Using B2B Customer Portals to Please Customers and Improve the Bottom Line

In today’s digital-first landscape, customers crave a seamless and efficient online shopping experience. This is no longer exclusive to B2C shoppers, with many B2B buyers now preferring streamlined online experiences over traditional sales methods. To stay competitive and meet shopper expectations, brands need to prioritize optimizing their B2B ecommerce store so it’s just as seamless as shopping B2C.

When building a B2B site, it’s important to recognize that these buyers have more complex and unique needs than B2C shoppers. To meet these needs, brands should offer customer portals.

Customer portals serve as a one-stop shop where buyers can get support from their account executives, reorder products, and manage billing and payments. Customers can also take advantage of other self-service options, including:

• Managing account information.

• Viewing the product catalog, placing orders, and tracking order status.

• Receiving custom quotes and discount structures based on their contract.

• Submitting support tickets and accessing user documentation.

• Generating reports and tracking order history.

Offering a customer portal helps brands simplify the buyer experience and foster stronger relationships with shoppers. In fact, a survey of nearly 100 manufacturers found that 66% plan to invest in customer portals in 2024. 

Before long, customer portals won’t just be a nice-to-have — they’ll be an expectation. This fast and efficient functionality is essential to stand out against today’s competition.

Key features of B2B customer portals

The best self-service portals enable users to complete tasks most important to them, such as reordering items, updating their accounts, and requesting support. Personalized portals also hide any information irrelevant to the customer based on their user profile. Below are key capabilities brands should look for in a customer portal feature.

Self-service account management.

Today’s B2B buyers don’t want to rely on a support representative to manage their accounts and inform their decision-making. In fact, Forbes found that 75% of B2B buyers favor a sales experience without the involvement of a representative.

A B2B customer portal empowers customers to manage their accounts independently. They can track order status, review invoices, make payments, and assess their existing contract on a 24/7 basis.

Customer self-service offers convenience and flexibility and reduces dependency on manual assistance.

Inventory and order management.

Inventory and order management features give customers real-time visibility into product stock levels, order status, and shipping details. This empowers B2B customers to make data-driven decisions regarding their ordering process, production schedules, and supply chain workflows.

Customers can also receive notifications about inventory updates, order confirmation, and more.

Custom product catalogs.

B2B businesses can curate custom product catalogs to upsell and cross-sell existing customers. These product suggestions feature the customer’s unique requirements and preferences based on the existing contractual agreement while excluding products that don’t apply to that customer’s business needs.

The catalog may highlight new releases or promotions and even offer individualized pricing to reward customer loyalty. Customers can check stock levels, lead times, or backorder status for items in their personalized catalog.

Security and compliance.

B2B brands must protect their customers’ intellectual property, trade secrets, and other proprietary data. Consequently, B2B customer portals must protect sensitive data and adhere to regulatory requirements.

Here are a few must-have security features:

• Authentication: Secure access controls prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data. Features such as multi-factor authentication and single sign-on (SSO) enhance safety.

• Data encryption: Encryption protects data from unauthorized access during transmission and storage.

• Role-based access controls (RBAC): RBAC limits access to sensitive data and prevents users from performing actions beyond their authorized permissions.

• Data privacy: B2B customer portals must adhere to data privacy regulations and industry-specific compliance requirements.

Reporting and analytics.

Reporting tools enable users to track key metrics such as lead times for order fulfillment and order volume per quarter. They also allow them to generate custom reports using parameters and filters.

B2B clients will appreciate the convenience of exporting their data and integrating the portal with other software systems — enabling finance, procurement, and executive management teams to use the data as needed.

Customer support.

Customers should be able to request immediate support from a dedicated representative instead of going through a generalized customer support channel. Portals centralize customer communications, enabling the business and the customer to maintain a communications log.

The portal should offer the following support features:

• Help desk and ticketing system: Customers can create support tickets and track the status of their requests.

• Knowledge base and FAQs: Access to articles, tutorials, user guides, and other documentation to enable customers to resolve common issues independently.

• Live chat: Immediate customer assistance through chat messaging.

• Integration with support systems: Seamless integration with CRM systems or help desk software for efficient ticket management.

Great user experience.

A great user experience is crucial for any B2B customer portal. Buyers need to navigate quickly, find what they need, and complete tasks without frustration. A clean, intuitive design helps streamline activities like reordering, managing accounts, and checking order history, making the process faster and more efficient. Predefined templates and workflows make it easier for brands to ensure the customer portal aligns with their buyers' specific needs.

Personalization is also key. Customers expect tailored experiences with customized pricing, relevant products, and contract-specific details. A well-designed, user-friendly portal not only simplifies the buying process but also boosts customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Why B2B ecommerce customer portals help the bottom line

Due to their convenience, customer portals have a multitude of use cases. They drive sales, streamline the customer experience, and even reduce the burden on sales and customer support teams.

Enhanced sales efficiency.

By enabling customers to browse personalized product catalogs, receive custom pricing, and complete orders independently through the customer portal, B2B businesses can generate more sales with fewer resources.

Repeat purchases are more likely when customers can conveniently reorder items — and set purchase reminders or automatic reorders.

Improved customer experience.

While often underestimated for their customer experience, B2B customer portals offer self-service options, personalized interactions, and 24/7 access — providing convenience and high-touch support.

