The B2C Cloud Over B2B Clears

It's been rumored to be on the horizon for years, but a new study from CloudCraze indicates business to consumer (B2C) like experiences for business buyers is clearly here and it may not be making the sales team obsolete after all. 

CloudCraze's study of business to business (B2B) decision-makers found more than half of B2Bs (56 percent) give self-service access to all of their customers, and nearly half of B2B businesses sell their full product line online. Part of the reason B2Bs have been reluctant to provide access to either is, well, fear that people would say "no" before ever hearing out a company (typically a salesperson) in more detail. In today's digital environment, hoarding information simply won't do. Despite concerns, survey results indicate 60 percent of surveyed B2B decision-makers say the growth of digital has caused their sales team to grow along with it versus the long-thought idea of sales teams diminishing in favor of fully empowered buyers. 

"As B2B buyers have come to expect commerce experiences that mirror their personal lives, organizations are investing in commerce platforms that empower customers to purchase anytime and anywhere," said Ray Grady, CCO and President of CloudCraze. "But customers aren't the only ones that are experiencing the benefits of ecommerce. Digital transformation has opened the door to major growth opportunities for organizations as well."

Looking ahead, 89 percent of surveyed B2B decision-makers attribute expected growth to the success of their digital commerce platform according to the CloudCraze study.

For transparency, it should be noted Salesforce is an investor in CloudCraze, which runs as a native application within Salesforce. While the findings are very much in line with industry trends, survey results do benefit the value proposition of CloudCraze on Salesforce as it can be argued no other platform has as much B2B contacts and profiles as Salesforce so a natural progression would be commerce within this environment to these individuals. 

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