B2B Portals: Types and Features for Business Growth
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 6:10 am
With longer sales cycles, hundreds of SKUs with subtle differences, heterogeneous systems, multiple actors, and dynamic purchasing orders, the digital B2B arena is a complex scenario with high risks. Often, B2B companies struggle with technical requirements and entangled processes when interacting digitally with another business. However, being a company with a B2B business model also has its unique opportunities and value. And there's no digital solution better positioned to address these challenges than B2B portals.
B2B portals are the perfect example of marrying business goals with modern functionality while meeting complex digital requirements from increasingly demanding audiences. They embody Digital Transformation: aligning business and technology toward results and not just acquiring features or functionality without a specific purpose.
In this article, we will cover the following topics:
An overview of B2B portals
What types of B2B portals exist:
Corporate and business portals
B2B Commerce Portals & B2B Customer Portals
Supplier Portals and Procurement Digital Solutions
Franchisee Portals
Distributor and Wholesale Portals
Dealership Portals
Partner Portals
Key to success when implementing them
In addition, we will provide some case studies for you to grasp lithuania business email list their current impact on business growth and productivity quickly.
First things first: Defining B2B Portals
B2B portals are digital solutions platforms that allow businesses to interact with each other in a digital ecosystem. They facilitate the exchange of services, products, and information, thereby enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations.
So, how are B2B portals commonly used ? As digital channels, they can
drive sales and B2B Commerce with transactions and automated workflows
improve communication and collaboration with interactive features and functionality
deliver modern and personalized experiences to increase customer loyalty
create a centralized, secure space for knowledge management
provide tools and automated processes to increase productivity
One of the most valuable aspects of a B2B portal is providing features, functionality, and a secure space for the many actors around a business-to-business model: managing relationships and interacting with suppliers, partners, dealers, customers, and more. Because the B2B Customer Journey is complex , standard platforms or communication channels may fall short to your needs.
Types of B2B Portals
1. Business and Corporate Portals
Target audience: B2B buyers, customers, partners, or suppliers
Primary objective: Sales and B2B Commerce
Corporate portals serve as a single point of access for all corporate information and applications. They enhance internal communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
With features like personalized content, search capabilities, and integration with other business applications, corporate portals facilitate efficient information management within an organization.
Some of the features of corporate portals:
managing corporate information and processes,
managing frequently asked questions, policies, and procedures,
onboarding processes and training,
managing sales enablement resources,
translation and automated workflows.
Some corporate portals have an authenticated space for collaboration and an external public-facing section that is part of a company's web presence. This type of portal helps with communication, brand presence, collaboration, and engaging potential business with new companies—a critical marketing touchpoint for B2B.
Corporate Portal Case Study:
CEMEX's Global Business Portals.
2. B2B Commerce Portals & B2B Customer Portals
Target audience: B2B buyers and B2B customers
Primary objective: Sales and B2B Commerce
Customer portals, also known as B2B Commerce portals or B2B sales portals, are designed to provide business-to-business buyers with a personalized buying experience. These digital solutions support B2B Commerce processes by enabling customers to search for products, place orders, and track deliveries in real-time, plus providing a personalized platform for interaction.
Customer portals may employ eCommerce functionality such as:
order tracking,
payment management and check-out processes,
invoice processing,
product catalogs,
product recommendations,
ERP and CRM integration,
and purchase history and account management with user authentication.
Per Gartner's “The Future of B2B Buying” report , the B2B buying journey isn't linear. It is a back-and-forth process with multiple members of the group and decision-makers that could last months. So, a B2B Commerce portal can provide multiple touchpoints during this journey to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty and build long-term relationships. In addition to this, they provide analytics to understand customers' needs and preferences better and deliver a seamless and personalized buying experience.
B2B portals are the perfect example of marrying business goals with modern functionality while meeting complex digital requirements from increasingly demanding audiences. They embody Digital Transformation: aligning business and technology toward results and not just acquiring features or functionality without a specific purpose.
In this article, we will cover the following topics:
An overview of B2B portals
What types of B2B portals exist:
Corporate and business portals
B2B Commerce Portals & B2B Customer Portals
Supplier Portals and Procurement Digital Solutions
Franchisee Portals
Distributor and Wholesale Portals
Dealership Portals
Partner Portals
Key to success when implementing them
In addition, we will provide some case studies for you to grasp lithuania business email list their current impact on business growth and productivity quickly.
First things first: Defining B2B Portals
B2B portals are digital solutions platforms that allow businesses to interact with each other in a digital ecosystem. They facilitate the exchange of services, products, and information, thereby enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations.
So, how are B2B portals commonly used ? As digital channels, they can
drive sales and B2B Commerce with transactions and automated workflows
improve communication and collaboration with interactive features and functionality
deliver modern and personalized experiences to increase customer loyalty
create a centralized, secure space for knowledge management
provide tools and automated processes to increase productivity
One of the most valuable aspects of a B2B portal is providing features, functionality, and a secure space for the many actors around a business-to-business model: managing relationships and interacting with suppliers, partners, dealers, customers, and more. Because the B2B Customer Journey is complex , standard platforms or communication channels may fall short to your needs.
Types of B2B Portals
1. Business and Corporate Portals
Target audience: B2B buyers, customers, partners, or suppliers
Primary objective: Sales and B2B Commerce
Corporate portals serve as a single point of access for all corporate information and applications. They enhance internal communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
With features like personalized content, search capabilities, and integration with other business applications, corporate portals facilitate efficient information management within an organization.
Some of the features of corporate portals:
managing corporate information and processes,
managing frequently asked questions, policies, and procedures,
onboarding processes and training,
managing sales enablement resources,
translation and automated workflows.
Some corporate portals have an authenticated space for collaboration and an external public-facing section that is part of a company's web presence. This type of portal helps with communication, brand presence, collaboration, and engaging potential business with new companies—a critical marketing touchpoint for B2B.
Corporate Portal Case Study:
CEMEX's Global Business Portals.
2. B2B Commerce Portals & B2B Customer Portals
Target audience: B2B buyers and B2B customers
Primary objective: Sales and B2B Commerce
Customer portals, also known as B2B Commerce portals or B2B sales portals, are designed to provide business-to-business buyers with a personalized buying experience. These digital solutions support B2B Commerce processes by enabling customers to search for products, place orders, and track deliveries in real-time, plus providing a personalized platform for interaction.
Customer portals may employ eCommerce functionality such as:
order tracking,
payment management and check-out processes,
invoice processing,
product catalogs,
product recommendations,
ERP and CRM integration,
and purchase history and account management with user authentication.
Per Gartner's “The Future of B2B Buying” report , the B2B buying journey isn't linear. It is a back-and-forth process with multiple members of the group and decision-makers that could last months. So, a B2B Commerce portal can provide multiple touchpoints during this journey to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty and build long-term relationships. In addition to this, they provide analytics to understand customers' needs and preferences better and deliver a seamless and personalized buying experience.