Last updated on April 5th, 2016 at 12:18 pm
When it comes to reaching customers, personalization is increasingly important. Traditional advertising and social media can still be a big part of any strategy, yet customers seek richer, more engaging experiences.
That’s why the Kinetic Commerce model, a platform designed for B2C commerce, might have potential for B2B companies.
What’s Kinetic Commerce?
The Toronto-based company’s model blends the e-commerce and brick-and-mortar shopping experiences. Customers can request that items be held at a nearby store. Inside the store, users can check the app to see if any of their favorite items are physically in stock. Users can go shopping through apps, but it’s more than just a transaction funnel.
The model strengthens the relationship between retailers and their customers through a “comprehensive connected retail experience platform.” Clients are connected to stores on what feels like a personal level, with individual recommendations, notifications when an item they’d like is available and the ability to digitally try on the clothes, to name just a few.
Customer engagement is just as important for B2B companies. More than half of B2B buyers desire personalized recommendations when shopping. According to research from Accenture Digital and SAP Hybris, personalization is the second-most desired feature behind improving “price and product transparency.”
Sellers, on the other hand, say integrating technology with data is a major challenge.
It’s unfathomable that customers want something and sellers know what it is, yet can’t — or won’t — implement it. This is why the Kinetic Commerce model could be effective for B2B. Salesforce, a indispensable B2B tool, uses a similar integrated approach to e-commerce personalization.
A personal touch works for B2B too
Research shows that around 82 percent of the people that visit your website aren’t potential clients, according to Demandbase. It’s the remaining 18 percent that need to be engaged. The best way to do that is through personalization. You may be targeting other businesses, but those businesses are run by real people. Those people are looking for a more personalized approach.
Take a look at HydroWorx as an example. They sell therapy pools to gyms, professional sports teams, therapy centers, and more. However, they take a very personalized approach and use different sections of their website to target the real people who are making the purchasing decisions.
Kinetic-style integration is most effective when there’s a physical store to be integrated with the web platforms, but it’s still worthwhile for companies that are only online due to a number of useful features.
By creating an attractive and engaging web page and/or app, businesses easily record detailed analytics of exactly what their customers (and potential customers) are doing. Using this information, kinetic commerce generates personalized purchase recommendations, along with the ability to up sell or suggest alternatives.
Data has the potential to be powerful, yet it can be close to useless if you’re not looking at the right numbers. The thoroughness of the kinetic model’s capabilities breaks down the important numbers to a personal level. This is a powerful capability that could turn a first-time customer into a repeat customer if harnessed properly.
B2C companies often seem to be years ahead of B2B companies when it comes to the customer experience. Using tools like the kinetic commerce model can close the gap and elevate you above competitors.
Photo credit Jon Evans
