How to Develop a Powerful Enterprise Ecommerce Conversion Strategy

Abhishek Aggarwal
8 min readApr 29, 2020

Enterprise ecommerce businesses have always relied on sales to survive. And if you are an owner of one of these websites, you too can vouch how important sales are for your business.

And it doesn’t matter whether you sell products exclusively online or have an ecommerce site as an extension to your brick and mortar store, you will still need high conversion rates for success.

Ecommerce sites, on a global scale, convert at an average rate of about 3%.

Now, even if you are somehow hovering around this number, you might get the idea that your Enterprise commerce platform is already optimized for higher conversions and you don’t need to do much else.

The fact, however, is despite doing well, there is almost always room left for improvements.

In fact, some of the top-performing websites such as Google Play Store has a conversion rate close to 30%.

Impressive, isn’t it?

Do you still believe 3% is enough?

Well, we don’t.

So, if you too are looking for ways to generate more sales and improve your conversion, all you need to do is to make some changes to your existing Enterprise ecommerce store.

What, don’t know how to optimize your site for maximum conversions?

You are in luck, for below we have come up with a list of top 7 rules for successful enterprise ecommerce conversions. Let’s dig in.

1. Simplify your website

While there are multiple ways to boost your conversion rate, the very first part to pay rapt attention to is your website design. Just remember, it is the first thing your customers will meet when they visit your B2B website.

That’s why a well-designed enterprise ecommerce website is always the most critical aspect of any online business. It can even double or triple the number of leads you generate from your campaign.

But how do you know if you are doing it right? Let’s see-

  • Use a minimalist design. It is great for creating an uncluttered, easily navigable experience for the end-user through the deliberate use of colour, content and the layout.
  • Ditch traditional stock photo sites. Instead, try something much more realistic. There is a growing community of photographers and designers on enterprise ecommerce websites such as Pexel etc. who provide free (as well as subscription-based services) photography that looks much more genuine.
  • Use heat maps for better information placement. Visitors often use one of the two distinct reading patterns while visiting sites. You can use this to your advantage by tailoring your content structure and placement as per these two patterns. This way, you can be sure that the most important info is being conveyed clearly.
  • Use responsive, modular design. Today, responsive design is table stakes for any successful enterprise ecommerce platform. So, if you don’t take action now and optimize your website to display well on different types of devices and browsers, then you are falling sorely behind.
  • Highlight social engagement by sharing and responding to your content. Not only will it help encourage engagement but will also help rank your b2b site better besides increasing your market reach. You can include icons on your homepage for social media networks you are active on, and also after each blog post.

2. Make Search Easier

You have created a virtual library of blogs, consumer guides, case studies and videos on your enterprise ecommerce site- all with the hopes of educating and converting your potential clients into customers. But can they find any of it?

If you want your b2b website to stand out in the business community, start with search.

Yes, we are talking about your search box, where your customers type their wants and needs. It is a missed opportunity where you can easily wow them and gain valuable insights.

We understand your b2b audience might be researching vendors and suppliers at work but at the end of the day, they are normal consumers only. They too want a sophisticated user experience on your enterprise ecommerce platform without roadblocks along with a seamless search experience.

But if site visitors quickly move from search to navigation or leave the site altogether, your search option isn’t doing that great of a job. Understand it this way, visitors coming to your B2B site aren’t shopping for the fun of it, they want results and they want it fast. After all, time is money. So, how do you make this work?

Ensure the search bar has the correct position. Most site visitors will instinctively look towards the top right corner for a search bar. For enterprise ecommerce websites it is of utmost importance that the search bar is placed in the top centre where it can be quickly reached. Also it is best to be large so it’s easily clicked.

Next, you need to make sure that the results that are displayed for search queries are right in nature. This also includes correcting any accidental typos and misspellings. Other ways you can modify the search bars include-

  • Auto-complete i.e. displaying search suggestions when you start typing in a search query even before you finished typing.
  • Dynamic results i.e. displaying the top search results quickly (whilst users search for products) within the search bar on your enterprise ecommerce platform.
  • Categorised or faceted search results i.e. showing filterable results which narrows down the results if your product spans across a lot of categories.

Believe us, it’s well worth spending a few minutes looking and testing out your search bar so as to make sure it’s not holding back any potential sales.

