Collins Mbaka’s Post

B2B ecom SaaS is getting absolutely wrecked. The entire Shopify App ecosystem has been commoditized, almost overnight. Competitors offer the "same" features as you for 20% of the cost. You raised VC funding—what do you do? Let me take a step back -- Some background: Many DTC founders believe most B2B SaaS providers don't generate enough "net new demand" for brands to justify what they charge for their apps. So the question for you as a software founder is - how can I do that and make it quantifiable to justify a higher ACV? Answer: Product-Led Growth Don't compete on price. Do customer discovery calls & innovate with more complex feature-sets. Go "upmarket" and sell into larger organizations. Later, over time, also start building across multiple product categories. Why? ➝ You simply can't scale to "venture size" without a high ACV of $20k - $30k or higher. ➝ The TAM of many categories caps out so you have to address a variety of needs. The real issue here is the cost to build fairly simplified versions of these apps have come down so much that there are competitors coming out of the woodwork undercutting pricing. It becomes a "crabs in a bucket" scenario for the SMB market and no single player can pull too far ahead before others drag them back down. Instead of self-service apps with low costs, to make this type of business work, you need to command a higher average revenue per customer. In order to target mid-market ($5m - $50m) and enterprise-level ($100m - $250m+) merchants, it requires 3 things: ➝ Innovative and new features alongside enterprise-grade customizations ➝ A strong sales motion with partner-led growth tactics ➝ A quick and iterative team to support larger, more demanding customers It's not all doom and gloom - you just need to differentiate with advanced functionality, capture a higher willingness to pay by solving higher-level problems, and build a scalable business around those high ACV customers. The real opportunity in the Shopify ecosystem now is solving for those bigger merchants who are happy to pay for white-glove, service-oriented solutions. It's wild to say this - but service (i.e. - humans providing hands-on account management, 24/7 technical CX, etc) are some of the biggest differentiators you can provide! PS - apologies for my crap quality videos - it's my first swing at this - i'll get better and the mustache will be fuller next time!! 😂

Catalog is building the B2B commerce platform for small companies When you deliberation astir commerce platforms, chances are the archetypal names that travel to caput are large names similar Adobe Commerce oregon Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Large companies processing millions of orders already person a technological solution to negociate their operations. But tiny companies that are handling $5 cardinal oregon $20 cardinal successful income measurement per twelvemonth don’t truly person a instrumentality that works good for their scale. They already usage an ERP system, but they walk a batch of clip processing orders and entering information. That’s wherefore a French startup called Catalog wants to physique a software-as-a-service merchandise that seamlessly manages B2B income crossed respective income channels. It works champion for companies with astir $5 to $100 cardinal successful gross per year. “We integrate precise tightly with the existing tech stack of the companies we’re targeting, which are companies that negociate a batch of their B2B enactment successful their ERP,” Catalog co-founder and CEO Julien Bellemare told me. “Unlike Shopify, we didn’t request to physique an unthinkable admin strategy that would fto you negociate stock, acceptable pricing rules, and truthful on. Because if we did that, we’d beryllium duplicating what they’re already doing successful their ERP.” At the aforesaid time, companies can’t simply conscionable usage thing similar Shopify for B2B income with their ERP successful the backmost extremity arsenic determination are a batch of interactions happening implicit the telephone oregon via email. Catalog’s customers can’t simply conscionable accidental “now you person to caput implicit our website and bid from there.” Catalog supports these channels successful antithetic ways. There’s an online portal for clients who privation to prime products straight and cheque prices without immoderate backmost and forth. But for immoderate customers, they take to bid immoderate products aft gathering with a income person. In that case, Catalog tin go the companion instrumentality for the income squad arsenic they tin entree the catalog, spot past and ongoing orders and cheque prices. Image Credits: Catalog Finally, arsenic Catalog wants to go the azygous root of information for incoming orders, the startup besides uses AI models to scan inbound emails and alteration freeform conversations into orders successful the platform. The archetypal email besides appears adjacent to the bid that was automatically generated. A selling opportunity The not-so-obvious payment of Catalog is that it tin past beryllium utilized arsenic a selling level for existing customers. For instance, if a institution is moving a income campaign, it mightiness privation...

