The Future of Relations Between Companies
Digitalization is charging full steam ahead in today’s business world. Businesses and their employees are more technology and mobile savvy than ever, which has led to radical changes in the traditional business to business (B2B) environment.
This is highlighted by more businesses choice to embrace enterprise mobility and a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) working culture. Moreover, an explosion in data volume, computational power, and connectivity has made it essential for businesses to take full advantage of client data and productivity-boosting processes. New human-machine interfaces like touch surfaces, augmented reality, virtual reality, bots, and beacons are changing the face of B2B interactions. Innovations in robotics, 3D simulations, additive manufacturing, and cloud-based software have shrunk the horizontal and vertical value chains of businesses, making it even more imperative that companies integrate their processes to improve efficiency.
There are six frontiers in the world of digitalization, many of which have yet to be fully embraced by B2B businesses:
• Horizontal and Vertical System Integration
Sharing and integrating information within businesses or across other companies, suppliers and industries (e.g. Consumer data from an app can be combined with input from other channels to create a more holistic profile of clients.)
• Big Data and Analytics
Making sense of large data sets about buyers and business processes (e.g. Data analytics for app and social media interactions may provide useful leads for the sales force or quality of service, while data on internal staff productivity could be used to improve work processes.)
• Simulation
Integrating computer-assisted sensory input, such as sound, video, graphics, or GPS data into a live view of a real-world environment (e.g. Apps using 3-D simulations, augmented reality, or virtual reality may be used to perform maintenance or simulate production.)
• The Internet of Things and Embedded Computing
Embedding everyday items and machines with cheap microcomputers or beacons to help improve product performance or provide feedback and diagnostics (e.g. Customer service agents could diagnose a problem with a device by accessing data on the device remotely.)
• Machine Learning
Using computer algorithms to study patterns and learn about buyer needs and preferences without the need for human interaction. (e.g. Apps could recommend items to buyers based on their previous buying histories.)
• Cloud-based Processes
Businesses will increasingly leverage cloud-based software to share data across their various apps and web platforms. (e.g. Companies could store consumer data from various applications and disseminate it to relevant departments for analysis.)
Digitalisation is disrupting the Business to Business Landscape
The European Union is primed for digitalization. Europeans have taken strongly to digital technologies, with 412 million Internet users in the EU as of June 2016, an 80.1 % internet penetration rate. There is a total of 236 million European Facebook users, a healthy increase of 22 % since 2013.
Smartphone penetration in the EU is a promising 54.3 %, with Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy ranking as the top smartphone-using countries in Europe. With high rates of Internet and smartphone penetration and consumer profiles becoming younger and more attuned to digital developments, this new breed of “digital natives” expects businesses to keep up with technological changes.
They demand convenience at their fingertips, with the ease-of-use for consumer apps translating into demand for B2B apps that are as accessible as their B2C counterparts. What’s more, these consumers now demand more responsiveness and transparency of information and want businesses to engage with them in an increasingly fast-paced and open business environment.
« Europeans have taken strongly to digital technologies, with 412 million Internet users in the EU as of June 2016, an 80.1 % internet penetration rate. »
Businesses are more mobile than ever
Businesses with an edge in today’s fast paced environment embrace the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) culture and enterprise mobility. These businesses allow employees to use their own mobile devices and apps at work, which radically changes the way consumers operate in a B2B world.
Employees are now able to choose from a limitless array of productivity solutions housed in a rapidly evolving digital ecosystem, giving them the ability to work remotely or perform specific tasks more efficiently. This is visible when employees send and receive work emails from anywhere they choose using a third party email app. The changes brought about by digital mobile technology are so pervasive, Business Insider Intelligence reports that 69% of managers believe that mobile devices will change the way businesses work the same way the internet has over the last 20 years.2 The numbers should speak for themselves: Third party productivity and business apps, which are popular among Business users, account for the highest average revenue per download despite occupying just 13 % of available apps on most app market interfaces. In e-commerce, though European B2B turnover trails slightly behind B2C, B2B still accounts for 2.2 % of E.U. GDP, €360 billion in 2014. This figure is expected to double this year. The United Kingdom and France alone stand for over 61 % of online turnover in Europe. In the United States, B2B turnover is greater due to the cultural and linguistic homogeneity.
However, European Internet penetration is higher, thus explaining why B2B e-commerce growth has been growing so aggressively in the EU, with experts predicting a B2B turnover of over 2 trillion euros by 2020.
