{"id":16467,"date":"2019-09-30T11:00:53","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T19:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/09\/30\/news-10207\/"},"modified":"2019-09-30T11:00:53","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T19:00:53","slug":"news-10207","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/09\/30\/news-10207\/","title":{"rendered":"What is your customer\u2019s expectation about e-Commerce? Why has it become a necessity?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit to Author: Jean-Michel Carlotti| Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2019 14:00:40 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n

B2B e-commerce is already the way to go for commodities<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just a reminder, a commodity is a basic product that is interchangeable with other products of the same type, whatever the manufacturer brand. In our Energy<\/a> and Industrial Automation<\/a> business, you will find in almost every panel pushbuttons, pilot lights<\/a>, tower lights<\/a>, \u00a0relays<\/a>, and contactors<\/a> . Those components are in every distribution panel and control panel. Altogether, it\u2019s a market that exceeds $11B. Being easily interchangeable between brands, those devices are skyrocketing on B2B e-commerce websites: If a customer cannot get the pushbutton from brand A, he will get if from brand B with only a few clicks.<\/p>\n

Commodities are answering key customer\u2019s values: Availability, Robustness and Quality, Price\/Performances ratio; but even more their presence on e-commerce brings many more features and information. Internet delivers every day a Tsunami of information. The proliferation of information consumes the attention of the web users, then one of customers. Therefore, to be able to capture the attention of the users is a real value. As a result, information\u2019s for commodities must be perfect, understandable and memorize-able in a blink of an eye. The catching messages must solve customer’s problems and pains.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In the customer\u2019s shoes<\/strong><\/p>\n

To better understand customer\u2019s expectation about e-commerce, let\u2019s step in their shoes for a short time.<\/p>\n

Internet provides the gift of ubiquity<\/strong>
When I\u2019m going to order some automation components online, I have access to a lot of information, either pre-sales or post sales information. I do my research on multi-tabs, opened simultaneously in the web browser. I am in a multitude of points of sales at the very same time. It\u2019s more and more easy to buy online my usual basket of commodities. Access to information is 24\/7.\u00a0 I can start my product search early morning, continue it when I am in my office, and even complete it in the evening from the cosy comfort of my sofa. Material and time constraints of the physical world are non-existent with the virtual world. Ubiquitous nature of the Internet eases my purchasing tasks.<\/p>\n

Availability and delivery<\/strong><\/p>\n

Availability of the products I order, or their next delivery date, is key in my\u00a0purchasing decision. If the information is missing or not clear, I change webshop in a single click. By the way, I won’t come back to your website when I find this information clearer and true on another web shop.<\/p>\n

My Purchasing conditions<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a regular, and somehow loyal users of products from the same brands. I expect customer’s personalized pricing lists to be available across all buying channels, in real time.\u00a0As a customer, I need to access my\u00a0discounted\/ personalized prices for each SKU (Stock Keeping Unit).<\/p>\n

Regarding commodities such as pushbuttons or relays, due to the high frequency of component ordering, I know exactly what I want. I need to key-in a list of commodities I purchase and create bulk orders from my more recent orders. Time-saving is one of the values delivered by e-commerce.<\/p>\n

Support<\/strong><\/p>\n

e-commerce is a channel for business, like any other channels. As a consequence, Human Beings and Relationships are of paramount importance.\u00a0 As a customer, I need to access to a quick chat, whatever the system. Online support helps to resolve issues in the ordering process, check there’s no mistake about the part numbers I choose, verify the completion of my basket.<\/p>\n

Get more from B2B e-commerce<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beside customer behavior, attractive potential business, let\u2019s not forget about the overall benefits of a B2B e-commerce website:<\/p>\n