Title: Leveraging B2B Marketplaces for Business Success in 2023   Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped consumer behavior, boosting online shopping and impacting the B2B marketplace. This article explores how businesses can harness B2B marketplaces for success in 2023. It provides insights into the global B2B market, strategies for thriving in this space, and the significance of platforms like Alibaba.com.   Overview of the Global B2B Market: B2B e-commerce involves online sales between businesses, distinct from B2C transactions. The B2B e-commerce market was valued at $8,523.3 billion in 2021, projected to reach $18,771.4 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 12.36% from 2022 to 2027. The global B2B marketplace is expected to be worth $20.9 trillion by 2027. B2B markets encompass various segments, with the home and kitchen category dominating in 2021. Key players include Alibaba.com, Amazon, eBay, and emerging platforms.   Key Drivers: A McKinsey & Company report anticipates 65% of B2B companies will transact online in 2022. Factors driving B2B market growth include increased online platform acceptance, digital business proliferation, ease of operations, and third-party B2B marketplaces.   10 B2B Marketplace Strategies for Business Success:   Use Content and Inbound Marketing: Create customer-centric content to draw and engage the audience. Embrace Email Marketing: Maintain direct and personalized communication with leads and customers. Engage in B2B Brand Building: Differentiate your brand, influence perceptions, and build a community. Use Social Media Marketing: Leverage platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to expand reach. Manage and Nurture Leads: Focus on converting leads by maintaining relationships and providing value. Engage in Intent Targeting: Segment audiences and deliver personalized messaging. Conduct A/B Testing: Continuously test and optimize various aspects of your marketing campaigns. Build a Community: Foster interaction and engagement with past, existing, and potential customers. Share Testimonials: Highlight reviews and case studies to build trust. Advertise: Use various advertising methods to increase brand awareness and target the right audience.   Sell on Alibaba.com:   Alibaba.com, with over 14 million active buyers and sellers, is a leading B2B marketplace. It offers a customized storefront, marketing tools, RFQ, keyword advertising, multiple payment options, trade assurance, and a learning center.   In conclusion, leveraging B2B marketplaces is vital for business success in 2023, given the dynamic landscape and opportunities they offer. Implementing effective strategies and utilizing platforms like Alibaba.com can help businesses thrive in this evolving market. #exportbusiness #indianexporters #globaltrade #indianbusinesses #StartupSuccess #BusinessInspiration #BusinessGrowth #BusinessOpportunities 

Ultra Commerce acquires Omnyfy multi-vendor marketplace commerce platform, to accelerate B2B digital transformation. Ultra Commerce is proud to announce the recent acquisition of leading, global marketplace platform technology provider, Omnyfy.    With this acquisition, Ultra Commerce is continuing to invest in technologies and innovations that help our clients go beyond traditional B2B commerce, bringing the power of multi-vendor commerce and marketplaces to the Ultra Suite. As enterprises look at ways to improve their top-line sales growth, retain clients and drive loyalty by offering greater product ranges – multi-vendor and marketplace commerce dominate as the key transformation strategies to power this growth.    Commenting on the acquisition, CEO of Ultra Commerce, Matthew Hyland, stated, "B2B eCommerce today is a rapidly evolving and high growth market with business needs becoming more complex, and new business models being created to capture revenue opportunities. Our clients are looking for comprehensive solutions that not only meet their immediate requirements, but also that can provide a roadmap for new growth channels. Marketplaces and multi-vendor commerce offers organisations new revenue and growth channels through a myriad of implementation strategies - and Omnyfy, with its breadth of clients across different industries is a proven technology that enables marketplace commerce and drives this growth."    This move by Ultra Commerce follows on the heels of an acquisition completed in mid-2023 of Pru Cart group, a North American based eCommerce platform (Pinnacle Cart), and Digital Marketing services business. These transactions are part of Ultra Commerce’s strategy of building a market leading portfolio of eCommerce software solutions, focused on the high growth B2B eCommerce market segment, helping to empower customers to grow through digital channels.   Fabian Rebeiro, CEO of Omnyfy joins Ultra Commerce as Chief Commercial Officer, looking after the organisation's product suite and driving commercial activities. "Enterprise Marketplaces are one of the fastest growing digital commerce trends globally, for high GMV organisations and Omnyfy’s marketplace product offers one of the most feature-rich marketplace enablement solutions on the market today – especially for B2B marketplace enablement. This acquisition of Omnyfy demonstrates the market opportunity that multi-vendor commerce brings to B2B transformation projects, and we're very excited to join a forward-looking technology company like Ultra Commerce, to turbo charge the development of Omnyfy and our new product lines which will truly change how companies approach marketplace technology and how it's leveraged as a fully integrated part of a commerce stack", stated Mr. Rebeiro. Read the full release here: https://lnkd.in/edNm7tu7  

