Master B2B Friday 15

A Recap of the B2B Online Conference in Chicago

Andy & Brian give a recap of their experience at the B2B Online conference in Chicago.  
Plus, they discuss what the latest Forrester Wave of Commerce platforms means for industry.
And would you rather work with Gen Z or Gen X co-workers?

Is Personalization Possible in B2B Digital Commerce?

In this week's Master B2B Friday 15, Andy & Brian discuss:- What the unemployment numbers mean for digital investments.
- Why personalization is so much more challenging in B2B than in B2C.
- How you define "the customer" in B2B will define what types of personalization you actually need.

Is a PIM needed in B2B Commerce?

This week on the Friday 15, Andy & Brian discuss:
- Does it make sense for an online marketplace to have brick and mortar locations?
- Should you buy a PIM early in your digital journey, or once you've built up a sizable amount of product data?
- A PIM won't solve your data problem, but it will force discipline on your organization around product data.  So why doesn't everyone have one?

What's the Best Way to Re-Calibrate Your Digital Strategy?

This week on the Friday 15, Andy & Brian tackle:
- Is Amazon being unethical when they started selling on other marketplaces to gain intel?
- Do you need to bring in outsiders to help you revisit a digital strategy?
- How do you prioritize the changes you want to make to your digital strategy?

How often should your digital strategy be revisited?

This week in the Master B2B Friday 15 Podcast, Andy and Brian talk about the balance between sticking to a plan, and reacting to external factors - and how do you know when to make a change to your plan. Andy talked about the difference between the 3 year vision, the 18 month strategy, and the constantly evolving tactics.

Will AI Chatbots replace first-level customer service people in B2B?

This week Andy & Brian talk about:- Amazon's bigger investment in Anthropic and what it means for the future of eCommerce
- A new AI chatbot tool called Hume and how it's going to affect first-line customer service workers in the future.  Plus, Andy shares and example of an interaction he had with Hume...

Who should own the digital customer experience in B2B?

This week, Andy & Brian talk about:- Home Depot's $18 billion purchase of roofing distributor SRS Distribution, and how that will impact Home Depot's strategy moving forward.
- Who should own customer experience? Master B2B recently held an executive roundtable in Atlanta and asked this question and the answers were all over the map.  The guys discuss where they think customer experience should live in an organization, and why that matters.

Does the CEO Need to Be Directly Involved in Digital Transformation?

This week, Andy & Brian talk about Honeywell's digital transformation, and whether their CEO's decision to be incredibly hands-on is what made that transformation successful.
 
You can read more about that story in this HBR article:https://hbr.org/2024/03/the-chair-of-honeywell-on-bringing-an-industrial-business-into-the-digital-age

Is Dynamic Pricing Coming to B2B eCommerce?

This week on the Friday 15:
- Fast food chain Wendy's faced a PR debacle after they talked about their dynamic pricing initiatives.  As Brian said, "don't raise the price of my Frosty!"
- Is dynamic pricing coming to B2B?  Or is it already here?

Do Marketplaces Resolve or Complicate Channel Conflict?

In this week's Friday 15, Andy & Brian talk about the role marketplaces play in alleviating (or causing) channel conflict.
 
The big takeaway is that manufacturers need to accept that they simply need to be where their buyers buy, and that they can no longer push buyers into the channels that the manufacturer wants to use.