“Where will our growth come from, our next stage of growth? That’s what they’re asking us.”
“A great question,” says Benedetti, “and the answer is in the way you framed it. For some B2B companies that are not yet really mature in their transformation, marketplaces are a great lever for growth. They can start there and they will build some growth. But they will probably, sooner or later, need to diversify their sales channels because in a marketplace you are not the only option.”
Taking the next step and selling directly from your own e-commerce platform requires strong brand recognition, especially if you want to sell your product or service to end users.
“Our idea really, what we think is really important, is that growth requires a strategy where you're going to address different channels. Casper, the mattress business, is an icon of the B2C model, but they also sell through department stores. They decided to leverage all channels.”
Ibexa’s business example for this fluid growth strategy is Groupe Atlantic , a French manufacturer of air conditioning and heating systems for businesses and consumers. “They have more than 20 brands,” says Benedetti, “and Ibexa is supporting the digital initiatives of many of those brands.”
