If you want to grow your business and your customer base, make 2025 the “year of the customer” by providing more services and tools that revolve around their needs. Convenience and transparency are the top expectations of today’s B2B buyers, which means a B2B eCommerce site should be an essential sales channel for your business.

WHAT IS A B2B CUSTOMER PORTAL

An eCommerce site’s self-serve offerings help you reach more buyers who are looking for an easier, more efficient way to shop for products. It gives them the ability to search and find items quickly, see product details including pricing and availability, build and save shopping carts, and transact with a choice of payment options – all while doing it on their own time. But your eCommerce site should also provide another customer-centric tool: a B2B customer portal.

KEY FEATURES OF A SUCCESSFUL B2B CUSTOMER PORTAL

Built into your eCommerce site, a self-service portal provides an added level of convenience for customers, giving them instant access to account information like order history, invoices, and order status. It offers quick links to request a quote, see their favorite items list, view and manage saved carts, and approve other users’ shopping carts. By simply registering and logging onto your website, customers can visit their account portal at any time, making it a value-added self-service tool that deepens their engagement and loyalty with your company.

According to findings from McKinsey & Company’s annual B2B Pulse surveys, the momentum for self-service is growing rapidly. Of the nearly 4,000 B2B decision-makers they surveyed in 2024, 73% said they were willing to spend at least $50,000 online compared to 59% in 2022. Another 39% said self-service options would compel them to spend more than $500,000 online – an 11% increase from 2022.

B2B buyers have spoken. They want a shopping experience where they have the freedom to shop and manage their account when they want and the option to make purchases independently from a sales rep. And while your customers will enjoy the efficiency and time savings a B2B eCommerce portal offers, your sales and customer service teams will benefit as well. Read on as we break down B2B portal benefits for both your customers and your business.

BENEFITS OF B2B CUSTOMER PORTALS FOR CUSTOMERS

A B2B customer portal removes the time-consuming task of contacting one of your team members to perform simple tasks like reordering an item, checking the shipping status of an order, or paying an invoice. These online capabilities provide a frictionless experience, a more simplified buying process, as well as these additional customer benefits.

Empowers buyers

Self-service portals give B2B customers direct control over their accounts and transactions. By having the ability to handle more mundane tasks themselves, they gain self-sufficiency, productivity, and a sense of accomplishment.

Enables 24/7 service

B2B eCommerce portals offer round-the-clock access to information and services, which is crucial when your customers are located across the country or the globe. This transparency and availability of information results in greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Provides customizable features

B2B eCommerce portals can be customized for and by the customer to suit their needs. Your business can prebuild a Favorite Items list for a customer based on their recent order history while your customers can add or edit their own list of favorite items, build projects, save carts, as well as manage multiple users, roles, and permissions within their organization.

WHY B2B CUSTOMER PORTALS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR 2025

To some on your sales team, a digital commerce channel may seem like direct competition by removing them from the buying process. But many salespeople soon find that eCommerce isn’t out to replace them – it is there to make them a more valuable contributor to the company. With less time spent on redundant, administrative tasks, your teams can use their industry expertise and deep product knowledge for high-value work like building complex configurations and solutions, generating custom quotes, and acquiring new business. Online self-service options not only help your sales team – they also provide wins for your entire organization.

Increases operational efficiency

While a B2B customer portal will enable sales to focus on more strategic responsibilities, your customer service teams will have to handle fewer manual tasks like order tracking and information requests. These time savings will result in cost savings and enable more streamlined business operations.

Engages and retains customers

A well-functioning customer portal creates a more positive, hassle-free purchase experience for customers. When they have the ability to manage their accounts seamlessly, track their orders, and access support when needed through your portal, they are more likely to become a loyal customer.

Creates a competitive advantage

As digital capabilities grow and self-service preferences continue to rise, those who offer a robust eCommerce site with a self-service portal will gain a significant competitive edge. If you’re not offering convenience, speed, and frictionless shopping, you’ll be left behind.

BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPLEMENTING A B2B CUSTOMER PORTAL

• Ensure secure and scalable solutions: Maintain a trusted customer portal by implementing strong security measures such as multi-factor authentication, data encryption, and role-based access controls. If your website collects personal data, you must also remain compliant with industry-specific regulations and data privacy standards. As an added safeguard, conduct periodic security audits to identify and address any vulnerabilities on your website.
• Design customizable interfaces for diverse user needs: Tailor your portal experience to each customer’s specific needs and preferences by creating personalized product catalogs that display their contracted pricing and curating a list of their favorite items that they can further customize and maintain. Provide notification preferences and other personalization options to make their customer portal their own.
• Invest in user training resources and content enrichment: Provide easy access to comprehensive customer support options, including a help desk, knowledge base, and live chat. Include ongoing support and training resources on your site to ensure customers can get the most out of the portal.
• Leverage customer experience metrics to drive improvements: Implement closed-loop feedback from customers, prioritize high-value accounts that use the portal to identify and maximize your enhancement efforts, and monitor transaction times and error rates within the portal to analyze efficiency gains. By focusing on key performance indicators (KPIs) and integrating data from multiple sources, you can improve user satisfaction, increase efficiency, and ultimately drive revenue growth.

DRIVE SUCCESS WITH A SELF-SERVICE PORTAL

B2B customer portals have become essential tools for B2B eCommerce businesses looking to enhance customer relationships, improve operational efficiency, and stay competitive in a rapidly changing market. If your current eCommerce site lacks critical self-service features like a customer account portal, contact Unilog. We can provide a complementary analysis of your current online offerings and demo the customer-centric capabilities of our CX1 eCommerce solutions. Built for your business, our eCommerce platform offers a deep feature set with plenty of flexibility so it can be configured to meet the exacting needs of your business and your customers. This year, turn your digital sales channel into a self-service customer resource that generates greater revenue for your business.