Customers also have greater access to their data and can generate reports, see data visualizations, and track purchases. To further optimize the user journey, offer a mobile-friendly companion app so customers can access portal features while on the go.

Increased customer retention.

Customer portals can offer value-added services beyond basic online ordering and account management. These may include educational materials, industry insights, training resources, or exclusive access to relevant content.

This way, portals deepen user engagement, establishing the business as a trusted partner and increasing retention. B2B customer portals can also integrate loyalty programs or incentives to reward and encourage repeat business.

Scalability for future growth.

As a business grows, so does transaction volume. B2B customer portals automate order placement, invoicing, and order fulfillment. They also enable businesses to make more repeat sales with existing customers without needing a sales rep to facilitate. 

Onboarding automation lets the business grow its customer base without increased labor. B2B customer portals also integrate with various software systems such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM, B2B ecommerce platforms, payment gateways, and logistics providers — enabling seamless data exchange and project management across teams.

Industry-specific B2B customer portals

A B2B customer portal is not one-size-fits-all. Brands should offer industry-specific features so customers can find necessary information, access custom pricing, and meet regulatory requirements.

Apparel and fashion.

Customers in the fashion industry often need to request swatches or samples to evaluate the quality, texture, and color of materials. Make it easy for customers to do this via the online portal. Customers should also be able to communicate with sales reps, distributors, and account managers.

Finally, B2B portals for the fashion industry typically provide trend insights such as trend reports and other industry-specific content to help customers make informed product selections.

Home and garden.

Home and garden customer portals should deliver a simplified, tailored shopping experience for each buyer. These portals allow brands to offer customized product catalogs to different B2B buyers, such as specialized products or customizable options for interior designers, and bulk reordering features that benefit customers like property management companies.

Additionally, customer portals provide real-time inventory visibility and order tracking, giving buyers — especially those with tight timelines, like interior designers — a clear estimate of when their products will arrive.

Health and beauty.

The portal should offer personalized pricing based on contract agreements, bulk ordering, or loyalty programs. The health and beauty industry is subject to various compliance requirements.

The portal can provide information regarding product compliance, certifications, safety data sheets, and ingredient lists. If training is needed to use and sell the product effectively — especially in the case of medical equipment — provide training resources, product guides, and tutorials through the portal.

Food and beverage.

Customer portals for the food and beverage industry should provide a comprehensive product catalog with detailed product descriptions, nutritional information, and packaging details.

Real-time order tracking and delivery management are key features, especially for transactions involving perishables. Customers should be able to find information about product certifications, quality control, and food safety measures via the portal.

Manufacturing.

Customized items and parts are the norm in the manufacturing industry. Brands should enable customers to request customizations or configure products according to business requirements via the portal. This includes selecting dimensions, materials, finishes, or other features.

The customer portal should be a central repository for detailed product information and documentation, including technical specifications, user manuals, and safety information.

Automotive.

A B2B customer portal for the automotive industry should feature a high-quality parts catalog with detailed product specifications. Brands should offer a vehicle identification number (VIN) lookup feature that allows customers to retrieve a list of compatible parts for a specific vehicle.

The portal should also make it easy for customers to manage warranty claims, return requests, and product exchanges.

Using BigCommerce for B2B Customer Portals

Platforms like BigCommerce offer robust B2B capabilities designed to optimize the online purchasing experience. With its B2B Edition feature, brands take advantage of the Buyer Portal, which provides a unique storefront experience for B2B shoppers with a store account.

To provide brands the freedom to build a fully tailored buyer experience, BigCommerce recently launched the Open Source Buyer Portal. With this feature, brands have full access to the Buyer Portal's open-source code, which equips them with the robust foundation to create personalized buyer experiences designed to meet their unique industry demands and workflows.

Customized purchasing experiences. 

With the Open Source Buyer Portal, brands can create tailored purchasing experiences based on a buyer's specific region, industry vertical, and unique buying processes, all from a single backend. This allows businesses to more effectively meet the expectations of their customers, drive conversions, and build brand loyalty.

Streamlined servicing. 

In addition to a customized purchasing experience, BigCommerce’s Open Source Buyer Portal enables brands to integrate servicing experiences specific to industry best practices. By including service features like warranties, customer support, and product servicing, brands can improve efficiency for both customers and seller service teams.

Faster time-to-market. 

Brands can take advantage of the Open Source Buyer Portal’s flexibility without needing to start from scratch. This tool offers built-in foundational features such as account management, custom pricing, and bulk ordering functionality, allowing developers to focus solely on building a tailored experience. By including pre-built functionality, brands can speed up their time-to-market and potentially generate more revenue.

Reduced development costs. 

By leveraging a pre-built foundation and gaining access to the Buyer Portal source code, B2B companies have the potential to save valuable development time, costs, and resources for faster iterations and implementations without compromising the buyer experience.

The final word

B2B customer portals are an important ecommerce solution mutually benefiting customers and businesses. They automate part of the sales process for existing customers — reducing effort for B2B buyers and freeing up sales reps to focus on building long-term customer relationships.

Self-service capabilities enable customers to manage their accounts independently, discover new products based on tailored suggestions, and request custom quotes.

Given the complexity of B2B purchases and the need to nurture long-term customer relationships, customer portals are vital in customer retention, satisfaction, and recurring revenue.

FAQs about B2B customer portals