{"id":4251055,"date":"2021-03-31T16:26:06","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T14:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/insight\/the-rise-of-b2b-digital-marketplaces\/"},"modified":"2021-03-31T16:26:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T14:26:06","slug":"the-rise-of-b2b-digital-marketplaces","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/en-uki\/insight\/the-rise-of-b2b-digital-marketplaces\/","title":{"rendered":"The rise of B2B digital marketplaces"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\n\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tBack to all articles\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n<\/button>\n\t\tThe rise of B2B digital marketplaces\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/picture>\n\t\n\t<\/div>
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\n\t\tLizzie Powell\t\t
\n\t\tVP of Growth, Experience and Engineering\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t31 March 2021\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\tThe B2B marketplace boom is just beginning.\u00a0A new study<\/a>\u00a0projects B2B marketplaces will account for 30% of all global online B2B sales by 2024; estimated to reach $3.6 trillion up from $680 billion in 2018. There are two core pillars contributing to the surge of marketplace selling: marketplace syndication and marketplace creation.\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tHow marketplaces fit into the B2B buying journey\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tMost B2B purchases involve a chain of decision-makers and follow a complex, nonlinear path\u00a0where the readiness of digital information is appreciated. The buying journey may be difficult to map, but the initial step is clear: an overwhelming majority\u00a0(89%) of B2B customers<\/a>\u00a0begin their process with a search engine and conduct at least 12 searches prior to engaging on a specific brand\u2019s site.\u00a0\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tMarketplaces have become a key avenue for vendors to research their options and connect with multiple brands and products at once. \u201cOpening up the business to comparison is one of the biggest push backs from B2B sellers when it comes to marketplaces, but we\u2019re way past the era where a comparison is restricted,\u201d said Jonathan Whiteside, Principal Technology Consultant at DEPT\u00ae. \u201cEven before marketplaces, your customers were accessing multiple supplier websites across monitors and devices to create their own comparisons. By participating in the process, rather than resisting, you\u2019re making it easier for them. When it comes to customer experience, you have to give an inch to get their attention and prove value.\u201d\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tA customer previously unknown to your brand may now be discovering your products. \u201cIf a builder is looking for a home appliance, they\u2019re searching for options that match specific criteria, whether that\u2019s related to size or energy consumption, they\u2019re able to easily compare a Bosch product vs a Samsung vs models from a new manufacturer. Being considered alongside premium vendors adds credibility and gives your brand a chance to win new business. Use marketplaces as an inbound channel.\u201d\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tA new channel for lead generation\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tThe main advantage for B2B sellers joining marketplaces is their ability to reach a large, captivated audience. Marketplaces have teams dedicated to keeping up with trends and search strategies, refreshing pages regularly and optimising content. When combined with the range of brands updating offers and adding or removing products, SEO gets driven up which leads to more inbound traffic.\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tB2B often focuses on business retention rather than acquisition. Investing heavily in developing consumer loyalty is a great growth strategy. Despite B2Bs having a lower number of customers compared to B2C businesses, the transaction value is much higher, as customers are likely to order in bulk and are often tied into long term contracts and subscriptions. \u201cMarketplaces are actively pursuing new customers, let them supplement your marketing strategy by directing prospects to your dedicated platform. Follow the funnel from search to discovery, continuing the message by clearly communicating your unique proposition and focusing on engagement.\u201d\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tWhiteside added: \u201cBecoming an expert advisor is one way for businesses to stand out from their competitors in the marketplace. Hone your digital engagement skills and provide support around your products and insight into the industry you operate in. Marketplaces may be leading the way for convenience, but B2B specialists run on trust and long-term relationships; don\u2019t miss the chance to create a lasting business partnership that\u2019s mutually beneficial.