A new appetite is prevalent among food and beverage consumers, and it’s likely here to stay well beyond 2022. Two years since the pandemic started, changes to consumer preferences regarding B2B commerce appear irreversible. Now more than ever, food and beverage companies need to stay on top of rising trends and challenges while continuing to acquire and retain customers, growing loyalty, sales, and a solid consumer fan base.
The desire for better efficiency
Consumers are looking for more efficiency from the businesses they frequent in the food and beverage industry. This is especially prevalent as supply chain issues continue to increase. With an influx and overload of information, businesses are struggling with information accuracy. While companies may want to avoid the cost risks of having too much inventory, some experts believe it is crucial for a mutually beneficial pricing strategy.
Regardless of whether your inventory is light or heavy, the amount of product available will directly affect sales. It’s crucial to have the most up-to-date technology to help you maximize both your cost savings and profit margins.
A frictionless ordering experience
Whether B2B or B2C, today’s consumers expect a seamless, convenient, and stress-free ordering process. Long wait times and shipping costs can directly impact your company’s food and beverage sales revenue. Botched orders and escalated service inquiries will only further complicate the process.
Around 85% of transactions now occur without human interaction. As a result, the food and beverage industry has started personalizing the order process to maximize sales and make orders more frictionless than ever. Customers are more likely to make a transaction if they can do it with the touch of a button. As such, your order process should be as quick and efficient as possible.
This seamless process involves being able to see what consumers are buying, along with consistent and accurate pricing. But overall, it’s important to automate this information so customers can make purchases on their own time without having to wait for help.
Sustainability in consumer packaged goods
The food and beverage industry has accelerated its use of technology over the past two years. Consumers now prioritize being able to make purchases from home. Changes in these behaviors, along with modifications to avoid supply chain issues, will continue to fuel customers’ purchase decisions. But it’s not just that: there is also a new call for sustainability in consumer packaged goods (CPG), with an emphasis on environmental responsibility.
This includes everything from wellness benefits derived from consumer product lines to using environmentally friendly packaging. This is often achieved using QR codes on smart packaging to track information easily.
Cold seal packaging is also on the rise. It is quick to manufacture and eliminates the risks of heat-damaged products. Micro-perforated films are also on-trend, helping to decrease food waste by eliminating outside particles and allowing air to circulate.
The rise of ERP and sales apps to meet buyer demands
There are a wide variety of tools available to help you meet both future and present buyer demands. An ERP can both improve your position in the market and keep all your processes on track, speeding up the efficiency of your business and trickling benefits down to your customers.
When integrated with sales technology, you can track your product data and both current and forecasted inventory levels. Your team will benefit from having all information in one centralized location. This will maximize their information management and take your insights and analytics to new heights.
B2B sales apps for the food and beverage industry are an essential part of getting the customer experience right the first time – especially if you consider that 48% of B2B buyers typically return to make a second purchase if their first transaction goes well. It also allows you to stand out from your competitors, as close to 37% of buyers report they face weekly order errors.
We predict that online sales will make up 15-20% of food and beverage sales by 2025. That’s 10 times more than in 2016. We’d argue those trends are already in place due to conditions from the pandemic. B2B eCommerce is also expected to be a $20.9 trillion business by 2027.
Because of these factors, it’s time to ensure you have an ERP system with excellent data management and time savings, a seamless customer journey, and more efficiency in delivering time-sensitive goods.
Get the best food and beverage business ordering app from Skynamo
Efficiency, a frictionless customer experience, sustainability in CPG, and the rise of ERP to meet demands are all features your food and beverage business needs to stay relevant and competitive in today’s market. Using the right tools, you can surpass your competition.
Skynamo – the B2B sales CRM ordering app that is used and trusted by thousands – can help you achieve unsurpassed results with features like live ordering, instant reporting, and fewer administrative tasks. On average, our clients see a 25% increase in annual growth. In fact, first-year clients report a 20% increase in sales revenue.
A happy customer is a returning customer, and Skynamo is proud to have helped clients achieve 97% on-time delivery success rates. Time is money – and our clients report 80% fewer unnecessary conversations due to Skynamo technologies.
A more personal experience for you, your employees, and your customers could be at your fingertips. Our autogenerated call reports let you see which customers visited your site, how much time reps spent with them, what orders they submitted, and all notes captured by sales reps.
Want to learn more? Let’s talk! A quick demo of our product is available at your convenience and ease.
