E-commerce is booming, as lockdown measures and the current climate have accelerated digitalisation. More and more business-to-business (B2B) companies are focusing on their digital channels to keep up in the “New Normal”. A recent McKinsey study found that the importance of digital vs traditional channels doubled with the impact of COVID-19.
Now, there’s unparalleled urgency for businesses to swiftly shift from conventional channels to digital so they can adapt and thrive in the New Normal. We may be at an inflection point in the way we shop for goods and services, but the digital transformation was on the rise well before the pandemic. According to McKinsey, businesses that invest in improving experiences, and moving them online can lower their cost to serve by 50%.
In one of the Salesforce Leading Through Change webinars, we talked with Trailblazer Andre Gomes, Digital Commerce Manager for Dawn Foods. He gave us his perspective on how the 100-year-old, family-owned company is focusing on e-commerce to succeed in an ever-changing landscape and to future-proof the business.
How e-commerce transformed Dawn Foods in the New Normal
To remain competitive in a fragmented landscape, Dawn Foods needed to come up with an efficient e-commerce strategy. They needed a strategy that would set them apart from their larger European counterparts and allow them to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dawn Foods wanted a digital solution that was easy to use for their internal teams as well as customers without the need for lots of modifications. They also required a platform that provided customers with their order history and gave them the ability to reorder online in just a few clicks. Salesforce B2B Commerce helped the company create a unified, intelligent digital commerce experience.
Salesforce worked with Dawn Foods to focus on providing rapid service and dealing with a diverse marketplace. Gomes explained why: “Another key enabler for us is the ability of our B2B commerce tool to deal with different languages and different currencies, straight out of the box.”
Getting internal stakeholders on board was also key to Dawn Foods’ digital transformation journey. They were able to show the workforce that new tools and systems wouldn’t add to employees’ workloads, but instead offer better and more efficient ways of working. Gomes told us: “Different people are excited about different things. We’re doing a full Salesforce implementation that includes Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Commerce Cloud.”
Gomes went on to say: “We had a workshop with the customer service team where we did a tool demo, and you could see the excitement in their faces, even though it was a remote workshop. They’re all really excited about it. I think everyone is looking forward to seeing what Commerce Cloud will add as a capability because they know how transformative it is.”
Salesforce worked with Dawn Foods to develop its e-commerce platform and put the customer at the heart of everything they do.
Leverage e-commerce to grow revenue and improve the B2B customer experience
The digital experience is highly valued, and 62% of B2B buyers can finalise a vendor list based solely on digital content. Digital channels help to build customer loyalty as well as foster efficiency – 86% of B2B businesses prefer self-service portals for routine tasks like reordering.
In the new business landscape, digitalisation is critical for conducting business across sales channels for B2B companies. Andres Gome gave us his three tips for boosting e-commerce sales in the New Normal:
- Take an MVP (minimum viable product) approach to get going quickly. Dawn Foods managed to launch its platform in just 9 weeks with this approach.
- Figure out what you want to do and have a small team focused on getting the first iteration of the product and foundation right.
- Reach out to a group of eager customers who want to take the journey with you and gather their feedback.
Businesses that accelerate their digital transformation will be the ones to differentiate by improving the customer experience and succeed in the next phase of growth in a digital-first world.
How businesses can boost e-commerce in the New Normal
E-commerce stores that doubled down on their digital strategies during the pandemic managed to grow their revenues significantly. Now is the time for businesses to adjust their business strategy and begin their digital transformation. Companies that don’t embrace digitalisation risk getting left behind as the market and customer need to transform.
Salesforce is here as your trusted partner to aid you in your digital journey. Our B2B Commerce solution will support you as you adapt and grow your online business in this ever-changing landscape. The Salesforce platform can help companies:
- Bring their business online in a few weeks with scalable out-of-the-box capabilities.
- Lower costs by providing customers with the ability to purchase via digital self-serve channels.
- Improve sales rep and service agent efficiency and customer service by providing a 360 view of your customers.
Is your business ready to connect to shoppers anytime, anywhere? Watch the webinar Leading Through Change for Commerce with Dawn Foods to learn more about how Dawn Foods worked with Salesforce to boost e-commerce sales.
