Growing your BigCommerce B2B store with payments: A guide

As the B2B landscape continues to evolve, it's essential to understand the platforms that have helped the most successful B2B ecommerce brands succeed so far.

Our latest guide takes a closer look at BigCommerce, a company that has been at the forefront of empowering merchants to grow their businesses in the ever-changing digital environment.

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In this article, we'll be sharing the highlights from our guide, specifically focusing on the latest developments in BigCommerce's B2B strategy: payments.

Read on to learn about the three major opportunities we've identified for merchants to bolster their online channels and drive growth without being weighed down by the complexities of traditional B2B payments. 

Setting the stage: BigCommerce

In 2011, Eddie Machalaani and Mitch Harper founded BigCommerce with the goal of helping small businesses set up professional online stores. As the company expanded its product offering, it became clear that BigCommerce could also serve midsize and enterprise brands.

To support business growth, BigCommerce took a partner-first approach, focusing on complementary capabilities rather than diverting its team's attention to ancillary business opportunities.

For example, when omnichannel became a priority, BigCommerce responded with integrations and capabilities that allowed brands to reach shoppers wherever they were.

In 2015, the company acquired Zing, a mobile retail technology provider, and in 2016, it launched Amazon and eBay integrations to enable brands to sell on these marketplace channels.

BigCommerce also turned to partners for solutions in payments, shipping, marketing, and more. As consumer brands continued to experience explosive growth, the need for B2B ecommerce solutions lagged. In 2021, BigCommerce addressed this gap by launching B2B Edition, an advanced suite of B2B functionalities through an exclusive partner integration of BundleB2B with BigCommerce Enterprise.

Today, over 10 years after its founding, BigCommerce has dedicated itself to making it easy for brands to sell goods online, whether through a marketplace, B2B model, or B2C model. The company has continued to quickly adapt its products to meet the complementary capabilities needed to support all stages of business growth.

In 2021, BigCommerce launched B2B Edition, an advanced suite of B2B functionalities, and already over 10,000 merchants use B2B functions on BigCommerce. According to BigCommerce, enterprise ARR grew 68% year over year, and the company was rated one of the best enterprise platforms in the world by the 2022 Forrester Wave report for B2C and B2B commerce solutions.

B2B merchants on BigCommerce are clearly well-positioned to continue benefiting from enhanced tools and products that facilitate online operations and provide customers with seamless transactions and self-service capabilities, driving bottom line growth. 

“For B2B merchants looking to bring their buyer experience online, BigCommerce has it all. Over the years, we’ve used the platform to launch cutting-edge B2B sales portals that not only drive customer engagement and sales, but also streamline internal workflows and cut costs for our clients," says Keval Baxi, CEO of Chicago-based eCommerce agency Codal and the 2021 BigCommerce Agency Partner of the Year.

Next in their offering for merchants is a better and enhanced payment function. Why? A long forgotten and ignored piece of the purchasing journey, the experience on this front is far behind.

But all of this is changing, starting with Balance’s latest integration with BigCommerce. 

1. Boosting the brand

B2B payments are even more complex than consumer payments, requiring credit accounts, financing options, and multiple payment methods.

In the guide, we delve into the power of building trust despite or even because of this complexity.

While brand and customer loyalty may not seem directly related to the payment process, the truth is that the checkout experience is often the last opportunity for a business to interact with a customer. As such, it represents a crucial moment to establish a strong connection and create a positive impression that can help drive brand loyalty over time.

One well-known example of this phenomenon is PayPal, which established itself as a trusted and convenient payment option in the early 2000s and leveraged this position to build a strong and recognizable brand. By focusing on creating a seamless checkout experience and providing excellent customer service, PayPal was able to establish a reputation for reliability, becoming almost synonymous with trust as a brand.

Today, businesses that can create a similarly positive checkout experience and establish a connection with customers at the critical point of transaction will be well-positioned to build long-term customer loyalty and drive growth over time.

2. New segments, new growth

B2B buyers, especially in the long-tail segment, need flexible credit options to manage their cash flow effectively and to spread the cost of purchases over time. But traditional credit scoring systems often overlook smaller businesses, hindering their access to financing options.

This can be a major roadblock for SMBs, as they seek to grow their businesses through ecommerce.

Merchants can tackle this challenge by offering financing options, right from their BigCommerce store, that offer good approval rates and instant results for their long-tail customer segment. By tapping into this segment, merchants can enhance the appeal of their digital storefronts and increase their share of wallet.

In this section of the guide, we showcase how providing financing options to more customers can serve as a fresh revenue channel and drive growth for BigCommerce merchants.

3. Cost reduction

In today's competitive market, merchants are always looking for cost-effective solutions that can help them improve their bottom line. By implementing a B2B payment integration, merchants can achieve this goal while also improving the overall customer experience and unlocking new sales opportunities.

How? Moving away from credit cards is one. Credit card processing fees can be a significant cost for businesses, with a typical fee range of 1.5% to 3.5% of each transaction's total amount.

For example, if a business sells a product for $10,000, the merchant could pay up to $350 in processing fees. By offering ACH, net terms, and check payments, merchants can reduce their processing fees and provide payment methods that are better suited and preferred for the average B2B transaction, all in a convenient, seamless, and digital way.

This allows merchants to take advantage of the cost savings associated with traditional B2B payment methods while still delivering a modern, user-friendly customer experience.

Another way that B2B payment integrations can help reduce costs is through streamlined development and implementation. Rather than hiring large teams to manage B2B payment processing, merchants can integrate all the necessary features and capabilities with a single integration, reducing development and maintenance costs while improving the customer experience.

Ready to learn more about the power of B2B payments for your BigCommerce store? 

Ecommerce payments can be what makes your B2B ecommerce storefront stand out. 

With Balance on BigCommerce, merchants can enjoy all the benefits of B2B payments, including improved cash flow, better risk management, and more opportunities for growth, all while doing so via a friendly and easy-to-use online experience.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to gain a competitive edge and provide a truly seamless checkout experience for your B2B customers.

Download the full guide today and discover how Balance and BigCommerce can help you scale your payment offering and grow as a result.