My first 6 months as SparkLayer’s Customer Success Manager have been an exciting, challenging, and rewarding experience. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some fantastic people at SparkLayer, with whom I work very closely, as well as many brilliant customers - over 500 of our 2,000-strong customer base so far!
What has struck me the most is how our customers use our B2B features in so many different and creative ways - and how excited they are to discover some of the new ways other customers use them. It’s also been great to understand what functionality is most popular and gain invaluable feedback for our future roadmap…
CSV uploads for operational efficiency
Our CSV file upload feature is a game-changer, widely adopted across our customer base and all our plans. Merchants from a huge range of verticals use it to assign prices to product SKUs and quickly update multiple price lists in one go. Retailers benefit by saving time, reducing margin for human error, and ensuring standardisation across their B2B processes.
One of our customers, Unilever brand, Living Proof, shared some great feedback on our CSV upload and B2B features: “It was very time-consuming having to manually do things before, and (SparkLayer) reduced the opportunity for error as there is less manual input needed”, Sarah Sorrentino, Sales Operations Manager at Living Proof.
SparkLayer’s B2B Discount Engine
Since we launched our Discounts Engine, it’s been overwhelmingly popular! Our merchants are thrilled to have the ability to offer discounts and promotions for their B2B customers.
Speaking with our retailers has allowed me to dive deep into how and why they use our discounts feature - or why they haven’t yet embraced it. Some merchants have initial reservations about reducing the price of their products - mainly because the cost has already been discounted to wholesale levels, or the concern that discounts suggest a business isn’t doing well. I normally think, “Fair enough! I can see why you’re viewing it like this - these are valid points”. However, discounts don’t have to mean ‘reduced price or value’; they can represent opportunity…
Expanding on how other merchants specifically use SparkLayer’s Discounts Engine, and how that might work for them, often fosters greater openness. Something that has worked very well for many SparkLayer customers is having a ‘promotions’ mindset. Telling retailers that they could run promotions on their B2B store, rewarding their customers for their continued service - or enticing new customers in - is something that they often don’t know they have the functionality to do!
Watersports World, for example, have tiered customer groups based on payment history, product category (eg surfing or cycling), and reliability. They’re able to apply promotion-based benefits to specific customers thanks to our dynamic Discount Engine. This helps them reward loyalty and incentivise higher order volume and repeat business.
Sales Agent masquerade ordering
Sales Agent ordering continues to be one of SparkLayer’s most-used features. This functionality allows Sales Reps to log in and place orders on behalf of their customers, often using our CSV upload feature to populate carts when receiving a manual order form. This speeds up the sales process and provides a convenient solution for more traditional customers who prefer to place orders over the phone or by email. It also empowers merchants to provide enhanced customer service and gain a competitive advantage!
I spoke with VEIA’s president, Dan McNamara, about their experience with this feature: “Sales Agent adoption has been pretty solid so far - our larger accounts especially are using it more as they can do it all really quickly on their own!".
When connecting with our customers, I’ve discovered how differently some of them use the Sales Agents feature. For example, some use it to build orders for their customers and then notify the customer to review and complete the order themselves. Others restock their customers’ brick-and-mortar stores by using a phone or table in-store, logging in as a Sales Agent on their behalf. Of course, many use it as the out-of-the-box solution it is and build and approve orders on customers’ behalf. Either way, the key focus for merchants using this feature is to provide a tailored experience and enhance customer satisfaction.
Scott Taylor, Managing Director at Watersports World, shared some great insight, “Using the Sales Agent feature, I get better results from the team - and they have a nicer time using it… SparkLayer has made what we wanted possible; it’s rare to be working with a company that actually cares.”
These are just a couple of examples of how merchants are adopting, and adapting, SparkLayer’s B2B functionality to meet their needs. There are more variations that I have been able to share with our customers, allowing them to try out Sales Agents in new ways, creating the success they deserve!
I thought I’d end with a quote I love from one of our merchants that sums up how I see my role fitting into our customers’s success - “I think (SparkLayer) rejuvenated our B2B from the old very technical boring system to a more beautiful system”, Sarah van Waardenburg, eCommerce Manager at SNURK. The fact that they saw a 50% reduction in manual tasks by implementing SparkLayer is just the icing on the cake…