A clean sweep - 24 out of 24 medals in the 2023 Paradigm B2B Combine! 🥇 🥇 🥇 🥇 🥇 🥇 🥇 🥈🥈 🥈 🥈 🥈 🥈 🥈 🥈 🥈 🥉🥉 🥉 🥉 🥉 🥉 🥉 🥉 For the first time, BigCommerce has achieved a clean sweep in the Paradigm B2B Combine, winning 24/24 possible medals, and we took home more gold and silver medals in the midmarket combine than any other platform! BigCommerce increased its rankings in a total of six categories across both Enterprise and Midmarket editions, solidifying its position as a preferred ecommerce platform for midmarket and enterprise B2B brands looking to grow and scale their business. “BigCommerce’s customers spoke highly of the company’s extensive partner ecosystem and rich open application marketplace with robust APIs and easy configuration. BigCommerce is particularly well-suited for both midmarket and enterprise B2B companies looking for a value-priced, partner-centric, multi-tenant SaaS ecommerce solution that leverages an extensive open application marketplace to deliver robust functionality.” said Andy Hoar, chief executive officer at Paradigm B2B. We're redefining B2B e-commerce, equipping manufacturers and distributors with the tools to ace the five key imperatives of B2B e-commerce: ✅ Attract new buyers with the best solution on the planet for syndicating and optimizing product data to ad channels, marketplaces, and distributors - Feedonomics ✅ Engage those buyers with the most modern B2B Buyer experience of any ecommerce platform. Bringing quotes, approval workflows, shopping lists, and invoice payments into one engaging B2B portal. ✅ Convert those buyers by offering the payment flexibility they need with one of the highest-converting one-page checkouts in ecommerce. ✅ Operate your business with a robust and open set of APIs allowing you to connect all your back-office (ERP) and front-office tools (CRM) directly to your ecommerce platform, with the scale needed for enterprise B2B. ✅ Expand using our multi-storefront tools to create new stores for new brands, new regions, B2B and B2C, and support inorganic growth, all from one BigCommerce backend integration - it couldn't be simpler to grow your business. Congratulations, and thank you to our amazing B2B team for all their hard work! Alec BerkleyXiaoya LinJesse BayleyMark EspirituMackenzie MayerMicah ThomasJulian TranShelley KilpatrickLiz O'NeillBrenda HerreraAaron SheehanStuart Guest-SmithBogdan GodzenkoRuotian (Roy) GaoMarco LoyoDana MarruffoBrad Hem Press release:

