Online marketplaces have remarkably changed the way B2B businesses function. Whether you are a small startup, a local brick-and-mortar store, or a long-running small/medium-sized business, the most logical and beneficial marketing strategy for business owners today is to be visible online at any point in time. Online B2B portals are probably the best thing that happened to independent enterprises and local businesses, especially those who cater to other businesses and do not have the resources to join the bandwagon of expensive marketing like large corporations.
That being said, many B2B businesses still contemplate advertising through online listing. If you are a business owner catering to other businesses, and wondering if online portals are the platforms for advertising your business, then let’s help you make a well-informed decision.
Benefits of online listing on B2B portals
1. Increased reach and access to customers
When it comes to B2B advertising, it is essential to cut down complicated or long-drawn processes to reach customers. With dedicated online listing sites for B2B, advertisers/business owners can make their products and services known to existing and potential customers. Also, a B2B online listing has both pan-India presence and local presence for the geography that you mention. This increases your online visibility at multiple places and boosts your business opportunities. Simple search and filter capabilities help bring your business to the top for local searches or category-specific searches.
A simple listing of spice businesses on Tradeleaves.com
2. Increased engagement without investment
Gone are the days when salesmen were the only source of information for the buyers. Today, they prefer to do their own independent research before buying your products. A B2B marketplace like Tradeleaves can help you with features that provide in depth information about your business and products: through enquiry, asking for a price, understanding more about product and delivery through FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), understanding technical specifications of your product or even chatting with you or your representative.
3. Discovery by new unknown customers
Warranty, product reviews, and feedback from customers and site ratings help new customers to the platform discover your business. Ratings and reviews build credibility for the portal and higher rating on such platforms can translate into higher expression of interest for your business. Online listing on B2B portals makes for better product discovery for manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, and even distributors.
4. More efficient, direct and transparent
With direct business to client order and delivery, you are cutting down on any vendor or middleman and connecting directly with your customers. This expedites the process, especially in times of high-demand or emergencies. This is easily managed through online B2B portals that provide ERP and Order Management functionality, where customers can directly place orders and get it delivered, cutting down delays between order and dispatch. You can redirect the valuable processing time saved in client servicing and management of other business activities.
5. Better and long-term customer relation
In B2B, the dynamics of customer relations are different. There are few customers with high volume of transaction with each one. A happy customer is likely to return to your business. Their long-term value is very high. Customer satisfaction in B2B depends on trustworthiness, efficiency, speed, quality and customer service. A B2B marketplace helps you achieve all these with robust in-built technology, support and transaction systems and a continuous system of customer ratings and reviews. Added benefits include, faster connection, speedy delivery process, and easy payment methods and others.
Additionally, online listing saves you unnecessary overhead costs of setting up your own online store and managing the setup. With reduced operational costs, you can boost your bottom line. The icing on the cake is, basic online listings are free on most B2B portals with an option to try out advanced features for a limited period. So go ahead and list your business on an efficient B2B portal today.
