Size doesn’t matter when it comes to strategic planning. Whether you’re a small, independent distributor, a mid-sized business, or a large wholesale competitor, a well-thought-out business strategy is critical to long-term success. Equally important are the initiatives you implement to achieve your business goals. These tactical strategies revolve around different aspects of your operations, including supply chain, sales and marketing, and digital selling.
As the competitive landscape continues to grow with new disruptors and technological innovations, a digital strategy is now an integral component of a distributor’s business strategy. It’s a plan that focuses on using technology to streamline processes, create new sales opportunities, and remain in lockstep with customer needs and expectations. At the heart of the strategy is an eCommerce channel – a profitable sales tool that complements brick-and-mortar storefronts and gives buyers additional ways to shop and purchase a distributor’s products. But eCommerce constitutes more than a transactional website; it also includes mobile selling, a growing branch of digital selling that utilizes mobile devices to engage with and support customers.
Mobile is Fast Becoming the Preferred Method for B2B Online Shopping
In 2021, McKinsey & Associates reported that eCommerce surpassed in-person selling as a sales channel, and now mobile is edging its way to become the preferred method to shop and engage with B2B sellers. As stated in the 2023 B2B Future Shopper Report by VML, 66% of B2B buyers wish their suppliers offered a better mobile experience and 69% specifically want a mobile app to shop. It’s no surprise then that the B2B buyers surveyed say the top two technologies they want sellers to utilize in the future are mobile apps and mobile sites.
Like online shopping, mobile is another digital innovation that buyers first experienced as a consumer shopper and now expect as a B2B customer. Today’s buyer expectations continue to evolve as they find new, more efficient ways to research, shop, and purchase products, making solely offline buying a thing of the past.
Why Mobile Should Be Part of Your Digital Strategy
Mobile selling is not a fad; it’s becoming a widely adopted sales tool that distributors must embrace if they want to remain relevant and succeed in the digital marketplace. At the minimum, your eCommerce site should be responsive-designed so that it’s mobile-friendly, but you should also consider launching a mobile app that mirrors your website features and offers additional mobile-specific functionality.
If the latest B2B buyer insights haven’t convinced you to implement a mobile sales channel, consider the benefits that mobile selling provides your customers as well as your business:
Mobile Advantages for Customers:
- More ways to shop and purchase your products: Mobile selling provides customers 24/7 access to your product catalog, giving them the ability to order items they need while on the job site, in their work truck, or at home. A mobile app provides an additional level of convenience by giving buyers multiple ways to find products using features built into their phones. They can use their phone’s camera to scan a barcode to find an item, take a picture of a product and perform an image search for the same item in your catalog, and, with the phone’s voice-enabled technology, they can speak directly into the mobile app to find items from your store and get instant product results. A mobile app is the ultimate efficiency tool for busy buyers on the move.
- Account information available at their fingertips: With easy access to their account portal, a mobile-friendly site and dedicated mobile app enable customers to check the status of an order, track a delivery, and reorder an item with a click of a button. Plus, when they view products, they see their contracted pricing and available inventory at your locations. Mobile takes uncertainty out of the equation and provides a valuable resource for customers wherever they may be.
- Communication channel to instantly connect with service reps: A mobile device has the added benefit of on-demand customer service enabling buyers to chat, text, or call their service reps with product questions, RFQs, and orders. With mobile messaging, you can also send digital alerts to customers that confirm order receipt, shipment, and delivery. This additional customer communication channel deepens the customer relationship, drives retention, and enhances loyalty.
- Personalized promotions and incentives delivered right to their phone: A great way to keep your customers engaged and your brand top of mind is by using mobile as a direct marketing channel to promote products, sales, and important news. If you offer a loyalty program, members can receive personalized savings, check their rewards status, and place incentive-based orders right from their phone.
Business Benefits for Distributors:
- Omnichannel selling opportunities: An omnichannel business enables customers to buy how they want, when they want, while maintaining a consistent experience across every customer touchpoint. By adding a mobile sales channel to your digital strategy, you’re supporting a seamless, omnichannel experience for every buyer, regardless of how and where they interact with you. Deep ERP connectivity and APIs ensure your responsive-built website and hybrid mobile app display accurate, up-to-date data that mirrors your other sales channels.
- Stronger customer relationships and increased loyalty: Mobile access to your business puts more power and resources in the buyers’ hands, while still offering personalized service and expertise when they need it. Your mobile channel offers a host of tools and resources – from sophisticated product search functionality to instant access to product manuals and spec sheets – that streamline the buying process so customers can focus on other aspects of their business. With the convenience, efficiency, and customer service your mobile channel offers, your customers will consider you a trusted supplier partner.
- Shortened sales cycle: Your digital storefront and all the tools that go along with it simplify every stage of the sales cycle. With more self-service options, customers no longer need to call on your staff to place a simple reorder, check stock availability, or pay an invoice. The time your sales team gets back can be used to focus on cultivating new customers and developing existing relationships. When sales reps are out on customer visits, they can access your site from their tablet or smartphone to provide instant answers to questions about product compatibility, stock availability, and delivery dates so they can get orders placed faster for customers.
- Increased AOV: A great mobile experience puts favorite products, personalized promotions, and appealing incentives in front of your customers, making it easy for them to add items to their cart and increase the average dollar amount they spend per order. Everyone loves a good deal and when product bundles, discounts, and promotions are offered for products they need or have considered, they will most likely take advantage of the deals and place larger orders with you.
Meet Your Customers Where They Are with Mobile
As you continue to build and enhance your eCommerce website, make sure you include mobile in your digital strategy plan to further strengthen your online presence, simplify the buyer journey, and grow your business. As B2B industry experts, Unilog has built leading digital solutions with your business and your customers in mind. Our feature-rich CX1 eCommerce solutions have all the tools and functionality your customers want and deliver an experience they can trust – and our hybrid mobile app is no exception.
Built to complement your Unilog eCommerce website, our hybrid mobile app gives your customers the ability to search items in your catalog using an image, scanning a barcode, talking into the phone, or entering a description or part number. From the app’s clean and intuitive interface, customers can also access their account information, view their favorite items, request a quote, and build a shopping cart, even if they are offline. With the Unilog mobile app, customers can connect with you and your products with just a touch of a button.
To further deepen customer engagement, Unilog has partnered with Moblico to integrate mobile-specific engagement elements, creating a single mobile experience for B2B buyers. More than just an eCommerce tool, the Unilog and Moblico mobile app delivers personalized messaging, incentives, and special offers, including the ability to enroll and participate in loyalty and rewards programs. Together, Unilog’s eCommerce mobile capabilities and Moblico’s mobile messaging solutions help distributors capitalize on their mobile channel and meet their customers where they are.
It’s time to take interacting with your customers to a new level with a superior mobile offering that simplifies the way they shop and engage with your business. See how easy it is to build a formidable online presence with Unilog’s eCommerce solutions that are tailored to your specific needs.
Contact us today to get started!