What Shopify did for online webshops: Why did the same not happen for b2b SaaS? And if it already has? Why did it not happen sooner? Was the reason related to: 1. Lack of product vision among the top technical founders? 2. Inability of existing technical leaders to build such a product well? 3. No existing technology or tools to have it built well back then during 2005 to 2018? 4. Long-term minded founders/investors did not see nontech founders of SaaS as a market worth serving? 5. Founders and investors did see nontech founders of SaaS as a market eventually worth serving but the timing was off from around 2005 to 2018? Here is what I suspect. B2B SaaS and marketplaces are white elephants. A white elephant is a gift that ruins your life. Imagine you had a $50/mo tool that can produce whatever b2b SaaS or marketplace you want instantly in 5-10 clicks. Call it Instant SaaS Builder. Yay! You have a new market-ready b2b SaaS or marketplace at the tip of your fingers. What do you do now? You put in the work! Running a webshop is for lazy people who can still keep their full-time jobs and get extra cash. Running a SaaS is a monster effort even outside technical development. Customer complaint calls, figuring network access, handling compliance,.etc. Even then, your efforts can be completely in vain if you are tackling the wrong market and you do not know it. The churn on an Instant SaaS Builder tool would have been monstrous. Users would jump on it, get excited, lose interest, and move on. It would prove most SaaS to be an expensive time-consuming hobby rather than a long-term sustainable business. The one good thing the Instant SaaS Builder would have done? It would have killed the dev agency industry and b2b SaaS sooner. So we could all grow up faster... ...and get back to REAL innovation.

B2B on Shopify is built directly into the core of Shopify's platform. With access to powerful customization features that you use for DTC, such as custom themes, Functions, and discounts, selling to B2B customers has never been easier. Here are 5 things to consider https://lnkd.in/gvG9M62w

B2B Ecommerce is a collection of unique scenarios. Znode makes it all very manageable. Progress Sitefinity brings a rich content experience that takes the digital commerce experience further. At B2B Online in Chicago, I had some great conversations with Znode team pictured here: Rupesh Agrawal, Tom Flierl, William Goodman, Jovanna Kasabuske. The world of B2B commerce is markedly complex, dealing with intricacies not commonly found in B2C scenarios. From highly personalized catalogues to variable pricing structures and specific shipping details, every aspect of B2B eCommerce demands a nuanced approach. Yet, B2B can and should take cues from B2C models—after all, B2B buyers are consumers too! 🌟 **Unique Challenges in B2B eCommerce** Imagine a platform where every customer can have tailored catalogues, pricing, and shipping options. That's the level of customization needed, and that's where Znode excels. At Flywheel Strategic, our approach integrates the best practices of B2C, focusing on user experience and engagement, to enrich the B2B digital commerce landscape. 🔧 **How Znode Makes a Difference** No two businesses are the same. The Znode platform is built from the ground up with flexibility in mind, to cater to the diverse needs of manufacturers and distributors. Whether it's handling complex pricing models or providing customized product access, Znode is equipped to boost the effectiveness and improve the economics of your B2B operations. 📈 **Driving Efficiency and Effectiveness** With Znode, businesses can expect not only a robust eCommerce platform but also one that enhances operational efficiencies, reduces costs, and drives sales growth. It’s about making your eCommerce engine as effective as possible, tailored specifically to your needs. 🤝 **Embracing B2C Elements** Injecting meaningful content that emphasizes your brand values can significantly impact your B2B audience. With Znode's recent entry into the Progress Sitefinity ecosystem, Flywheel Strategic can bring content and commerce together, offering our customers the chance to realize how bold their digital experiences can truly be. This integration is a game changer, bridging the gap between content management and eCommerce functionalities. 💡 **Let's Connect** Are you ready to explore how Znode and Progress Sitefinity can transform your B2B eCommerce and Content experience? Let’s connect and discuss how we can tailor a solution to fit your specific business needs. #B2BEcommerce #B2CExperience #BusinessGrowth #Znode #Sitefinity #EcommerceSolutions

