Episode 80: Distribution B2B eCommerce Challenges & Solutions

Kate Dubovikova

Kate Dubovikova

The Hard Truth About B2B eCommerce podcast continues onto the next episode by welcoming our new very special guest Jason Hein, Principal B2B Visionary at Bloomreach, to discuss the challenges and best practices of eCommerce in the world of distribution.

Jason Hein is the Principal B2B Visionary at Bloomreach, and has extensive experience in B2B eCommerce. Jason B2B experience goes back to McMaster-Carr, where he eventually landed at Amazon, to develop their B2B offering. Having helped develop what is now the largest B2B eCommerce site in the world, Amazon, Jason went on to do consulting for distributors. He has extensive experience helping distributors with B2B eCommerce and helping them overcome the challenges they face.

Episode 80: Distribution B2B eCommerce Challenges & Solutions

In this episode, co-hosts Isaiah Bollinger, CEO of Trellis, and Timothy Peterson, President & COO of Speir Digital, Inc, are welcoming Jason Hein, the Principal B2B Visionary at Bloomreach, to discuss:

  • The difference in product presentation between B2B and B2C
  • How to educate B2B customers about your products/services to inform their decisions
  • eCommerce merchandizing, product taxonomies and attribution
  • How to design e-catalogues and structure product data
  • What is so special in Amazon customer experience
  • Evolution of a B2B buying experience
  • Dealing with complexities of B2B offerings
  • Moving from linear sales experience to multichannel interaction
  • 3 key metrics for senior business leaders in distribution 
  • Variety of personalization in B2B
  • How to use machine learning and algorithms to customize the buying experience
  • Old-school philosophy of distributors
  • How to revamp your website with the needs of your B2B customers in mind
  • The importance of tech leadership in the company
  • Two-part problem of distributors
  • The keys to a successful digital transformation
  • How not to miss the momentum of going digital and stay ahead of competition in the world of distribution
  • The power of storytelling in business and tech transformation
  • Why so many businesses fail at digital transformation
  • When is it gonna be too late?
  • The inevitability of business disruption in distribution
  • The importance of understanding the buyer behavior
  • How automation can help you scale and add gasoline to the flywheel of digital 
  • Best practices to attract customers, build engagement and create a unique customer experience

This podcast’s origin story

Podcasts are still a relatively new medium for content, but just because they are new doesn’t mean they lack power. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Podcasts have a unique ability to reach people on their time, whenever it is convenient for them – a way that previously did not majorly exist. Podcast listeners can take the information wherever they go and absorb it as they see fit. And that’s exactly what we are looking to do here. We want to reach a new audience of B2B eCommerce enthusiasts.

This podcast is all about B2B eCommerce. B2B is a different breed of eCommerce and it needs a different breed of Podcast. We get into the nitty-gritty of integrations, adoption, platforms, data and so much more regarding what makes B2B difficult to make successful for eCommerce!

We noticed that a few B2C podcasts exist on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, but nothing designed for the B2B eCommerce community. B2B and B2C eCommerce have a lot of overlap, but even more differences. Each has a different set of requirements and customer demands that impact project scope. Let’s call a spade a spade. B2B is harder, more complicated, and harder to market. But it is also a bigger piece of the pie. The eCommerce B2B roadmap to success is not as cut and dry as B2C and that’s why we have started this podcast.

B2C platforms like Magento and Shopify have large communities that support and have done the entre-level work of most projects. The same community does not exist for B2B, but we are starting to build it. The ecosystem may not be as mature, but as experts in the space, we hope this podcast will help some people wake up and reevaluate their online sales strategy.

The first podcast examines major trends around B2B eCommerce as well as answering all of the above questions.  Take a listen for yourself and let us know what you think!

We will be posting new episodes with special guests weekly. You can listen on our dedicated podcast website and download the podcast on all major channels: Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle Podcasts, StitcherTuneInOvercastPocket CastCastroCastboxPodchaserPodcast AddictDeezerListen Notes, and RSS Feed.

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