DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER STRATEGIES

Why B2B Manufacturers Should Build a DTC Ecommerce Strategy

As B2B manufacturers embrace digital transformation, many are considering a shift towards a Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) ecommerce strategy to strengthen their digital presence and customer relationships. According to Gartner, 80% of B2B sales interactions will happen online by 2025, emphasizing the need for direct engagement in the digital market.

From a digital transformation perspective, B2B manufacturers are still in the early stages of adopting and implementing their strategies. Many understand that they need to have an ecommerce strategy, but for many, it is still in the planning stage. 

While in the planning stages, one option that B2B manufacturers might consider is a direct-to-consumer ecommerce strategy — a strategy that eliminates the need for distributors and allows the manufacturer to have a direct relationship with their customers.

According to Gartner’s The Future of Sales in 2025: A Gartner Trend Insight Report, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur in digital channels. With the majority of interactions taking place online through websites and marketplaces, there is even more reason to have that direct relationship with the customer.

The Benefits of Implementing a DTC Strategy

Full Control of the Customer Journey

Having a direct relationship with your customer allows you to have full control over how and when a customer interacts with your business. The true benefit of having full control is it provides you with the ability to collect and analyze data for all touch points within the customer journey and then optimize and make improvements based on the data. No more guessing based on your distribution network’s sales. Just straight, data-driven decision-making.

Personalized Experiences

Collecting that invaluable data from the first point in this article allows you to provide customers with personal experiences tailored to their history and preferences. Providing customers with information and offers that are relevant to their needs and wants improves their satisfaction with your brand. Personalized experiences can further be used to cross-sell and up-sell customers to generate additional revenue and large lifetime value for a given customer.

Improved Customer Service

Having a digital relationship with your customers allows you to offer customer service across all channels, providing them the ability to get in contact with you how they choose, be that via phone or live chat. B2B buyer preferences are changing; providing them with the tools they expect (and are used to in their non-work lives) will lead to less friction in the buying process. This, in turn, will lead to a better customer experience, improved loyalty and increased customer retention.

Greater Control of Brand Messaging

Today, brands are more than ever aware of how important it is to control what is being said about them — having a direct relationship with your customers allows a brand to not only control the narrative but also promote initiatives as well. One such example might be the ability to promote an organization's “green” initiatives and demonstrate to their customers how they are helping the environment.

Higher Profit Margins

Last but certainly not least, removing any middle layers from the buying process will lead to not only higher profit margins and profitability but also to greater pricing controls as well.

Many reasons to consider a DTC strategy

It is clear to see that there are many reasons why a B2B manufacturer might want to implement a DTC business model and most of them have a direct positive impact on their customers. 

 If you are looking to implement a DTC strategy for your B2B manufacturing business, please reach out to us today.

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