Master B2B Friday 15

The key to finding digital executive roles in the age of AI

This week on the podcast, Andy & Brian speak with Ed Fenton, the Vice President of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation at wholesale distributor Graybar, about what it’s like for senior executives to search for a job in the age of AI. 
Ed talks through six key lessons he learned from his own six month job search.

Using the Paradigm B2B Combine to Select an eCommerce Platform

Andy and Brian walk through the results of Andy's Paradigm B2B Combine reports on eCommerce platforms, and they discuss strategies for preparing for a platform selection.
 
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Are B2B eCommerce Teams Understaffed?

Key takeaways from this week's episode:Home Depot continues expanding into B2B, leveraging its digital strengths and logistics infrastructure. B2B eCommerce teams are significantly smaller than their B2C counterparts, often due to legacy thinking. 88% of the Master B2B community believes B2B eCommerce teams are too small. Many B2B companies lack foundational digital roles like merchandisers or CMOs. Understaffing can lead to lost revenue, poor customer experience, and missed market opportunities. B2B companies must rethink how they structure and resource eCommerce teams to compete in today’s digital-first world.

Mythbuster: AI Will Revolutionize Human Decision Making in Commerce

One of the big questions of the moment in AI is whether we are experiencing a REvolution or an Evolution when it comes to whether new technologies will enhance the decisions eCommerce practitioners make in their day-to-day roles, or whether it will soon take over many of the decisions practitioners make. Join Andy Hoar, Brian Beck, and HCL's Brian Gillespie as they try to bust the myth that AI be making all of our decisions for us. The Mythbuster discusses:– Can Agentic AI agents build dynamic experiences on the fly based on multiple factors (e.g., weather, inventory demand, etc.) for buyers? – Will all the elements of experience design be automated? – Have we reached the end of complex, cumbersome pricing rules because pricing will be dynamic? – Are we getting to a point where AI understands the context of human relationships?Check out all the Master B2B events at MasterB2B.com.

Why Is B2B Lagging in Mobile Investment?

When we surveyed B2B practitioners, we learned that they have chosen not to invest in mobile, even though their B2C counterparts have long ago made the shift to focus on mobile. 
We heard that 34% of B2B companies have less than 5% of their sales on mobile, while 18% don’t even track mobile sales.
In this podcast, Andy and Brian talk about some of the reasons why mobile is on the back burner, and why this is a huge missed opportunity for most companies.
Learn more about our upcoming events and the practitioner Forum at MasterB2B.com

Part 2: Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Taking Over SEO

In B2B eCommerce practitioners are all asking the same question: how do I get my products to show up in search results when people are searching on an AI tool like ChatGPT or Perplexity?
The answer, it seems, is to create authority around your listings, and in this podcast Andy Hoar and Brian Beck discuss exactly how to do that.

Is Generative Engine Optimization Replacing SEO for B2B eCommerce Companies?

Andy and Brian dig into the new (and mysterious) world of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and what that means for how B2B eCommerce companies that are looking to drive traffic to their websites (which is, of course, all of them). How will it replace their SEO efforts (if at all?) They share 5 emerging GEO best practices: - AI answers reduce clicks (AI provides the answer up front) - Semantic relevance rules: focus on topics, not just keywords. - Expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness (EAT) now more important than anything else - Structured, scannable content wins - Visibility is more important than ranking: Success now includes being mentioned in AI outputs, not just appearing in top search results.
For more Master B2B resources and events, visit http://www.masterb2b.com And for practitioners, we offer the Master B2B Forum, a free community exclusively for B2B eCommerce practitioners. Learn more at http://www.masterb2b.com/forum

How Should You Select a System Integrator?

Andy & Brian offer six criteria for how B2B eCommerce practitioners should select a system integrator when they are embarking on a commerce technology project.
 
The Friday 15 is presented by Master B2B Nexus, your personal B2B digital lifeline..  Visit us at http://www.masterb2b.com/nexus

Should you hire your platform or your implementation partner first?

This week - Andy and Brian debate whether someone looking to implement a new eCommerce platform should choose their system integrator first, or whether they should select their technology first.  And whether that's the right question to be asking at all...
Visit us at masterb2b.com to see all our upcoming events and to join our Forum.

May 2025 Executive Roundtables Roundup

Andy & Brian talk through their key takeaways from the dozen executive roundtables they held with B2B eCommerce practitioners across the country.