B2B and B2C – The Potential for Hybrid Sales

We’ve already spoken at length in this article series regarding the ways the lines between B2B and B2C retail is becoming ever more blurred. We’ve discussed how B2B buyers are expecting B2C style experiences, even when making purchases in their working lives.

However, we’ve not really touched on what happens when those lines become so blurred they no longer exist and the B2B and B2C retail experience are actually one and the same.

This is what we refer to as the hybrid selling model and its something which we are likely to see become steadily more prevalent as we move through 2022.

Hybrid Retail

While there are certainly B2C retailers which target organisations in their marketing – Amazon being one extremely prominent example – it is far more common to experience B2B brands which have an option to market directly to consumers.

This clearly has benefits for the end user of a product as, by purchasing the product directly from its manufacturer, they can normally get a better price than by going through an intermediary retailer. People have, in fact, been doing this for decades without even really realising it, usually in the form of purchasing home improvement furnishings – such as a new bathroom suite – directly from the merchant instead of through their plumber – who would naturally add a markup of their own.

There are also sound benefits to the seller as they have fewer strata of business to negotiate with and can usually get a higher purchase price from a customer compared to the terms they would likely get supplying a retailer – despite the retailer taking more units of a given product.

Hybrid Ecommerce Platform

The most apparent challenge when pivoting a B2B business to also serve the B2C market is making sure your ecommerce platform is optimised for the differing needs of each.

Thankfully, this is a lot simpler going from purely B2B to a hybrid model than it is when coming from the other direction, as the needs of B2C customers are often a little simpler.

That said, you need to make sure the ecommerce experience is set up in such a way as to make it easy for regular customers to find their way around. B2B buyers usually know exactly what they are looking for when they go online to make a purchase and therefore need relatively little guidance when doing so. However, B2C customers visiting your web presence for the first time are likely in a more exploratory phase of their buying journey and will likely need significantly more guidance and handholding before making a purchase decision.

The checkout process will also be markedly different for B2C customers. whereas B2B buyers will normally expect their purchases to be added to an account to be paid at a later date, B2C shoppers will expect to be able to checkout as a guest and have multiple payment options such as PayPal, Google/Apple Pay, etc.

Final Thoughts

The hybrid model provides ample opportunity for B2B brands to reach new markets and see better margins than they can achieve through pure commercial selling. However, to do so, they need to ensure their ecommerce platforms are optimised to meet the differing needs of both groups simultaneously.

The potential of hybrid sales is sure to be part of the conversation at B2B Online 2022.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.