How to Streamline the B2B Buying Buying Process
Learn How to Maximize B2B sales and increase customer satisfaction by following a few simple tips
The B2B buying process is often complex, involving multiple stakeholders, extensive research, and structured procurement procedures. On average, 6-8 stakeholders are involved in a B2B purchase, each with unique concerns and requirements. If your website makes it difficult to find critical information, delays key processes like RFPs, or lacks self-service options, buyers may abandon your platform in favor of competitors.
So, how can you optimize your B2B eCommerce experience to accelerate sales while improving customer satisfaction? The key lies in combining a smart design strategy with the right digital tools.
1. Personalized Catalogs and Pricing
Every B2B buyer has different needs. By offering personalized catalogs and pricing structures based on industry, organization, order size, or account status, you ensure that customers see the most relevant products and pricing. This tailored approach simplifies purchasing decisions and enhances customer loyalty.
Customizing your Shopify B2B storefront with tiered pricing structures isn’t as difficult as you might think. Here at B2 by BlueSwitch, we have extensive experience developing tiered and nested price tiers, personalized catalogs, and even customer-specific logins and accounts experiences. Contact B2 to learn more about personalized catalogs and pricing for your Shopify B2B storefront.
2. AI-Powered Search and Content Filtering
Make it easy for buyers to find the information they need at different stages of the decision-making process. Implement AI-driven search tools and content filtering to help users quickly locate product specifications, comparison sheets, and pricing details. An intuitive navigation experience reduces frustration and keeps buyers engaged.
AI Search is one of the best ways to provide personalized customer service without the need for live agents or sales team involvement. Search and Content Filter results can be customized to prioritize certain products or collections based on any number of criteria, including which products are already in the customer’s cart, what they’ve bought in the past, or even based on the customer’s account status or type of account. All those features stack up to make AI Search a must-have in any Shopify B2B storefront.
3. Reduce Friction in the Buying Workflow
A seamless buying experience is critical for customer retention. Reducing friction during the buying process saves your customers time and headaches, and over time leads to bigger, more frequent orders. Consider incorporating features like:
One-click checkouts to speed up transactions
Shopping lists and wish lists for future purchases
Saved information for frequently ordered products
Role-based access to support corporate purchasing workflows These features help organizations manage complex orders efficiently and encourage repeat business.
4. Role-Based Access for Streamlined Decision-Making
Since multiple stakeholders are often involved in purchasing, businesses need role-based access to ensure the right people have visibility into the right information. Enabling companies to assign roles—such as procurement managers, finance teams, and technical decision-makers—simplifies the approval process and ensures smooth transactions.
Imagine you have a customer that is a national chain of retail locations, with stakeholders at the store, district, regional, and national level. Role-based access would allow store managers to login and build an order based on their local inventory needs, then pass that order on up the chain for approvals, payment terms, and shipping information. This gives individual stakeholders more control over their role in the ordering process, increasing confidence and satisfaction, and reducing mistakes like accidental orders that can result in returns.
5. Mobile and Multi-Device Integration
Modern shoppers have become accustomed to a seamless online buying experience that allows them to switch between desktop, mobile, and tablet devices at any time during the buying process. Integrating mobile device and cart-sharing features into your B2B storefront is a great way to enhance the customer experience to drive sales and return traffic.
Smartphone as Barcode Scanner
One feature that stands out in this category is the Smartphone as Barcode Scanner feature that’s become one of our most popular B2B offerings. This feature allows your customers to login to your website from their phone, and then use their camera device to build a new cart by scanning barcodes in real time. Not only does this improve order accuracy by ensuring that the exact same SKU is re-ordered, but it increases customer confidence and speeds up the re-ordering process, saving time and headaches along the way.
Cart Sharing and Pre-Built Carts
Another standout mobile-friendly integration is the Cart Sharing feature. Cart Sharing allows one stakeholder, such as a local store manager, to build a new order by adding products to their cart, and then generate a link to share that cart with another stakeholder, such as a regional manager or procurement department, to complete the transaction. Pre-Built Carts allow customers to build and save a cart to their account, and then purchase and re-purchase again and again. Both of these features save time and reduce friction, allowing your customers to purchase more often, with greater satisfaction.
6. Provide Ungated Content to Support Early Stakeholders
Many B2B buyers conduct extensive research before engaging with a sales team. Providing ungated resources—such as product demos, spec sheets, and thought leadership articles—helps early-stage stakeholders build confidence in your solutions. Making key information accessible upfront fosters trust and accelerates the buying cycle.
Providing information to new customers helps them learn more about your product offerings, and how your products can help their business grow. Leveraging automated digital content delivery reduces the need for time-consuming in-person sales calls, increases cart sizes and purchase values, and facilitates repeat purchases by answering common questions about your products before they’re asked.
7. Enable Account Creation Without an Immediate Purchase
Forcing a purchase during account creation can drive away potential customers. Instead, allow users to create an account and explore your platform before committing. This reduces friction and encourages deeper engagement with your offerings. In B2B eCommerce webstores, account creation serves as a fundamental gateway for businesses to access tailored features and services that enhance their purchasing experience.
Allowing potential wholesale customers to create an account and view pricing info before they’re ready to buy has many benefits. First, we can create marketing flows based on new account creation, with email automation to entice new customers with welcome offers, begin tax and financial paperwork, or introduce sales teams. We can even connect the accounts system to your CRM system, so that new accounts automatically create a new CRM card for that client, and get them into your sales pipeline.
8. Leverage Data-Driven Insights to Surface Buying Intent
Understanding your buyers' intent allows you to proactively nurture leads. Utilize tools like Clearbit, Leadfeeder, and Buyer Intent to gather insights on user behavior, such as which products they view most frequently or how they engage with your content. These insights help sales teams personalize outreach and improve conversion rates.
The Bottom Line: A Smarter B2B Buying Experience
A frictionless B2B eCommerce experience is about more than just speeding up transactions—it’s about making the entire buying journey intuitive, informative, and seamless. By leveraging smart design strategies and the right digital tools, you can streamline complex purchasing processes, reduce decision-making barriers, and maximize both sales and customer satisfaction.
At B2 by BlueSwitch, we specialize in building and optimizing Shopify B2B solutions tailored to your business needs. Let’s talk about how we can help you create a more efficient and profitable B2B eCommerce experience! Contact our sales team today and begin your journey into a new era of success for your business.
