Kickstart Your B2B eCommerce Storefront

The COVID-19 situation is having a massive impact on both physical commerce and eCommerce channels across the globe. While many of us are taking a B2C-centric view of the issue (“My favorite store is closed!”) the pandemic is set to disrupt the B2B landscape even further – given that the global B2B eCommerce market was valued at $12.2 trillion in 2019, over six times the size of the B2C market.

There’s a lot at stake, and even before the outbreak, we were seeing traditional B2B sales channels struggle in the face of newer, more innovative digital commerce solutions. The pandemic has accelerated these issues, rapidly turning a strong eCommerce presence from a “nice-to-have” into a “must-have” strategy.

But as our B2B friends know, there have been few options available for larger enterprises to get eCommerce channels up and running quickly with the option to expand a storefront in the future. That’s why we decided to create a unique offering that would allow B2B companies to quickly launch a streamlined online sales portal and product catalog to begin driving sales and winning new business at a reduced initial investment. While, at the same time, an eCommerce platform that would serve the business well into the future. We call this offering the Ultra Commerce B2B Kickstarter.

What is the Kickstarter Option?

Unlike the traditional eCommerce launch that requires an extensive engineering, design and development process, the Kickstarter offering gives businesses the opportunity to launch a ready-made storefront and customer portal in as little as two months.

Rather than starting from scratch, the storefront can be quickly customized for the business while including all the features and commerce functionality that customers are looking for. Quickly launch and start selling to both new and existing customers.

The reduction in integration time means that the storefront can be launched without a significant financial investment, but can be extended and further developed over time.

In short, it’s a faster path towards online selling for both businesses without an existing eCommerce presence, and businesses with existing eCommerce frameworks that want to build out their capabilities.

The Kickstarter can be integrated into existing systems or built as a free-standing commerce storefront. In other words, even if you have an ERP, CRM, or CMS that you’ve invested heavily in, you don’t need to lose any aspect of your infrastructure. The Ultra Commerce team can work with you to build integrations that coordinate with your system and let you sell exactly how you want across both desktop and mobile. Of course, those integrations can be added into the mix at a later date as well.

And best of all, the process is designed to be fast. The Kickstarter storefront templates and feature was built for agility and quick deployment; in a matter of months, your company can establish everything it needs to start selling online:

• Set up a B2B product catalog
• Create a communication channel for customer information
• Request quotes
• Place orders
• View order histories
• Reorder or order parts

In addition, the interface can be customized right out of the gate. Our team will work with you to apply unique branding elements and color schemes to make the platform your own. Overall, you have the ability to get up and running fast while having the option to upgrade and update over time. It’s a scalable system of digital commerce that grows alongside you.

Key Takeaways

• The Kickstarter commerce platform offers a quick and flexible way for B2B companies to set up a digital storefront.
• Kickstarter is designed for interoperability and flexibility; it can integrate with your existing commerce infrastructure, or act as its own standalone website.
• In as few as two months, B2B companies can set up online product catalogues, order forms, and customer contact portals to get their products and services moving.

Who is the Kickstarter Made For?

The Kickstarter platform was designed with flexibility in mind, and it’s suitable for many businesses in the B2B digital commerce landscape. However, it may be best suited for companies that have been kicking around the idea of getting an eCommerce storefront up and running, but due to time constraints or budgetary factors, have been putting it off.

These delays are understandable, but looking at the current state of things in 2020, it’s not an exaggeration to say that time is of the essence. The rate of change and forced adoption of digital-only sales channels has been thrust upon all types of businesses. With these issues challenging traditional B2B sales channels, it’s all the more important for companies to adapt and come up with innovative new ways to keep their products moving and their customers serviced.

Of course, despite this need for innovation, most of us would agree that the process of launching a B2B storefront from scratch can be both daunting and expensive. Even when you’re merely updating an existing presence, the process takes a while. This is why we’re so excited about the Kickstarter offering.

Launching from a ready-to-go storefront gives you the agility to set up a storefront at speed and provides your customers with a new, fresh experience.

Key Takeaways

• The Kickstarter platform is built to give options to B2B companies that haven’t yet managed to set up an effective eCommerce storefront.
• It’s more important than ever for companies to evolve and explore solutions that let them sell remotely and provide tools to customers that allow for self-service.
• Kickstarter offers the quickest way to get a storefront up and running – a crucial benefit in a world that’s changing from week to week.

Kickstarting Your Online Store

Despite how agile the Kickstarter platform is, don’t make the mistake of thinking that this is some “lite” version of a real eCommerce platform. The Kickstarter platform is built on the Ultra Commerce platform; this means that any storefront built with Kickstarter is backed by an enterprise-capable platform that grows alongside you.

Once you go live, you’ll be able to sell your products, measure results, test new marketing campaigns, reach new customers, and overall, enhance your storefront at your own pace. The platform includes a suite of storefront management tools, backend commerce management functionalities, and ongoing support from Ultra Commerce itself. Taken together, it’s everything a business needs to sell online at an affordable cost and lightning-quick setup time. For B2B businesses interested in launching online quickly, on a limited budget, with the backing of an enterprise level commerce platform, there’s nothing better.

Ready to learn more about Ultra Commerce’s B2B eCommerce Kickstarter? Click here to view a full list of the commerce features and management tools offered through Kickstarter and contact us to get started today.