The B2B business, with a focus on online commerce, is slowly discovering artificial intelligence for itself. Those who adapt their approach and track down exciting approaches will be able to offer their customers a great deal in the future and experience a significant upswing in business. Read the first part of the article to find out what additional contributions AI can make to B2B.
KI can make an additional contribution to existing B2B commerce processes in various areas:
Predictions
Because AI is able to analyze a myriad of data and discover unrecognized patterns in it, it can be used to provide the right products and services to the customer at the right time – even before the customers themselves have thought about their own needs.
The identification of demand peaks in relevant markets and the subsequent indication of a suitable offer is also one of the strengths of AI. There are no limits to the creativity of users and service providers at this point, as the B2B business offers a lot of potential for AI applications.
Personalization
The B2B business has a big advantage over the B2C: personalization can be used much better.
Not only the ads of products and services can be personalized for the customer, but also the menu items in the navigation bar of the website. For example, if the potential customer prefers the category „screws“ in an online shop, this menu item can be intelligently placed at the top.
The dream of a B2B customer can be fulfilled through targeted personalization: He can expect a completely personalized shop, which he enters after logging in. The dealer in the B2B business can carry out the personalization because he has a lot of information about his customers and knows the history behind it. This includes, for example, price sensitivity, payment ethics or the knowledge of whether the customer is an A or B customer, which is assessed on the basis of turnover, contribution margin or customer value.
Dynamic pricing
In B2B, prices are a matter of negotiation. They reflect the appreciation of the customer relationship. However, salespeople often take a critical view of AI-based pricing solutions, because in B2B business these are mainly large orders and their customers already have their prices.
Nevertheless, dynamic prices are conceivable if the focus of the method is on small and quick repeat orders and larger orders are not included in the considerations. Another possibility would be so-called commission models. The sales people who transfer their customers to the new online channel receive a commission for this instead of for the individual sale. This could save a considerable amount of time, which in turn could be used to acquire new customers.
Recommendations
Unlike consumers in B2C, B2B customers do not want to spend hours browsing through the online shop. They want to meet their demand quickly and effectively instead of being guided through various navigation points and colourful animated clicks. The B2B business demands an effective and fast way to reach its goal. For this reason, recommendations are nowhere more useful than in B2B.
Conclusion: AI in B2B conceivable as an add-on
The application areas of the AI must be communicated to all departments and responsible persons. Despite the immense passivity in B2B in the past, it is slowly becoming a good time to think about AI in B2B business. AI does not pose a threat, but serves as an add-on that needs to be tailored with a sense of proportion and requires digital support in processes.
In a second part of the article series, you can read about the stumbling blocks that AI can encounter in corresponding projects.
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