If B2B buyers find your portal confusing – do this

Are you wondering why you’ve spent all this money on your new website and nobody is using it? If its any consolation, so are many other businesses.

B2B manufacturing and wholesale have changed. Your buyers, whether they’re the purchasing manager or the bloke on the tools ordering spares, expect to do more online. The problem is, they often hit a brick wall when the system doesn’t work exactly as they expect, or they forget how they did that one thing last time. Then they ring you. And ring you. And ring you again. That’s a pain in your arse, and frankly, it’s a pain in theirs as well.

There’s a gulf between the slick eCommerce pitch you got and the reality of getting your buyers to actually use the thing effectively without needing a Euromillions-winning amount of handholding. What you need is a way to get your buyers self-sufficient online, quick and without fuss. You need a place they can go before they pick up the phone.

Your buyers need help, give it to them easily

What we’re talking about is an Adoption Resource Centre, or if you want to cut the marketing wank, a dedicated help section for your B2B buyers. Think of it as the online equivalent of that one person in your warehouse who knows where absolutely everything is and can tell anyone how to find it without breaking a sweat. It’s a central, easy-to-find place where your buyers can get answers and instructions specifically tailored to using your online ordering system or portal.

It’s not some fancy AI chatbot that promises the earth and delivers sweet f.a. It’s just practical information, laid out clearly, for the people who need to use your site to give you money.

Why a help centre saves you time and makes you money

Setting this up might seem like another job on an already long list, but consider what it stops. It stops the phone calls asking “How do I find X product?”, “Where’s my order history?”, “How do I apply my trade discount?”. Every minute your sales team, customer service folks, or even you, spend answering these basic questions is a minute you’re not spending selling, sorting out bigger problems, or doing something actually useful.

A solid help centre shifts those simple queries from your team’s time sink to a self-serve model. Your buyers get instant answers at 3 am when they’re finally placing that order. They get more comfortable using the system, meaning they order more often and maybe even discover things they didn’t know they could do online. It reduces friction. Less friction means more orders and happier buyers who feel capable, not confused.

What goes into a useful B2B help centre

Based on what causes the most grief for B2B buyers, the core of your help centre needs to be straightforward, actionable content. Start with the stuff people ring you about constantly.

Start with the stuff people ring you about constantly.

Think about the Frequently Asked Questions, but don’t just list questions and type out long answers. Show them. This is where short, sharp ‘how-to’ videos or step-by-step guides come in. Tools like Scribehow are decent for quickly capturing your screen clicks and turning them into visual guides without needing to be a video production wizard.

Cover things like:

• How to log in and manage account details.
• How to search for products effectively.
• How to add items to the basket and adjust quantities.
• How to apply discounts or use specific pricing tiers.
• How to view past orders and reorder.
• How to track a shipment.
• How to handle returns or raise an issue.

Keep the language plain and match the steps exactly to what they see on your site. No generic waffle.

Building a help desk quickly and cheaply

Don’t overthink it or wait for perfection. Start small. Identify the top five questions your team answers every day about the online portal. Create simple guides or videos for just those five. Put them in a clearly labelled “B2B Help” or “Customer Portal Help” section on your website. Make it obvious where to find it – a prominent link in the header or footer works.

Get feedback from your sales team; they hear the problems first-hand. Ask a few friendly buyers to test it out and tell you honestly if it makes sense. You won’t get it perfectly right first time, and that’s fine. The key is getting something useful out there.

Keep it useful, keep it live

An Adoption Resource Centre isn’t a brochure you print once and forget about. Your online system will change, you’ll add new features, or buyers will find new ways to get confused. You need to keep the content up to date.

This help content is for customers. Check in with them and ask them if its useful and what more you can do. Most customers feel the same. A few will tell you if you ask.

Schedule a regular check-in – quarterly, perhaps – to review your support queries. Are new questions coming up? Are the old guides still accurate? Update the content accordingly. It’s an operational asset, like a piece of machinery; it needs maintenance to keep running smoothly and delivering value.

Helping your buyers help themselves online isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a necessary part of running a modern B2B business. It frees up your team, empowers your customers, and ultimately makes it easier for them to buy from you. Put in the graft to build a solid resource, and you’ll see the payoff in reduced support headaches and increased online orders.