A Functional, Intuitive and Easy-to-Use App is Half the Battle Won
According to the Ecommerce & B2B survey, 89 % of B2B researchers use the Internet for prospecting, while 57 % had already made their decision on the basis of information they read online even before they contacted a sales representative. They favour businesses with an established and polished digital presence. Additionally, a lack of key information on these platforms can cause frustrated consumers to turn elsewhere. With these advances, the traditional way of managing buyer expectations and feedback through the salesforce and customer service channels may soon be over.
Eighty percent of consumers have attributed their higher expectations for B2B apps and software to their experience with the simplified and convenient apps that now dominate the B2C market. There is a real risk that businesses which fail to adapt to the rapidly evolving digital landscape will become vulnerable to competition from new, tech-oriented solutions and ultimately lose their relevance on the market.
« Eighty percent of consumers have attributed their higher expectations for B2B apps and software to their experience … »
B2B Applications Understand Your Business and Its Unique Needs
Applications in the B2B sector target the specific needs of your business, allowing for an integrated, time-efficient and accurate way to communicate with partners and collect information.
They allow for better automation of processes, connecting you directly to your partners, allowing for a quick and accessible transfer of information. Your partners can access the data they need from anywhere at any time and you are able to see their input, enquiries, orders, etc. in real time. However, to do this successfully, usability and effective onboarding is key.
B2B apps are also developed with industry standards in mind, following contractual conditions for collaboration, with seamless integration into existing processes, systems and programs. Forty percent of consumers in an Ecommerce & B2B survey identified back-end software integration with financing, accounting, order management systems or enterprise resource planning systems as key features that could make or break their decisions to convert.
Software that can collect and analyze user data has also become a crucial component of business operations. Predictive analytics in B2B marketing makes full use of data to predict buyer choices for more effective lead generation. A study of marketing executives who used predictive analytics versus those who did not showed that executives who made use of predictive data performed twice as well on key business metrics as compared to nonusers.
One of the key benefits of making use of data analytics is its ability to grant businesses innovative insights into operational and strategic decisions. Data about operations can be used to streamline everything from employee productivity to product components and costs. Consumer data can also be used to evaluate opportunities to enter new markets, which would not be apparent with traditional marketing techniques.
How to Get Started: User Experience is the Key
Businesses will need effective digital strategies and solutions in order to take their B2B business one step ahead of the competition. Businesses will need apps that appeal to the “digital native” buyer, whose use of B2C tools has given him or her higher expectations on how B2B platforms should work. Applications that offer enhanced searching capabilities, make information easier to find, and native language accessibility for individual markets are key.
A good degree of personalization in a B2B app will also be warmly welcomed by buyers, who will find the app easier to use, and hence be more likely to continue using it. Businesses will also need software to integrate previously disparate systems and departments within their own companies, pooling together resources and precious buyer data to form more complete buyer profiles or identify new niche segments in the market that they can exploit.
Strategy First: Ways We Can Help You Digitalize Your Business
1. Simplify business processes
Develop apps to simplify and integrate complex physical processes such as inventory management. One of our clients operates a wholesale butchery dealing with huge quantities of meat that is sold to butchers all over the country. Despite developing a new website to digitalize their inventory process, they realized their customers were reverting to the traditional method of taking inventory using pen-and-paper that had to be manually scanned and digitalized.
This was because their customers could not bring their computers into their cold storage facilities, giving rise to inaccuracies in written orders and delivery addresses. This wasted man-hours and required extra digital scanning costs for the company. Our solution was to develop an app with the simplest interface for our client, who then offered 1,000 tablets with the app pre-installed to their 1,000 best customers.
Armed with the tablets, their customers could now go directly into cold storage facilities during inventory and easily perform their tasks. They could also receive push notifications to inform them of promotions. Because of our app solution’s easy-to-use interface and the product match with the needs of the customer, this project received a quick ROI.
2. Better presentation of product offering
Combine apps with augmented reality functions to offer one-of-a-kind user experiences. A client wanted to provide a unique experience for viewers of their online catalogue of hotels and resorts. Realizing the importance of providing customers with readily available information about their destinations, they wanted a solution that could immerse their customers in the atmosphere of a hotel or resort of their choice.
To meet the challenge, we developed an app with a stunning 360° augmented reality video function that our client’s sales staff could use to impressive their customers. Besides improving the quality of their sales presentations and information for customers, our client’s brand has become synonymous with a willingness to embrace modernity and luxury.
3. Enable your staff to work more efficiently and effectively
Create applications to make it easier for sales force to answer product enquiries. A renowned watch brand required an app that could store and present all the details regarding their watches as quickly and simply as possible. So we created a virtual catalogue app that allowed their sales force to be more precise. The app also included filters to allow their sales staff to reduce time wastage and increase the accuracy of their searches. Take the first step towards future-proofing your business today.