3. Personalize CTA buttons

What is the CTA button you ask? Well, they are Call-To-Action buttons distributed throughout the website that tell your customers what to do, where to click and what to buy.

Having a clear CTAs on every page of your enterprise ecommerce site allows you to steer the customer toward the most appropriate spot in your conversion funnel. The recommended button can be anything from a buy this product to a simple innocuous newsletter subscription sign-up button.

And the only hard and fast rule for CTA copy is to keep it short and simple. But how? Let’s see-

  • The button colour of your CTA is an important aspect you cannot ignore. Use A/B test various button colours so as to see which one converts the most.
  • Keep it short by getting straight to the point with the call-to-action on your enterprise ecommerce platform.
  • Do not demand anything from your b2b customers. Instead, use commands. For example, use ‘Start Free Trial Today!’ rather than ‘Submit’.
  • Lastly, incite urgency through your CTA (use ‘Today’ or ’Now’) but do not forget to convey value through it. Show what your customers will receive by clicking that button.

4. Offer multiple payment options

When we talk about b2b payment solutions, the crux of the matter is that your payment solution should be such as to provide a solution to your particular organization’s challenges.

So, when you switch from traditional payment options to digital ones on your enterprise ecommerce site, you can easily trim your payments cycle in half. This will also help solve a widespread challenge in the b2b space i.e. keeping the cash flow positive. Because no matter how successful your business is, finding ways to improve efficiency is always going to save you time and money.

For instance, rather than going the traditional way by sending an invoice and waiting for the paper check to arrive, you could simply send a digital invoice as soon as the job gets done. After that, you just need to send reminders automatically.

Today, enterprise ecommerce platforms come with Modern Payment Solutions that not only help you get paid faster but comes with a bunch of other benefits too. Benefits such as,

  • Majority of the time, buyers’ payment decisions largely depend on the methods their suppliers accept. If you fail to offer them their preferred method, they too might fail to see you as their potential supplier and start looking elsewhere.
  • As with B2C, keeping the transaction ‘flow’ smooth helps increase conversion and revenue. Similarly, b2b buyers too want convenience and support when it comes to ‘checking out’
  • Plus with the growing number of Payment options available for enterprise ecommerce sites, you not only get to accept payments online but also get an all-in-one solution that integrates well with CRM and accounting too.

5. Content that generates leads

Earlier, the average person needed advertisements to tell them about a product or service.

Well, not anymore. B2B consumers are getting smarter and more resourceful than ever. They have everything they need in order to make an informed decision.

Yes, you guessed it right. We are talking about content marketing a.k.a. high-quality content that helps shed light on a relevant topic. When pulled effectively, this content is what sucks these prospects into the lead generation funnel.

But how exactly do you use content marketing on your enterprise ecommerce platform for better-qualified leads? Let’s see-

  • Begin by creating buyer personas. It will include their values, demographics, strengths, weaknesses etc. Studies also prove that b2b companies who use buyers personas witness twice as much increase in email open rates along with five times click-through rate.
  • No content marketing is ever complete without a lead magnet. These are basically free resources such as whitepapers, e-books, and courses that you offer in exchange for a subscriber’s contact details. Once the lead has signed up, they can be emailed the magnet and can now be marketed to via email.
  • Next, you can use your case studies as resources. Narrow down the serious prospects reading your content by integrating case studies directly as resources. Case studies are really a great way to showcase what your enterprise ecommerce site does while extending a real-life example.

Content marketing, if used effectively, is one of the best ways to generate quality leads as a b2b business. Just remember to refine your buyer personas, it allows you to hyper-target a small segment of users. Afterwards, you can focus on topics that your potential clients would be interested in.

Wrapping Up:

You know your b2b ecommerce site should be making more money.

So, if there’s any improvement you are willing to make for your enterprise ecommerce platform today, let it be conversion optimization. Do not settle for less.

Take measured steps mentioned above to improve your conversion rates. These are especially powerful tactics for your wholesale business.

You know why?

Because you can get better results by using whatever resources you own. It also means you can start to scale your B2B business and make headway on your competitors without outspending them.

Isn’t it amazing?

Yes, it is. Always keep in mind that whether your business is brand new or has been around for a while, there is always room for improvement.

--

--

Abhishek Aggarwal

He is an ecommerce expert with 7+ years of experience.With hands-on experience of handling B2B and B2C ecommerce projects