Selling B2B Products Online: What Actually Works

Intro

If you sell physical B2B products such as equipment, parts, and supplies, you have probably noticed something frustrating. Online sales advice typically caters to either SaaS companies promoting free trials or DTC brands targeting impulse buys on Instagram. Neither fits what you do. And copying those playbooks is probably why your online conversions feel stuck. The good news? There's a clear path forward once you stop borrowing from the wrong industries.

The "Two Worlds" Problem

B2B product companies sit in an awkward middle ground online. You're not selling $12 candles where a lifestyle photo and a discount code close the deal. But you're also not selling enterprise software, where a 6-month sales cycle and a demo request form make sense.

The problem is that most B2B brands fall into one of two flawed approaches. They either build a bare-bones catalog site with "contact us for pricing" plastered everywhere, or they try to mimic a DTC storefront without adjusting for how business buyers actually shop. Both strategies miss out on potential revenue.

And buyers are noticing. According to McKinsey's 2024 B2B Pulse Survey, more than half of B2B decision-makers said they'd abandon a purchase or switch suppliers entirely if they had a poor digital experience. Such an outcome is not a hypothetical risk; it is revenue walking out the door.

Signs you're borrowing from the wrong playbook:

• Your product pages have lifestyle photos but no spec sheets
• You're hiding pricing behind "request a quote" for standard catalog items
• Your checkout doesn't accept purchase orders or net-30 terms
• You're running Instagram ads. but have no buying guides or comparison content
• Your site has no account-based features like saved orders or reorder buttons

Give Buyers What They Actually Want

Here's the biggest mindset shift: B2B buyers in 2025 don't want to be "sold to" online. They want to buy. There's a huge difference.

B2B buyers don't want to "request a quote" for a $300 bill counter. They want specs, pricing, and a buy button. Kolibri structures its product pages like DTC brands do. It provides clear pricing, comparison charts between models, and "ideal for" callouts that match products to business types. A laundromat owner knows immediately which coin counter fits their volume. No sales call is required.

That approach works because it respects how modern business buyers behave. Forrester predicted that by the end of 2025, more than half of large B2B transactions will be worth $1 million or more and will be processed through digital self-serve channels. For mid-range products, the expectation for self-service is even higher.

So if your product pages still hide pricing behind a form, you're creating friction that today's buyers simply won't tolerate.

Structure Product Pages for Decision-Making, Not Browsing

DTC product pages are designed to trigger emotion. B2B product pages need to trigger confidence. Your buyers aren't impulse shopping. They're justifying a purchase to a manager, comparing three vendors in separate tabs, and trying to figure out if your widget fits their existing setup.

That means your pages need to answer specific questions fast.

What DTC Pages Prioritize	What B2B Product Pages Need
Lifestyle imagery	Technical specs and dimensions
Social proof from consumers	Use-case scenarios by industry
Scarcity and urgency	Compatibility and integration info
Simple "Add to Cart"	Bulk pricing tiers and lead times
Reviews and star ratings	Downloadable spec sheets and manuals

The best-performing B2B product pages combine both worlds. They use clean, visual layouts borrowed from DTC pages but focus on the decision-support content that business buyers actually need.

Getting this structure right also pays off in search. Optimizing B2B product pages for SEO means those spec-rich, well-organized pages start pulling in the exact buyers who are already comparing options. This leads to more relevant traffic and higher-quality leads.

Stop Treating Content Like a Blog Checkbox

Most B2B product brands treat content marketing the way they treat their office plants. They know they should do something, but it's always an afterthought. The typical approach is publishing a few generic blog posts, maybe a whitepaper nobody downloads, and calling it done.

What actually works is content that maps directly to how your buyers search. A facilities manager doesn't Google "innovative solutions for operational excellence.” They search for the best commercial floor scrubber for warehouses under 10,000 square feet.

Content types that actually drive B2B product sales:

• Buying guides that compare product categories side by side
• Application guides showing how products perform in specific environments
• Maintenance and replacement guides that bring customers back for parts
• Industry-specific landing pages tailored to your top buyer segments

This kind of content serves two purposes. It drives organic search traffic and shortens the sales cycle by educating buyers before they even visit your product page. If you're not sure where to start, building a B2B SEO strategy around these content types can help you prioritize what to create first based on where your buyers are actually searching. These content pieces also increase the chances of capturing the right leads early in their buying journey.

Make Reordering and Checkout Effortless

Here's something the SaaS and DTC playbooks completely miss: a massive chunk of B2B revenue comes from repeat orders. Parts wear out. Supplies run low. Equipment needs accessories. If your site makes reordering harder than it needs to be, you're practically pushing customers toward competitors.

And don't fumble the checkout experience either. A buyer is ready to purchase, and suddenly they're hit with consumer-only payment options, no PO number field, or shipping quotes that require a phone call.

B2B checkout needs to accommodate how businesses actually pay, including ACH, purchase orders, and credit terms, alongside standard credit card processing. B2B ecommerce usability research consistently shows that each unnecessary step in the purchase flow increases the chance a buyer abandons their cart entirely. In B2B, that often means losing a high-value client and not just a single sale.

FAQ

Is an e-commerce site truly necessary for B2B product companies?

Yes. The shift to digital purchasing in B2B is well-documented. With the majority of B2B buyers now preferring self-service channels for at least part of their purchasing journey, not having an e-commerce presence means losing visibility to competitors who do.

Should I show pricing on my B2B product pages?

For standard catalog products, the answer is undoubtedly yes. Hiding pricing behind "request a quote" forms adds unnecessary friction and signals that you're out of step with current expectations. Reserve quote-based pricing for truly custom or high-value configurations.

How do I handle customers who need bulk or custom pricing?

Offer tiered pricing directly on the product page when possible. For custom orders, use a streamlined quote request form that asks specific questions upfront rather than a generic "contact us" page.

What's the biggest mistake B2B brands make when selling online?

The biggest mistake B2B brands make when selling online is mimicking a B2C playbook without adapting it for business buyers. Pretty photos and clever copy aren't enough when your buyer needs spec sheets, compatibility info, and the ability to pay with a purchase order.

Key Takeaways

• B2B product brands need their playbook and not one borrowed from SaaS or DTC.
• Modern buyers expect self-service, transparent pricing, and frictionless purchasing.
• Product pages should prioritize decision-support content like specs, comparison charts, and use-case callouts.
• Content strategy should target specific, practical queries your buyers actually search for.
• Make reordering effortless and checkout business-friendly to lock in recurring revenue.
• Over half of B2B decision-makers will leave a vendor over a poor digital experience.