Frequent B2B ecommerce errors involving customer support embody the shortcoming of a service provider’s personnel to duplicate the expertise of consumers.
For 10 years I’ve consulted with B2B ecommerce firms worldwide. I’ve assisted within the setup of recent B2B websites, in optimizing present B2B websites, and with ongoing help for B2B websites.
This submit is the second in a collection by which I deal with widespread errors of B2B ecommerce retailers. The primary submit addressed B2B errors in catalog administration and pricing. For this installment, I’ll evaluate errors associated to consumer administration and customer support.
B2B Errors: Consumer Administration, Buyer Service
Lacking customers. B2B prospects add new workers and customers routinely. Usually a B2B purchaser will punch out with a consumer title that doesn’t exist on the service provider’s web site, leading to a failed transaction. This requires the service provider to manually add a brand new consumer earlier than she will be able to make a purchase order.
Tough consumer setup. Some B2B retailers require a number of checks and verifications earlier than a consumer is ready up on the location, sometimes taking days to finish the method. Retailers ought to make consumer setup so simple as potential and even think about routinely establishing new customers as a part of the punchout request.
Lacking roles. B2B prospects typically create new roles and duties. The client then makes use of these new roles throughout a punchout transaction, inflicting the transaction to fail. The service provider should then manually regulate the position and the related privileges. Much like lacking customers, retailers ought to expedite the method of including or adjusting consumers’ roles.
Out-of-sync password. Often a password is modified on the shopper’s web site however not on the service provider’s, which causes the punchout transaction to fail. Retailers ought to sync passwords with their prospects’ platforms.
Poor login, passwords. I’ve seen B2B prospects create a single login to a service provider’s web site for the complete firm. This significantly will increase the probabilities of a safety breach. I’ve additionally seen prospects that don’t have any password or a clean password to a service provider’s web site! That is even riskier.
No order-on-behalf functionality. B2B customer-service brokers want the potential to simulate a consumer’s buying expertise to know issues. That is known as “order-on-behalf.” However most B2B platforms don’t help it, stopping the agent from a well timed decision of a difficulty.
Restricted view of the order’s journey. Buyer-service brokers require visibility right into a purchaser’s full order journey — if merchandise been picked up, delivery standing, in-transit particulars, and when delivered. In my expertise, most B2B customer-service instruments can share solely three items: if the order has been positioned, if it has been shipped, and the tentative supply date. This typically doesn’t present sufficient data to the shopper.
Lack of punchout visibility. Usually customer-service brokers can solely see order transactions, not when the consumer punched out and what merchandise had been punched again. This lack of visibility limits brokers from resolving punchout issues.
No fast entry to customer-specific pricing. Most customer-service brokers can not simply verify that the value proven to the client matches the contracted value. This will require brokers to spend hours resolving pricing questions, which may frustrate the client and even jeopardize the general relationship.
Limitations round issuing refunds. Usually consumers will ask customer-service brokers to subject refunds. However many B2B platforms are usually not designed to try this. Most have a sophisticated refund course of, typically requiring the involvement of accounting personnel. The consequence, once more, is a pissed off buyer.
See the subsequent installment: “Half 3: Buying Carts, Order Administration.”