Optimizely & AD identify 3 crucial e-commerce investments for distributors
Optimizely and AD have teamed up to empower distributors like you with commerce strategies and tools to win in the digital-forward world. Let's dive into the key investments for lasting e-commerce success.
Optimizely has emerged as a trusted e-commerce software partner for AD, making long-lasting ecommerce success for the AD community the top priority.
Recognized as a leader in Forrester's 2024 Commerce Solutions for B2B report, Optimizely helps AD members understand, invest in, and execute their e-commerce strategies.
Optimizely and AD, through their extensive network of independent distributors, are betting big on content, personalization, and purchasing experiences as primary revenue drivers for organizations this year.
The state of e-commerce for distribution
In a world of hybrid offline and online channels, the distributors’ website is often for “unplanned” spending and product discovery for sales reps.
Furthermore, MasterB2B’s State of E-Commerce 2024 report reveals that 41% of B2B buyers now avoid interacting with sales representatives for purchase research, and instead turn on digital means of searching for products.
The growing self-service nature of product research should push distributors to enhance online product and service experiences as they recognize they are key to winning incremental revenue from and retention of their customers.
3 crucial ecommerce investments for distributors
1. Content
It’s 2025... which means it’s finally time to get your product content in order.
Investing in content workflows is the secret sauce for boosting efficiency, enhancing online experiences, and staying ahead in the distribution game.
AD to the rescue! The AD Digital Catalog provides standardized, categorized, and always updated product content, freeing up time for those revenue-boosting projects your team dreams about but can't tackle when stuck in content maintenance mode. The AD Digital Catalog delivers millions of SKUs of attributed data and Advanced product content.
Meanwhile, Optimizely is the data wizard, syncing product, inventory, and pricing info across all critical systems, including AD eContent, to supercharge your Optimizely e-commerce site. Plus, the technical synergy of connecting the AD Digital Catalog directly to the Optimizely Commerce platform via the AD Connector lets you update multiple products at once and validate data based on configured rules.
Together, AD + Optimizely are a superpower duo, keeping your product catalog up-to-date and packed with all the info your customers need to self-serve with confidence.
Gerrie Electric Wholesale, an AD Member in the Electrical Canada division, is doing just this by partnering with AD eCommerce Solutions to automate the delivery of digital content to their Optimizely webstore platform. By streamlining the delivery process, Gerrie Electric saves time and resources, enabling their team to focus on critical tasks for digital growth.
Darko Milivojevic
Director of eCommerce, Gerrie Electric Wholesale
2. Personalization
Independent distributors can personalize those catalogs, pricing, terms, and shipping for each customer to make finding and buying products a breeze. Product recommendations tools can work wonders by showing buyers exactly what they need by leveraging AD SKU Associations data with an Optimizely product recommendation engine. Personalization for logged-in users means they get helpful, not headache-inducing, experiences.
3. Purchasing experiences
A few simple web features can greatly enhance the B2B eCommerce experience. For instance, list management lets customers reorder products easily, speeding up checkout. Quick order capabilities allow customers to upload orders directly, making the purchase process faster and more reliable.
Advanced features include abandoned cart emails to boost sales and mobile commerce for purchasing on the go. Punchout capabilities streamline purchasing, improve efficiency, and ensure consistent procurement procedures. Additionally, building lists on customers' behalf can significantly increase satisfaction.
The Optimizely + AD effect
AD members using Optimizely are experiencing accelerated e-commerce growth. By leveraging Optimizely's Configured Commerce solution along with strategic account support and eContent from AD, independent distributors saw a 58% higher transaction rate from January 2022 to April 2023 compared to non-AD members (Optimizely Data Team).
Beyond top-notch technology, AD and Optimizely have created a community to share commerce strategies and best practices through the Optimizely Customer Advisory Board and AD Digital Success team. This community offers ongoing strategic support, services, and technology innovation tailored for B2B success.
Are you an AD member looking to boost your e-commerce success?
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