I was recently asked to list 5 key things a brand needs to consider when implementing B2B on Shopify. I wanted to give 20 but I boiled it down to the below. If you’re about to begin your next B2B project, these 5 things will save you time down the road! ✅ 1. HYBRID VS STANDALONE STORE: Decide early on whether you should use your existing Shopify store for B2B or make the leap and split out into a separate store. A hybrid approach will reduce overhead initially (one store to manage everything, all content is shared, etc), but as you grow, you may begin to hit a number of roadblocks: how will you manage inventory across channels, how will you split out product catalogues, how will you block non-B2B customers from accessing specific content or promotions (or vice versa). Going standalone will offer advantages if you want to simplify your Shopify setup. ✅ 2. AUDIT YOUR INTEGRATIONS: You need to understand how your current apps and integrations play with a new B2B channel (many won’t). There can be complications especially around reporting and segmentation (e.g. how do you split your DTC and B2B metrics?). This can be an easy way to justify the “standalone” approach above since each Shopify store will have separate integrations and you can control which apps and integrations you use. ✅ 3. HANDLING B2B PAYMENTS: Nearly all B2B customers will have specific payment types and/or payment terms (e.g. net 30, pay by invoice). Think about how you’re going to adapt the checkout experience to accommodate this so the customers see the right payment types. For upfront payments, analyse your AOV so you can work out the economics of allowing customers to pay upfront e.g. what are the associated transaction fees for a $40,000 order made by card payment. ✅ 4. B2B PRICING: there’s a different level of complexity around B2B pricing versus DTC. Consider how you’ll set pricing for pack-size rules, quantity pricing, minimum and maximum quantities, specific customer discounts, different currencies. Many brands take the opportunity to consolidate their pricing and simplify their pricing logic and rules alongside launching their new B2B store. If you already have a source of truth for pricing (e.g. ERP, PIM), integrate this right from the get-go! ✅ 5. B2B SHIPPING: Shipping can sometimes be an afterthought but it can massively affect the ordering experience if it confuses your B2B customers. Many brands will manage B2B shipping costs after an order has been placed (effectively B2B shipping is FOC), you’ll need to think about how you convey this to customers. Shopify has a robust shipping tool built-in but it won’t easily handle B2B vs DTC shipping rules without configuring scripts - there are also plenty of third-party apps that can manage more sophisticated shipping rules to save you time. The list could go on! There’s never a one-size-fits-all solution, but start with the above and you’ll sidestep many of the common B2B challenges we see! #shopifyb2b #b2b #retail

"e-commerce is not for us" 🙄 .... 💡Exploring B2B some of the e-commerce Trends! 🌐 e-commerce is thriving, especially for B2B companies experiencing rapid growth in the use and maturity of online platforms. 🌡The pandemic accelerated this growth and reinforced certain trends. Today, people are more accustomed to online shopping than ever before, a trend mirrored in the B2B sector. After all, it's the people working at the companies, not the companies themselves, who make the purchases. By staying abreast of trends, you can ensure you're well-positioned to make the most of any e-commerce platform. 🛍️ More Personalized Experiences Targeted marketing and tailored campaigns, long used in B2C, can be highly effective for B2B e-commerce platforms. Rather than showcasing the most popular items, it's more relevant to display what's frequently ordered. Platform owners can customize the website to show items useful to specific users. When choosing an e-commerce platform, make sure it aligns with these trends. 🎯 Prioritize Usability Almost half of all B2B customers will shop online, and by 2025, 80% of interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur in digital channels. Therefore, all e-commerce platforms should be intuitive and user-friendly. Look for platforms that include guides and tutorials within the store. A smooth user experience is crucial for your business. 📊 Make Informed, Data-Driven Decisions While many B2B companies traditionally choose e-commerce platforms based on experience and intuition, the vast amount of information available from various sources can guide decisions. A data-driven approach can inform both short-term and long-term strategies. 💻 Embrace Remote Transactions 70–80% of all B2B decision-makers now prefer digital self-service and remote interactions. Customers expect quick responses, instant access to information, and the ability to independently procure products and services. A self-service portal on an e-commerce platform can enhance efficiency and free up time within the company. 👁 Keep an Eye on Trends In a saturated market, innovation can make a significant difference. With Roima Intelligence Parttrap One, an e-commerce platform that is smooth, easy to use, and offers a complete product and service range, you can make life easier for yourself, your colleagues, resellers, and customers worldwide. 🌍💼 Let me help you with stepping in to your digital transformation 2024🌟 Drop me a comment or send an DM and lets connect 🤝🏻 #B2B #ecommerceTrends #DigitalTransformation #ParttrapOne #AllinOneSolution #3D #CPQ #Pim #CMS #ERPIntegration #SEO