Episode 17: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish With Ben Rudnick From Fun Hat
Jack D'Errico
Jack D'Errico
Our podcast series continues with another episode of The Hard Truth About B2B eCommerce podcast featuring Ben Rudnick. With over 20 years as a computer professional, Ben has worn nearly every hat, in an effort to gain a holistic and sympathetic view of the entire Software Development Lifecycle.
A particular focus has been applied to the areas of Findability/Search, Merchandising, & Business Intelligence/Web Analytics/Personalization – with a background in Health and Biomedical Engineering. Measured improvement is inherently possible everywhere, and its value universally appreciated and applicable.
In episode 17, we talk about why distributors and manufacturers need to invest more in eCommerce to stay competitive. Often times going with the cheaper solution or under-investing in eCommerce can cost much more in terms of lost opportunity and growth potential. As manufacturers go direct to consumers there is even more need for distributors to come up with an eCommerce strategy that will make them competitive as the playing field becomes wide open. Ben has worked with distributors and manufacturers for decades in B2B eCommerce and has worked with many platforms like Infor Storefront, Magento, Insite, Unilog, and other B2B focused eCommerce platforms. Ben is also a search expert and has extensive experience helping B2B companies generate more revenue via better onsite search.
Episode 16 featured Richard Keller, Chairman at 1-800-Battery to answer questions about how real-time delivery and real-time information such as pricing and availability in B2b eCommerce is critical to growing your eCommerce business.
Episode 17- Real Time Delivery & B2B eCommerce Expectations With Richard Keller From 1800 Battery
In this episode, co-hosts Isaiah Bollinger, CEO of Trellis, and Timothy Peterson, Chief Marketing Officer of SportsBiz, welcome Ben Rudnick to discuss these questions:
- What are you seeing in the distribution eCommerce space? Are there any interesting trends happening or taking place?
- What platforms do you think are doing the best in terms of b2b eCommerce?
- What are some of the common problems B2B companies face when trying to improve or optimize search?
- And what are the differences in B2B Ecommerce, from what we all know as B2C retail Ecommerce?
- What do you see defining the companies that succeed versus the ones that fail with B2B eCommerce?
- What is the biggest challenge eCommerce players will face in the coming decade?
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. Podcaster 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 Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Overcast, Pocket Cast, Castro, Castbox, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Deezer, Listen Notes, and RSS Feed.