How to Deliver Exceptional B2B Customer Experiences: First-Hand Tactics That Work

B2B may lack the shine of B2C, but there’s a quiet revolution happening in this space. Younger B2B decision-makers, accustomed to seamless and personalized digital experiences in their private lives, now expect the same level of efficiency and engagement in their professional interactions.  

Yet, delivering exceptional B2B user experiences is much more challenging than it may seem at first glance. Complex internal workflows, siloed business functions, and competing stakeholder requirements often create friction that is difficult to overcome.  

In this article, our Digital Strategy Consulting Lead Manuela and UX/UI Consultant Aaron share their most important tactics when designing effective B2B experiences: 

1. Close collaboration from the start 
2. Overcome hesitation with quick wins 
3. Incorporate user feedback throughout 
4. Balance customization and scalability 
5. Design for accessibility 
6. Take advantage of personalization and AI 

And if you’re still not convinced on why you should invest in a modern B2B solution, you can read our article on Rethinking B2B Experiences for a Younger Generation of Buyers. 

Focus on Close Collaboration from the Start

B2B digital platforms are uniquely complex, often defined by hidden workflows or functionalities, cross-functional stakeholders, and a multitude of user roles. Without collaboration between development teams, designers, and business users, cracks begin to form early in the process. 

That’s why Aaron emphasizes the importance of an interactive beginning, “An initial workshop including everyone – from developers to end-users – is invaluable. It surfaces hidden needs, builds trust, and ensures no critical workflow is overlooked.”  

Manuela adds that improper alignment results in significant financial impact as missed workflows or redundant loops can later snowball into costs 2–3x over initial project budgets. 

Here our CX Innovation Hub in Vienna plays a pivotal role. Part of the global SAP AppHaus Network, this creative hub is designed to bring customers, partners, and teams together to design, develop, and refine groundbreaking customer experience solutions.  

Beyond alignment, such workshops also create buy-in from all relevant teams. When every stakeholder feels heard and involved from day one, the resistance to change diminishes, turning skeptics into advocates for the platform.  

Our approach to collaborative design includes: 

• Conducting in-depth discovery workshops to capture requirements, pain points, and future goals. 

• Ensuring stakeholders, including management and end-users, are involved throughout the entire project. 

• Bridging the gap between developers, designers, and business units to streamline communication. 

Highlight Quick Wins to Overcome Stakeholder Hesitation

Resistance to investing in quality UX is common, especially in internal B2B systems. Often, this skepticism stems from seeing UX as “nice to have” instead of essential.  

Manuela explains how to overcome this barrier, “Start small and focus on high-impact use cases. When businesses see measurable improvements, like reduced process times or increased user satisfaction, it’s far easier to advocate for more investments.”  

Our strategy for breaking resistance includes: 

• Focusing on functionality and efficiency, not flashiness. End-users need tools that allow them to work smarter, not harder.  

• Using measurable KPIs to demonstrate success, such as time saved or conversion rate increases.  

• Clearly showing impact in a way that resonates with the audience. For decision-makers who don’t engage directly with the tool, we focus on productivity metrics, whereas direct users care more about the tool’s usability and features. 

Incorporate User Feedback Throughout the Process

How do you create platforms that evolve to meet user needs? By incorporating feedback loops at every stage of the process. Aaron highlights, “We have weekly sessions throughout the project to present designs, take feedback, and sometimes even adapt workflows and mock-ups on the spot.” 

This process ensures alignment while allowing diverse groups of stakeholders to voice their opinions. However, conflicting feedback can arise, especially between management and end-users.  

In these cases, having an experienced implementation partner as the in-between is crucial. Manuela suggests visualizing features with an impact vs. complexity matrix. “When features are rated by impact and effort, it’s easier to prioritize effectively and prevent arguments over decisions. I have never talked to a stakeholder who hasn’t agreed with the group, once we’ve presented the data in such a way.”  

This data-driven approach not only streamlines decision-making but also builds trust between diverse groups. This is especially true for business and technology teams within large B2B companies, who often don’t have open communication channels or can even work against one another without being aware.  

Constant alignment helps to break down these communication silos and get everyone on-board towards a common goal. 

Balance Customization and Scalability

B2B workflows are inherently complex, so it’s often tempting to customise your solution to fit them perfectly. However, too much customisation comes at a cost.  

From skyrocketing development expenses to reduced system flexibility, over-customization is one of the most common pitfalls in B2B platform design. 

NETCONOMY adheres to a balanced approach. By adopting MACH (Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) architecture, companies can leverage standardized solutions while customizing key workflows that add real value. “This way, you maintain scalability without sacrificing the specific needs of your business,” explains Manuela. 

She also offers an alternative way to combat this complexity: “Step away from current processes and focus on your end-goal. What is the job that needs to be done? By redefining the process and reducing unnecessary steps, businesses can simplify workflows while maintaining functionally critical capabilities.” * 

At NETCONOMY, we bring this one step further by factoring in roles and user rights early in the planning phase. By determining what each user can see and do, information overload is reduced, complexity is minimized, and processes become streamlined. 

Design for Accessibility

Great B2B experiences are also inclusive by design. With the European Accessibility Act and a growing focus on inclusivity in B2B, companies must ensure their platforms are usable by everyone, including employees with disabilities or temporary impairments.  

NETCONOMY champions accessibility across every B2B project, from button sizes to screen reader usability. Aaron points out that accessibility should cover scenarios beyond physical impairments. “Think about color-blind users, readability on mobile devices in bright sunlight, or adding subtitles to tutorial videos for noisy environments.”.  

In our projects, we integrate accessibility guidelines from the start. Creating tools that are universally accessible benefits not only users with specific needs but also enhances the overall user experience for everyone. 

Implement Personalization and AI Workflows

AI solutions are changing the face of B2B systems. By identifying patterns in data and workflows, they can help optimize back-end processes (such as customer support or invoice management) to cut back on manual work.  

Aaron highlighted intelligent search as another use case he sees gaining popularity in B2B: “You can feed an intelligent search engine like Coveo with your product documentation, business workflows, or supplier manuals and then have it provide answers to complex questions as conversational text.”

However, as Manuela notes, the success of AI-driven tools in B2B is tied to the quality of the underlying data. Clean, well-structured datasets are key: “Good documentation should not only explain what was built but also why decisions were made. This is critical for making upgrades seamless and avoiding the trap of legacy systems.”  

Take Action Today  

The next generation expects streamlined and intuitive experiences. Are you ready to meet their expectations?  

Download our whitepaper “Digital Self-Service as a Central Point of a B2B Relationship” and discover actionable strategies for building future-proof B2B platforms that truly work.  

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If you have some additional questions or would like more insights on what great B2B design looks like, connect with Manuela and Aaron on LinkedIn.