There are several aspects of website performance that can be advanced through installing extensions on top of default Magento. Any functionality augmentation is effected via a special B2B Magento module.
1. Access and Registration Control
Safety considerations are among the top concerns of both B2B sellers and clients because security breaches can lead to data leakage resulting in huge financial losses. The following modules are called to minimize possible security risks.
- Force Login. The login feature is the first fence protecting product lists, prices, and details from unwanted eyes. If you set up Magento B2B module of force login you will turn this fence into a stone wall. The latter will enable you to hide the whole site or its separate pages from visitors, who failed to log in redirecting them to the login page, grant or deny guests’ registration links, and streamline the user experience of those who did log in.
- Catalog Permission. This is embattlement on the security wall, so to say, called to permit access to certain merchandise categories or webpages in accordance with the customer group. For example, you can make B2B products available to wholesale agents only redirecting other visitors to a different URL.
- B2B Registration. This is an enhanced B2B module Magento 2 in its classic version hasn’t at its disposal. It allows you to handle junk accounts from the outset by creating a new registration form and disabling default register links provided by basic Magento.
- Company Account Creation. B2B relations are about dealing with a team, so it is sensible to create and manage multiple sub-users on a parent-child model within one corporate account. By defining the roles and permissions of participants in the hierarchy and enabling visibility of orders inside the company you will provide a comfortable user experience which in turn fosters customer loyalty.
- Account Assignment Distribution. This is another feature bolstering user experience. Regular customers prefer to deal with one sales rep who is well aware of their requirements and previous orders. By creating an unlimited number of sales rep accounts and assigning customers to their customary agents (the pun is intentional) you make sure your clients contact the familiar person who knows how to handle their orders.
2. Price Management
Product price is what clients pay attention to first of all since this factor oftentimes decides whether they will cooperate with you. Extension modules of this category provide flexibility in this crucial aspect of business relations.
- Price Concealment. It is wise not to expose your prices to all and sundry. First of all, among those, there well may be your rivals and you wouldn’t like to lose your competitive edge, would you? Secondly, prices tend to fluctuate so fixing them once and for all would incur further inconveniences. Thirdly, the absence of the price beside your product will urge your B2B clients to contact you directly or log in to find out the details. Besides, you can customize this option by hiding the price only on specific products or their categories or for certain customer groups.
- Request for Quote. This module allows customers and vendors to negotiate prices. It can relate to one product only or be extended to include several items. By installing it, merchants will be able to preview and track quote requests, limit them to certain categories of clients, and set expiry dates for the quotes that have been approved. Customers will benefit via one-click ability to place items to a quote cart and then convert quotes to order.
- Tier Price. It is important for customers to realize that they get the lowest possible price for high-quality merchandise. This module enables presenting tier prices in the form of a table accompanying it with a motivating message to the client (positive user experience, remember?).
3. Ordering Procedure
This is the crucial summand of a comfortable user experience, so sellers should go any length to guarantee it.
- Wholesale Fast Order. This B2B Magento module is perhaps the pivotal one since your customers are mostly wholesale merchants who would be dissatisfied with the way ordering is handled in default Magento. It has them search for products one by one, select their amounts, and add to cart. The same procedure must be repeated with every item. With this module installed, they will be able to find articles both by their names and SKUs, select a quantity for each, and add multiple products to cart in one click. Moreover, customers will be able to import the CSV file containing the prefabricated information on the products turning ordering into a lightning-fast experience.
- Add Multiple Products to Cart. This is another module that speeds up wholesale ordering. It allows adding to cart multiple items without leaving catalog pages. Ajax success popup will inform the customer that the adding has been accomplished and offer them a choice between calling it a day and proceeding with shopping.
- Minimum Order Amount. Designed especially for wholesalers, this module enables setting a minimum order threshold by preventing clients from going to checkout page if the quantity of ordered items is below a mandatory figure. The same figure will feature in the error message that will prompt the customers of the ordering stipulations.
- Better Change Qty. This dropdown is meant to provide shoppers with more options while selecting the necessary quantities of goods with various discount prices. Recommended quantities may be displayed or hidden at will.
- Reorder Product List. Loyal customers tend to buy the same inventory of products so making them search for them over and over again may discourage them from shopping at your store. This add-on enables ordering the items they have once bought by displaying all previous orders for the client to reorder them again.
- One-Step Checkout. The module is another measure that facilitates ordering. It gathers on one page all checkout information including delivery date and note, order comment, payment method, and even auto-detect location by means of GEO IP.
4. Product Management
Streamlining product search is a powerful incentive for clients to stay at your site and make purchases.
- Configurable Product Display. If someone buys a product from you the huge odds are that they will need some related items. This multi-device module presents such items in the form of a grid or a matrix (choose whatever you prefer) which enhances the chances of selling them and consequently boosting your revenues.
- Multiple Wishlists. The solution allows spawning limitless wishlists and adding products to them via popups. Wishlists can be categorized into groups (like Regular Purchases, 1st Quarter, 2nd Quarter, etc.) to make the customer stay at your site a quick and enjoyable experience.
5. Refund Procedure
Money matters are a delicate issue so handling them to the satisfaction of both parties is essential. It is effected through the Store Credit module that provides clients with a credit account to be used at your store. The account enables refunding customers (if they request it) by store credits. In this way, you will retain finance within your organization and stimulate clients to return and pay for the merchandise by store credits.
A variety of this module (Credit by Ahead Work) allows extending a special credit line to trusted clients. Plus, it enables setting a varied credit limit to different customers and customer groups as well as tracking overdue payments and issuing notifications pertaining to credit operations.
6. Customer Loyalty and Sales Boost
These two go hand in hand and the former engenders the latter. Magento extensions can provide both.
- Pre Order Option. This module allows selling products that aren’t actually available. Yet, if a client wants to stake out a claim way ahead, it would be far-sighted of you to grant this opportunity.
- Initiating Sales. Creating private sales, sample sales, flash sales, or lucky day deals is an excellent method of engaging customers and fostering their loyalty. Additional motivation can be introduced by displaying a countdown timer that will show how soon a sale will take place.
- Reward Points. This loyalty program module encourages customers to earn points for various activities on your site (orders, registrations, review submissions, etc.) that can later be used as payment means. Amassing points is a good incentive for clients to stay with you as well.
- Reviews. Enabling this module, you will hit two birds with one stone. First of all, you will cull comments and opinions of customers who like to be heard as sharing attitudes creates the feeling of belonging to a community. Second of all, such reviews will allow you to introduce product ratings by mentioning the pros and cons the products have. All of this will serve your ultimate goal – creating a pool of loyal customers who will stay with you and spread the word of your store, thus winning you new clients.
As you see, the number of B2B modules that can upgrade Magento 2 is quite considerable so you should enlist the services of an experienced team to help you with the choice. Magento experts of IDAP will gladly provide you with advice and offer installation of those modules (or a suite that will include all of them) that you will find expedient for your company to excel in B2B commerce.
Conclusion
B2B commerce is a robust sphere promising quick expansion and large-scale revenues to any company that will manage to find its niche. To make the performance of your enterprise more productive, you shouldn’t be content with business opportunities default software platforms grant. Installing B2B modules will boost the efficiency of your Magento 2 e-store and open new success vistas before you.
IDAP is here to help you figure the whole thing out and do some cumbersome Magento upgrading job for you. You can also find out more about other challenges in software development.
