Over the past few years, customer habits have changed rapidly to reflect the "new normal" of working from home and hybrid work structures. More importantly, the average B2B customer has also transformed. Millennials and Gen Z are taking over the workforce, and this younger generation prefers B2B purchases to flow more like B2C eCommerce. Easy, straightforward, omnichannel experiences are becoming increasingly vital in selling your product to appease these new buyers.
So if you’re reading this, it’s a sign to ditch the telemarketing calls and finally roll up your digital sleeves to pull in those leads.
In this article, you will learn the top three reasons you need to start selling online today. We’ll also share how to implement strategies to create the best customer experience possible.
1. Your customers’ expectations are changing
Consider this: your customer profile may have undergone a makeover this past decade.
Millennials and Gen Z are taking the job market by storm, and a surprisingly high number of those Millennials are now making major B2B purchasing decisions for their companies.
Gone are the days of handwritten signatures and meticulously penned "little black books." These modern customers have been plugged in all their lives, increasing the demand for streamlined digital sales experiences.
Plus, 44 percent of your new millennial customers prefer to entirely avoid interacting with sales reps. Instead, you should deliver a seamless omnichannel experience right to their fingertips. This way, when they are ready to pull the trigger, their purchase is as intuitive as clicking a button.
2. Unlocking new revenue streams will scale your business
Take a moment to consider how much revenue you bring in through traditional channels. Now, imagine the exponential business growth if you could double or even triple those streams.
Selling online can deliver that growth to you in as little as a few months. The conventional methods are tried and true, but the internet can offer a practical and lucrative approach to expanding your revenue streams to heights you never dreamed were possible.
Sell online through your website
Not only can you appeal more easily to modern customers, but you can choose unique products and services to sell through your online channels.
Selling through your website allows you to have easy-to-understand information about your business available at the click of a button. The moment your customers are ready to buy, there’s nothing getting in their way.
Hold digital events
For many B2B businesses, webinars and digital conventions are an excellent way to garner interest in your services and provide immediate value to potential customers.
The best part is that you can use all the online tools at your disposal to build those valuable relationships right away with customers worldwide.
Add a paywall for digital content
Once you’ve developed rapport and intrigue among your potential customers, it’s time to give them the chance to add to that value. Provide the juicy details and good bits of your service behind a paywall.
Take The Copy Posse, for example. Alex Cattoni draws in potential students for her online copywriting course by offering educational online content. Those who want to learn to apply her tips are prompted to purchase her online course to truly learn how to ignite their online businesses.
Start a subscription-based service
You can also implement a subscription pricing model when you move your selling online. Customers will benefit from the ability to conveniently repurchase your software. Meanwhile, you can easily retain that revenue to help your business grow month over month.
3. Drive a more efficient buying process for your customers and team
Once upon a time, we lived in the gilded age of in-person sales interactions. Now, selling online makes the sales process more efficient for your customers and internal teams.
Contracts can be signed from miles away, and millions can be made by streamlining your process. Now, you and your team can quickly onboard more customers and save precious time to focus on growing your business together.
How To Get Started
Define your goals
How would you like to see selling online change the game for your business? Whether you want to grow your revenue streams, attract more customers, or streamline your sales processes, defining your goals will guide your priorities.
Decide what to sell
Whether you want to sell your full product or move certain aspects of your business online, you must first decide what you want to sell and how to sell it.
For example, the tech company Apps Without Code sells online boot camps that provide immense value by teaching their customers app coding skills at the click of a button.
If you sell B2B products instead, online sales can open even more doors. For example, Plants Without Borders offers wholesale exotic plants to their online customers, with no trade shows or showrooms required.
No product is too big for B2B online sales, even if you sell something a bit heftier. Stone Products Unlimited, Inc. provides a streamlined buying experience for customers seeking trend-forward stone and tile for their home or business.
The infrastructure nonprofit American Concrete Pipe Association offers no digital or physical products. Instead, they are utilizing their online platform to sell tickets for their upcoming week-long event, Concrete Pipe Week 2022.
Decide how you will accept payments
When you start selling online, you will need a payment platform to bring it all together. Luckily, HubSpot offers a native payment system that streamlines the whole process.
Instead of cobbling together your payment data with other tools that don’t talk with each other, HubSpot Payments is built together with the HubSpot CRM platform.
HubSpot Payments allows you to grow by unlocking new revenue streams through online sales. Accepting digital payments means you'll get paid faster and be able to manage everything through your personalized, all-in-one platform.
Plus, you save your team time when your payment data flows flawlessly from one HubSpot tool to another. With HubSpot Payments, you can trigger automation for emails, onboarding documents, and beyond.
This means you can rest easy knowing your customers are experiencing a seamless, easy payment process, and their information is securely organized with the rest of your essential business data.
Start selling
Finally, once you have your goals, products, and payments all in line, it’s time to get out there and start selling!
Moving your purchasing process online can be intimidating at first, but you will soon fall in love with it when you realize how much time and energy you save, allowing you to focus on taking your business to new heights.
key takeaways
The reality is the market is rapidly moving toward hybrid and digital sales models. To keep up with your customers’ quickly changing needs and get a leg up on your competitors, it is essential that your business move online today.
If you’re already online or starting to ease into the transition, try HubSpot Payments to make the process smoother. Your customers will thank you for the straightforward and secure checkout experience, and you will be thanking yourself once the additional revenue starts rolling in from your online sales.
After you're all set up to start selling online, stay ahead of potential pitfalls. Dive into our guide, '4 Reasons Why Your Site Isn't Generating Sales', to ensure you're fully prepared to maximize your e-commerce success.
