Unlocking the Hidden Growth Potential of B2B E-Commerce

At Nowspeed, we’ve worked with hundreds of B2B organizations navigating the challenges of digital transformation. One of the biggest missed opportunities we see time and time again? E-commerce. Despite the explosive growth of B2C e-commerce, many B2B companies still treat their websites as static brochures rather than dynamic revenue-generating platforms. The reality is, when executed well, B2B e-commerce can unlock significant growth—not just in revenue, but in efficiency, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

Here’s what we’ve learned helping our B2B clients make the most of e-commerce, and what we recommend to companies ready to take it seriously.

Your Homepage Isn’t the Hero

One of the first and most important shifts B2B marketers need to make is letting go of the idea that the homepage is the most important page on your site. In reality, most users—especially high-intent buyers—don’t land there. They come in through side doors: product pages, category pages, search results, or even landing pages from paid ads.

Despite this, internal stakeholders often fixate on the homepage. It’s natural—when someone wants to “check out the site,” they go straight to the front door. But optimizing your homepage while ignoring the real entry points is a recipe for wasted time and missed conversions. The better strategy? Focus your optimization efforts on the pages where your buyers actually land—and convert.

The Power of Site Search

If there’s one area every B2B e-commerce site should prioritize, it’s site search. Users who utilize site search are typically 4–5 times more likely to convert. They already know what they’re looking for—your site just needs to help them find it.

Unfortunately, many B2B site search engines underperform. The problem isn’t always the search engine itself—it’s often the product data powering it. If your data is sparse, outdated, or inconsistent, even the best search engine will struggle to deliver relevant results. That’s why we advise clients to start their optimization journey by auditing both their site search and their product data.

Want a quick gut check? Ask your sales or customer service teams to use your site search to find products. If they struggle, your customers definitely are too.

Merchandising for B2B: Think Accessories and Replacements

Many B2B e-commerce leaders borrow tactics from B2C—like showing recommended products or “customers also bought” widgets. But here’s the thing: B2B buying behavior is fundamentally different. Your customers aren’t impulse-buying socks—they’re looking for parts that fit a specific machine or accessories compatible with existing equipment.

Instead of generic recommendations, B2B sites need to be intentional about merchandising. That means clearly displaying:

• Accessories or add-ons
• Replacement parts
• Compatible products
• Updated versions of discontinued items

This requires detailed product data, thoughtful categorization, and often, manual curation. But the payoff is huge: more complete orders, fewer returns, and a smoother customer experience.

Don’t Delete Obsolete Product Pages

In B2C, when a product goes out of stock or is discontinued, it disappears. In B2B, that’s a mistake.

Why? Because B2B buyers often return to product pages months—or even years—after a purchase to find spec sheets, manuals, or safety documentation. Deleting those pages not only frustrates users, but it also kills valuable SEO. Even worse, it eliminates your opportunity to guide users to updated or replacement products.

Instead of removing obsolete product pages, keep them live, clearly mark them as discontinued, and link to the updated version or replacement. It’s a simple fix that can dramatically improve both user experience and revenue recovery.

The ROI of Doing It Right

How much money are B2B companies leaving on the table by underinvesting in e-commerce? The answer: a lot.

In our experience, fixing site search and improving product data alone can lead to a 20–30% increase in e-commerce revenue. That’s before you even consider the downstream effects—like fewer returns, higher customer satisfaction, and better performance from paid ads thanks to more relevant product feeds.

E-commerce isn’t just about new revenue. It’s about operational efficiency. It’s about reducing errors. It’s about enabling sales reps to focus on complex deals instead of order taking. It’s about making it easy for your customers to do business with you.

And in a world where B2B buyers increasingly expect a frictionless, self-service experience, that’s not optional anymore.

Why Companies Hold Back

So if the upside is so significant, why do so many B2B companies still hesitate to invest?

Often, it’s mindset. We hear things like:

• “Our customers prefer to talk to sales reps.”
• “Our business is too complex for online sales.”
• “We tried it once and it didn’t work.”

The truth? Buyers do want e-commerce. And if your competitors are offering a seamless digital experience, your customers may quietly shift their loyalty—especially for routine purchases or repeat orders. The key isn’t just offering e-commerce—it’s doing it well.

That brings us to the other major roadblock: execution. Many companies fail at e-commerce not because it’s a bad fit, but because they approached it like a checkbox. They launched a half-baked catalog site with clunky navigation, poor search, and incomplete product info—and then declared e-commerce a failure.

Our message is simple: e-commerce works when it’s done strategically, with the customer journey front and center.

Getting Started (or Getting Better)

The good news? It’s easier than ever to do B2B e-commerce right. The technology has matured, and platforms are increasingly tailored for B2B needs like complex pricing, custom catalogs, and back-end integrations.

You don’t have to start big. But you do have to start smart.

Whether you’re launching your first e-commerce site or optimizing an underperforming one, here’s where we recommend focusing:

1. Audit your site search and product data.
2. Identify your most valuable entry pages—and optimize them.
3. Keep obsolete product pages live with clear redirection paths.
4. Merchandise like a B2B business—think compatibility and replacements.
5. Track performance holistically: revenue, returns, customer support savings, and ad performance.

Final Thought

E-commerce isn’t just a channel—it’s a strategy. And in B2B, it’s quickly becoming a competitive necessity.

If you want to win in the years ahead, you need to meet your buyers where they are: online, empowered, and expecting more. And with the right strategy, tools, and guidance, you can not only meet their expectations—you can exceed them.

Let’s build something that converts.