How The B2B Buying Process Is Changing

The Rise Of Self Service

The most significant shift is the B2B buyer’s demand for autonomy. They’re now looking to shop online, not just rely on trade shows or speaking to sales people. They’re wanting to research, compare, and order on their own timeline. From research undertaken by TrustRadius, 100% of buyers now want to self-serve all or part of the buying journey. Gartner found that 61% of B2B buyers prefer to place and manage their orders online without a sales team’s intervention.

Also important to note B2B buyers are getting younger and are much more digitally inclined to research online first – using social media, review websites and AI tools. Forrester predicts that 70% of B2B buyers are projected to be millennials by the end this year.

As part of the buying process when evaluating potential suppliers trust, transparency, and brand recognition play a significant part. Buyers often have a preferred supplier in mind and are looking for alternative suppliers that they perceive trustworthy:

Transparent pricing with easy self-serve access

Real user reviews

Free trials and demos

Case studies

This shift in the buying process makes it essential to have a B2B Customer Portal — a 24/7 digital hub where customers can manage their accounts, track shipments, and access custom pricing and real-time inventory. This also benefits B2B businesses with improved efficiency and reduced costs, whilst boosting customer satisfaction and retention.

Flowstar, a one-stop destination for premium quality valves and exceptional service, recognised this shift however were struggling to meet it, here they engaged us to implement a fully integrated B2B eCommerce platform. The system connects directly to Sage 50, allowing real-time stock levels and pricing to be visible to customers without manual intervention. They’ve already seen benefits in:

Reduced admin time: Customers can now check stock and pricing themselves—cutting out time-consuming phone calls and email chains.

Improved sales efficiency: Sales staff can now focus on complex enquiries rather than simple reorders.

Data integrity: Integration with Sage ensures product and pricing data is always up to date.

Customer satisfaction: Early adopters have praised the platform’s ease of use and responsiveness.

Find out more here from our case studies.

If you’re looking to go digital with a modern, efficient, time-saving ordering experience website that integrates with your accounting system now is the time to take action.

Get in touch with GOb2b today