Top B2B Tips for Making the Most of Your Automotive eCommerce Software

Businesses in the B2B automotive niche are rapidly expanding into the online space. There are now a wide variety of eCommerce platforms that offer services that are directly tailored to the industry. They provide features and support for those companies who are either starting a new website or transitioning from an old one. Regardless of the situation, it’s important that you make the most of your automotive eCommerce software. There are some essentials that you need to get right in order to do this. You need to keep your customers in mind and use your data wisely, but you also need to create a website that performs well across a variety of metrics.

In this article we’ve outlined our top five tips for maximizing the effectiveness of your new software. It should help those just starting out, or those looking to transition to a new platform. We’ve highlighted each relevant point and explained our reasoning.

Automotive eCommerce Software Tip 1: Keep the Customer in Mind

A successful business always keeps their customers in mind, regardless of the niche or industry. When it comes to the B2B auto industry, your customers will either be businesses who buy directly from you, or dealers working on your behalf. Although different from a B2C setting in some ways, the principals aren’t too different. Some areas to focus on are:

• Make it easy for your customers: The customer journey online should be intuitive, fast, and hassle-free. Users of your site should be able to find what they need easily, and there are certainly best practices online that reflect this. Try doing some usability testing on your new website to understand how your customers shop.
• Segment and incentivize: B2B sales work differently from B2C. You may have a wide range of clients who themselves have different needs. Your website should be equipped to deal with these needs. Your customers will want to feel valued, especially your biggest clients. Aspects such as multilevel discounts and prioritization can really help. These should be automatically applied once configured, so you don’t have to amend each order from your biggest clients. Priority processing and delivery can also help.

Automotive eCommerce Software Tip 2: Use Your Data Wisely

One thing that is fairly unique to the online automotive industry is the amount of data that needs to be handled. With many different part and fitment databases required, it can sometimes be difficult to manage. This very much relates to the first point; your customers need to be able to intuitively navigate the data on your website. Here are some pointers:

• Centralize your databases: Regardless of whether you have one website or multiple websites and marketplace channels, your data needs to be accurate. To do this, you’ll want to have a central database. This means that any changes you make to fitment data, for example, will be synced across your entire catalogue. Therefore, all of your customers will have access to the same data at the same time. Without this, the process to maintain accuracy can be a lengthy one.
• Have a wide variety: This applies to both your databases themselves, and how customers can navigate them. As an automotive seller, you’ll want to have fitment data that is applicable to all of your products across multiple regions. From a customer perspective, they should be able to filter this information in various ways. For example by make, model, and year.

Automotive eCommerce Software Tip 3: Create a Good Website

Although on the surface this tip may seem like an obvious one, there are a lot of factors that contribute to a ‘good’ website. It needs to be suitable not only as a place for your B2B automotive activity, but also for search engines and customer needs. Here are some of the contributing factors:

• Unique Design: Although functionality is perhaps the most important part of a good B2B website, it should still be recognizable as your brand. Having a design that conveys your brand message and makes you stand out from the crowd is important.
• Fast performance: Internet users are impatient. Customers expect their pages to load within three seconds or less, meaning that your site needs to be optimized properly. Consider how long it takes certain assets to load, such as images and CSS. A fast website will also help to improve your search ranking on sites such as Google.
• Secure Usage: Your customers need to have assurances that they can use your site safely. This is particularly true of large B2B wholesale customers who may be purchasing large orders. Having the correct security certificates and threat protection is important.
• Intuitive Usage: Your regular clients will want to have access to their frequent orders and transaction history. Options for them to repurchase are becoming the industry standard practice, so make sure your customers have all the information they need in an intuitive place.

Automotive eCommerce Software Tip 4: Explore Every Avenue

As more and more automotive companies adopt an online presence, the landscape is changing. There are many new ways to attract and interact with customers. Keeping up to date with these trends is important for any B2B dealer. Below are some avenues worth exploring:

• Marketplaces: In previous articles we’ve mentioned the interest that companies such as Amazon and eBay have recently shown in the auto parts market. These channels offer potentially lucrative options for businesses looking to expand their horizons. Your automotive eCommerce software should have built-in integration with these platforms, and it’s more than worth the effort to have a presence on them.
• Affiliates: A strong affiliate program can help drive sales and awareness of your brand. Running a campaign like this can really drive traffic to your website, so look for an eCommerce provider that offers the ability to manage affiliate marketing.

Automotive eCommerce Software Tip 5: Choose Shopping Cart Elite

So far we’ve demonstrated some of the features you can use and some of the approaches you can take to make the most of your automotive eCommerce software. Our own platform, Shopping Cart Elite, has all of these features and more to help your business grow. It’s through our vast experience in both the B2B automotive and eCommerce sectors that we’ve been able to craft a software package that delivers everything you need to create a successful website. Here are just a small number of those features:

Automotive-Specific Tools

We know that there are certain requirements that are specific to the automotive vertical. We’ve made sure to include all of these relevant factors in our systems. Perhaps the most notable is the integrated fitment databases. This includes PIES, ACES, and ERP Motors, as well as tire and wheel fitment data. This means you’ll have access to all the relevant fitment information across all major markets. We update these on a monthly basis and flag any changes, so you can always be up to date. You can also manage and sync all of this data centrally, so your customers and dealers will always have the most relevant data no matter where they access it.

B2B Functionality

We mentioned in one of our tips that an important part of your B2B business should be catering to the needs of your customers. With Shopping Cart Elite you can set up specific wholesale levels and discounts in order to accurately segment your customer base. This means that you can prioritize processing and shipping times to your most valuable customers, as well as set up multilevel discounts and repurchase options. Furthermore, you have the option to set up multiple sites using the same central infrastructure. This makes it easy for your dealers to sell your products by having them use your own website with their logo.

eCommerce Optimization

All of the websites that run on the Shopping Cart Elite platform are optimized for maximum performance, whether they’re B2B or B2C sites. You can guarantee that pages will be fast to load and SEO-optimized from the start, thanks to our excellent infrastructure. We also take security very seriously, and ensure that customers who use our software are properly protected from online threats. When it comes to payment methods, will have integration with over one hundred different payment platforms, giving you and your customers the freedom of choice.

eCommerce for Automotive Manufacturers

We’re confident that by following the tips we’ve outlined above, you can make the most out of your automotive eCommerce software. Choosing Shopping Cart Elite means you will have a powerful set of features that are specifically designed to help you grow your business online. From dedicated B2B and automotive features, to excellent eCommerce knowhow, we strive to be the best possible platform for our clients. Visit our website today to find out more, and contact us to discuss how we can assist you.