needed. And such new partnerships need to be (re)built today.
Companies with an online product positioning strategy will be more competitive than ever and their products will compete more easily in the higher price brackets.
Sources:
- McKinsey B2B pulse survey, 2021 - McKinsey's survey among 3600 B2B decision makers, 11 countries, 12 sectors
- Wer liefert was, 2017 - Studie zur Rolle von Plattformen und Marktplätzen in Europa: Einkäufer erkennen Vorteile von B2B-Plattformen
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