Chlo?'s 3 Things: B2B eCommerce / 2024 Guest Call Out / Christmas Holidays

Welcome to another 3 Things...

1. B2B eCommerce
2. 2024 Guest Call Out
3. Christmas holidays

Also, if there's something you'd like me to share my thoughts on in these newsletters... do let me know. DM's are open.

Thing 1: B2B eCommerce - complex and exciting

B2B eCommerce has been something I've always dabbled in - back when I had my marketing agency we occasionally consulted with B2B businesses looking to adopt B2B eCommerce, I often interview B2B businesses who sell via eCommerce (and DTC brands who are expanding into wholesale), and oh yeah a wrote a whole book on it in the 2010s.

I think:

• It's going to be big news in 2024
• It's a complex space that needs better naming conventions - "B2B eCommerce" means too many different things
• In the DTC>Wholesale area - there's huge opportunities for brands, and I think we're only going to see this growing as a key route to market
• In the B2B>B2B eCommerce are - there are still many businesses "waiting to see if the internet is worth it" (I kid you not)

Yesterday we did a webinar on the topic where I was joined by guests from all angles of the B2B eCommerce world:

?? Alex Weston who helps DTC brands expand into wholesale

?? Simon Wharton who helps B2B businesses embrace eCommerce selling

?? Kathleen Sullivan Garman who's all about the ops side of it

?? ???? James Gurd on the tech stack options (many options!)

We chatted about a whole heap of different things in B2B - land, and for me the key takeaways were:

1. Not all B2B customers are the same - there are wildly different needs in functionality, support, and despatch - so you need to be clear on which you're serving
2. The operational side of it is mindblowing. Yesterday I learnt about a whole order taking method I knew nothing about. But which is going to be crucial is you're looking for the BIG deals.
3. It's a WHOLE company endeavour - this isn't just a marketing idea.
4. It's also not something you do on a whim - you need to be really clear on what you're planning before you start building the systems and the tech.

?? If you were on the webinar yesterday - please do share your takeaways in the comments.

And if you want to watch the replay it's ready to be consumed here: https://web5.ecommerceexplored.com/

Thing 2: 2024 Guest Call Out

I'm looking for guests!!

For the whole of 2024's topics (on the webinar and the podcasts) but also our upcoming "Success in 2024" content.

Full details are here and please add any recommendations etc here too

Thing 3: Christmas Holidays

Not marketing, not selling, but literally - how much time are you taking off this year?

This is sparked by 3 things:

1. This survey Krissie Claire put live - here
2. This morning I signed off the Christmas holiday request for the final member of my team to submit it
3. My general belief that time off is essential to be good at your job.

eCommerce is a weird industry to be in when it comes to Christmas holidays.

For those who are brand side, it can be really hard to get any time off, and any time off is frequently punctuated by "just checking on X".

For those who are supplier side it's usually a little easier to take time off - not least because in a lot of cases no one really wants to interact with you at Christmas - if they're working, they're only doing the essentials. Even when I ran the marketing agency we closed for a week over Christmas.

Now that I work on the selling-to-SaaS/Agencies and talking-to-brands side of things it's incredibly easy to take time off at Christmas - none of you want to hear from me!! and the wires go very quiet.

So I always aim for a full 2 weeks off.

This year it falls weirdly

So I was tempted to do 3 weeks... but I think I'm going to end up on a staggered 2 weeks (finish mid-week, come back mid-week).

But it will definitely be 10 work days out.

And I'll be coming back (hopefully) recharged in Jan with lots of great ideas.

?? What's your holiday plan? I hope you're not in the 21% from Krissie's survey who are taking less than a week off.

One last thing - do check out ???? James Gurd LinkedIn newsletter "Ecom Tech Movers & Shakers", must read stuff and one of those I kinda wish I was writing...

Please do let me know what you think of my 3 things in the comments

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!