Master B2B Friday 15

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.

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...

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

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.

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

Andy and Brian recap the key themes from B2B Online in Chicago, including what it means when younger executives take over senior roles in a company, and how practitioners are talking about tariffs.   Learn more about Master B2B, the online forum and NEXUS at MasterB2B.com .

Andy and Brian recap their on-stage debate from B2B Online where they wrestled with whether private equity is ultimate good or bad for B2B companies. Is it true that PE firms never invest for the long-term? Is it true that your career is at risk if your company is bought by a PE firm? Are there benefits to having a PE owner? Visit our website to learn more about Master B2B.

Andy & Brian talk about whether B2B companies are correct when they say that they view Amazon as a foe. Brian makes the case that Amazon will only continue to steal market share in B2B, and the best way to understand what they're doing is to be on the site selling yourself.   See all the Master B2B events and see how to join the online Forum at MasterB2B.com .

This week - Andy and Brian walk through the results of a survey they conducted at the Master B2B Summit where they asked B2B eCommerce executives where they'll be investing next...they're surprised at what answers were missing.

A special for Friday 15 subscribers: Master B2B's Andy Hoar speaks with VTEX founder and co-CEO Mariano Gomide about the company's decision to leave the MACH Alliance, and how he sees the eCommerce software industry changing in the coming years. This is a really interesting conversation about the future of the eCommerce platform ecosystem, how systems integrators fit into it, and whether the force...

This week on the Friday 15, Andy and Brian speak with Trent Guyer, the VP of Marketing and Digital at Grasshopper Mowers, a family-owned manufacturer of mowers, about how to build a successful career at a family-owned business.   Learn more about Master B2B at masterb2b.com .

This week on the podcast - Andy and Brian look at how B2B eCommerce companies are thinking about investing in new hires in the coming year, and the challenges they may face when looking to bring on new talent.

This week - Andy and Brian dig into a thought-provoking article (link below) asking whether organizations should even have an AI strategy and the reasons why it may be better if they don't.   Mentioned in the podcast: Rushing into an AI Strategy? The Master B2B Nexus Program

Master B2B held its 3rd annual Mindshare Summit in Chicago recently, and Andy & Brian went over some of the key takeaways from the event including these 4 focus areas: Building a digital organization Successful digital business models Data, analytics & data cleanliness (Of course) AI Stay up to date on all Master B2B events at http://www.masterb2b.com

We're all recovering from the Master B2B Mindshare Summit this week, so in lieu of a new Friday 15 episode we're bringing you a recent Fireside Chat that Brian Beck conducted with Jeff Reichert, Kimball Midwest's Director of eCommerce & Digital Marketing, and Eli Cooley, President of Industrial Data Associates, about how manufacturers and distributors can approach fixing their dirty product da...

This week on the podcast, Andy & Brian look at site search, and how today's site search solutions meet the needs of B2B eCommerce practitioners.     Plus, Andy shares some takeaways from the Site Search Combine he conducted, where he looked at the strengths and weaknesses of site search vendors. For more info on the Combine (and to get a copy of the report), visit ParadigmB2B.com .

When you measure the cost to acquire a customer, should you use narrow measures that only include the direct costs associated with getting a new customer, or should you go broad and include every cost used in your sales and marketing? In B2B, the customer journey is extremely complex so we'd expect that measuring the cost to acquire a customer to be equally complex.   This week, Andy & Brian t...

This week on the podcast, Andy & Brian talk about whether companies should think about their digital transformation as a project (that has a beginning or an end) or a program (which is an ongoing strategy for running the business). They talk through the main reasons for failure, and how companies can change how they approach digital transformation (hint: for every operational person, you'll ne...

This week on the podcast, Andy & Brian talk through who should sit on the buying committee when the eCommerce team is considering making a new technology purchase. When we asked our community what they thought, we heard many people say that "everyone" should be on it (which feels like a cop-out) or that the most important member was the operations team.   But Andy & Brian share why they th...

Andy and Brian wrap up Metrics Month with a look at Customer Lifetime Value, and whether it's the best measure of eCommerce success.  Spoiler alert: there is no one best measure of eCommerce success.  But there are several best measures, and in this episode they share which ones.

This week on the Friday 15... Andy and Brian speak with Deidre Peters, Head of Digital eCommerce at Boston Scientific about how they measure the impact of eCommerce on their entire business.  She shares insights in the metrics they look at, and how they were able to tell the full eCommerce story to senior leadership.

This week on the Friday 15, Andy & Brian dig into why so many companies rely on digital penetration to measure whether their online initiatives are successful. Plus, they share ideas from practitioners about why digital penetration doesn't reflect the value of the online business, and other ways they measure whether their digital business is carrying its weight.   Learn more about Master B2B a...

In our first Friday 15 of the new year, we talk about everyone's favorite beginning-of-the-year topic: budgeting!   Specifically, how do you work with your CFO to get the budget you need.  The CFO's job isn't to tell you "no" - their job is (in part) to manage how cash is spent. As a digital executive, your job starts with understanding how your CFO thinks about the world.  Andy & Brian share...

We're sharing the recent Webcast we hosted offering our B2B eCommerce predictions for the coming year.  Plus, we brought some special guests along to help us predict the future of hiring, analytics, CS, and much more! Download a copy of the 2025 B2B eCommerce Predictions Report here .

We've surveyed B2B practitioners about their priorities for next year, and we wanted to share the results with you... It's our last Friday 15 podcast of the year, and we can't wait to share more episodes with you in January. Check out our upcoming events: http://www.masterb2b.com