\u201d\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tSelling in tandem with marketplaces\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tWhen\u00a066% of distributors and 53% of manufacturers<\/a>\u00a0say they are losing revenue to marketplaces, it\u2019s time to work with these commerce leaders. Pinpoint how their strengths in fulfilment, standardised delivery, immediate visibility and compliance can help maximise your overall sales and distribution strategy. As a manufacturer, the opportunities are fairly straightforward to optimise warehouse space: combine several low margin products into a high margin bundle and offload slow-moving inventory, surplus or overstock items, as well as discontinued product ranges.\u00a0\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tIt\u2019s a lot more complicated for distributors since a lot of their value is tied to their ability to fulfil orders in a unique way that often involves their own delivery fleet. \u201cIf you\u2019re sending a big pipe for a water supply company, you know how to deliver that product in a special way, so keep that on your delivery system, but maybe let go of the nuts and bolts that fit into standard boxes. The brand awareness benefits and efficiencies of the marketplaces are worth it if you\u2019re sending standard items. Work with them sometimes, but preserve your value.\u201d\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tMapping the B2B marketplace landscape\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tAlibaba and Amazon are the world\u2019s largest B2B online selling platforms. Both companies are making significant progress, with\u00a0Amazon Business hitting $25 billion in annual sales<\/a>\u00a0and growing 1.6 times faster than Amazon itself last year. The Chinese tech giant Alibaba managed to gather\u00a010 million B2B buyers<\/a>\u00a0on its platform from 190 countries. And is now outpacing Amazon, Google Cloud and Microsoft with a\u00a060% year-on-year rise in revenue<\/a>\u00a0in the third quarter of 2020.\u00a0\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tMore than\u00a080% of the 600 business buyers Episerver surveyed<\/a>\u00a0said they use these two platforms to start their research. These B2B marketplaces have been celebrated for creating alike B2C experiences and simplifying corporate purchasing. Their success has opened the floodgates. There are now over 300 B2B marketplaces in Europe, up from a mere 20 back in 2010. The majority of these marketplaces were started within the last five years, and\u00a0Forrester Research<\/a>\u00a0predicts that hundreds of new B2B marketplaces will continue to launch in industries as diverse as chemicals, machinery, electronics, agrifood and aerospace.\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\u201cB2B marketplaces are still very much in their infancy, and there are a lot of opportunities for advancement through tech innovation and customer activation,\u201d Whiteside commented. \u201cThe evolution of B2B marketplaces will more be more focused, offering less commoditised, more unique goods or services sourced for a particular industry. These marketplaces will have more complex workflows and may be tougher to set up as opposed to traditional marketplaces due to their inherent complexity though, for this reason, they will also be more defensible.\u201d\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tOpportunities for marketplace creation\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tThe demand for niche B2B marketplaces keeps growing, providing fertile ground for marketplace giants to specialise in verticals, industry leaders to create multi-vendor e-commerce platforms, or venture capital-funded digital native start-ups to swoop in. The more sector-specific and tightly seller-focused emergent marketplaces are, the more targeted traffic they\u2019re likely to generate and successful they\u2019ll become.\u00a0\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tAccording to Whiteside: \u201cIf you\u2019re already a leading manufacturer or distributor in a particular area such as bus parts or chemical components, launching a vertical-specific marketplace is a logical next step to reaffirm your market position, open up new revenue streams and attract serious buyers. Having a well-established company domain will boost the launch, while your industry knowledge will ensure satisfaction and longevity; simplifying the buyer journey and creating new sales opportunities for sellers tailored to the unique needs of their sector.\u201d\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tFollow in the footsteps of vertical leaders who have established their own B2B marketplaces. In aviation and aerospace\u00a0Airbus<\/a>,\u00a0Thales<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Honeywell<\/a>;\u00a0Siemens<\/a>\u00a0in trains;\u00a0Toyota Material Handling<\/a>\u00a0in forklifts;\u00a0CheMondis<\/a>\u00a0for chemicals;\u00a0Conrad<\/a>\u00a0in electronics;\u00a0HP Enterprise<\/a>\u00a0for IT supplies; and\u00a0Tetra Pak<\/a>\u00a0for food and beverage.\u00a0\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tJust Eat launches a B2B marketplace\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tFollowing the merger between Just Eat and Takeaway.com in spring 2020, Just Eat Takeaway transformed into a global platform that operates in eleven countries, serving over fourteen million customers annually. The company decided to accelerate its digital transformation and partnered with DEPT\u00ae to launch a new,\u00a0innovative B2B marketplace<\/a>\u00a0that caters to the needs of restaurateurs by leveraging the wealth of data the company has at its disposal.\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t