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For B2B e-commerce, the ability to quickly onboard new customers can make all the difference between a successful sale and a missed opportunity. And with the B2B world changing rapidly, it’s more important than ever to offer the best customer experience you can.
For example, 70% of B2B decision-makers are now willing to make new purchases over $50,000 through self-service or online channels. That means the majority of your customers are happy to spend a decent amount with you, without actually talking to you.
This just highlights the importance of an efficient onboarding process. The more difficult it is to become a customer, the higher the chances they’ll walk.
In this article, we’ll be looking at some of the challenges of customer onboarding, the advantages of an efficient customer onboarding process, and how Two can help get your B2B customers up and running instantly!
Let’s kick things off by looking at some of the challenges of customer onboarding…
Challenges of Efficient B2B Customer Onboarding
When you offer trade credit, there are a number of hurdles you need to overcome just to get your customers up and running:
1. Credit checking and ID-verification: Offering trade credit to customers with poor credit can have obvious negative consequences, so you want to make sure they can pay you back.
Businesses usually have 2 options here:
- Manually credit check the customer (a timely process that many businesses are not equipped to take on)
- Pay for a 3rd party to perform the credit check for them.
Both are suboptimal options that can take a lot of time…
2. Excessive paperwork: Offering trade credit can be paper-heavy. All those checks result in excessive forms that also take time to complete. And the longer those forms take to fill out, the longer it takes to get customers buying from you.
The advantages of efficient B2B customer onboarding
So, we’ve looked at some of the challenges of customer onboarding. But why would you want to improve this in the first place?
Let’s take a look at what an efficient onboarding process could do for your business…
1. Accelerated Sales Cycle:
Efficient onboarding improves the journey from lead to active customer. By minimising the time it takes for a potential customer to transition from initial interest to full engagement, you can significantly shorten the sales cycle. Swift onboarding reduces the risk of potential customers losing interest during prolonged decision-making periods, ensuring that opportunities are seized promptly.
2. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction:
First impressions matter, and the onboarding experience sets the tone for the entire customer relationship. A smooth and efficient onboarding process demonstrates your commitment to its customers' needs. This positive introduction fosters a sense of satisfaction and reassurance, enhancing the overall customer experience.
3. Improved Time-to-Value:
In the B2B landscape, customers are not merely seeking products or services; they are looking for solutions that address their unique challenges. Efficient onboarding ensures that customers can swiftly access and implement your solutions, leading to quicker realisation of value. This, in turn, strengthens the perception of what you offer as effective and results-driven.
4. Reduced Churn and Increased Retention:
B2B customers who experience a frictionless onboarding journey are more likely to remain loyal to a business. In fact, customers of the Trade Account see an x18 increase in customer retention and x11 more orders per buyer!
The initial challenges and complexities of implementation can contribute to churn if not properly addressed. Efficient onboarding minimises these hurdles, thereby reducing the risk of customer attrition and increasing long-term retention rates.
5. Positive Reputation and Referrals:
Word of mouth plays a significant role in the B2B landscape. When customers have a positive onboarding experience, they are more likely to share their satisfaction with peers and colleagues. This not only contributes to a business's reputation but also generates valuable referrals.
The Trade Account from Two: Paving the way for streamlined customer onboarding
As we’ve established, onboarding customers in the traditional way is manual and time-consuming. The longer it takes to get them up and running, the higher the chances they’ll abandon their basket and choose a competitor.
Two’s Trade Account solution provides you with a frictionless customer-onboarding experience, integrated right into your sign up flow. Customers simply fill in their details, apply for credit, and checkout in 30 seconds.
Plus, true one-click purchasing makes buying from you a walk in the park. With features like Grouped Invoices, your customers can receive a single invoice per purchase or grouped into weekly, fortnightly, or monthly invoices to drastically reduce admin.
To learn more about the Trade Account and how Two can help you onboard your customers instantly, speak to one of our experts!
