DeepSeek sparks AI stock selloff
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, caused significant market volatility when it claimed to have built a competitive AI model for far less cost than US competitors. The hosts noted that if true, the approach could mean less demand for chips, less need for massive power buildouts, and less need for large-scale data centers. However, there is significant skepticism about the $5 million training cost claim, with suspicions about black market chip usage and training against OpenAI data. The open source model has drawn attention from Silicon Valley, which acknowledged DeepSeek may have found a different and potentially better approach.
The iceberg analogy for ecommerce impact
The hosts revisited the iceberg analogy for ecommerce: visible ecommerce sales represent only the tip of the iceberg in terms of digital impact. In B2B, this becomes more complex because digital may play a role in the buying journey even when sales require human consultation. A prior LinkedIn poll found 58% of practitioners said percentage of revenue from ecommerce can be a misleading metric for digital success.
An account may not order through ecommerce but they order from us due to their usage of ecommerce, mainly tied to product information, more accurate inventory, and post-order care.
Deidre Peters, Boston Scientific
Boston Scientific’s ecommerce journey
Deidre Peters, Head of Digital eCommerce at Boston Scientific, joined to share her experience. Boston Scientific is a $15 billion medical device manufacturer that started its ecommerce program about four years ago. The company sells through highly clinically trained sales reps who advise physicians during procedures. What began as an ecommerce program evolved into a broader self-service initiative focused on reducing administrative burden for both customers and reps.
The shift away from manual ordering
Boston Scientific saw dramatic shifts in order methods after launching ecommerce. Manual order methods declined from 25% of sales in certain customer segments to 7% and even 5%, with that trend continuing downward. Fax ordering has been nearly eliminated. However, the expected increase in ecommerce revenue did not materialize as expected. Instead, customers embraced self-service features for everything except the actual order placement.
Analytics gymnastics required
Peters described the challenge of measuring cross-channel impact as analytics gymnastics. Customers use ecommerce for product information, inventory status, tracking information, invoices, and packing slips while often ordering through EDI or phone. Two-thirds of orders came outside standard dealership operating hours. Connecting these touchpoints to demonstrate value requires sophisticated measurement that goes beyond simple revenue attribution.
It’s about telling the whole customer story across the journey, looking at how much they’re spending across all channels when they do and don’t have access to ecommerce.
Deidre Peters, Boston Scientific
Retention proves digital value
One metric that clearly demonstrates ecommerce value: retention. Peters shared that ecommerce customers stay at a 98% rate compared to 80 to 83% for non-ecommerce customers. The convenience of self-service features creates stickiness that customers do not want to give up. This supports the argument that customer lifetime value captures ecommerce impact better than point-in-time revenue metrics.
Storytelling over spreadsheets
Peters recommended storytelling over raw numbers when communicating with executives. Rather than presenting metrics in a vacuum, craft narratives about specific accounts: a large health system that was calling in constantly, reps exhausted by administrative tasks, and how digital tools transformed the relationship. This approach helps executives who may not fully understand ecommerce metrics grasp the business impact.
Customer lifetime value wins the poll
A LinkedIn poll asked which metric best captures the true influence of ecommerce on overall business performance. Customer lifetime value won with 56% of votes, followed by share of wallet at 17%, profitability per order at 17%, and average order value at 11%. Tom Goos, a fractional CMO, noted that lifetime value accounts for halo effects across the entire relationship, though it requires an enlightened leadership team to recognize this value.
Customer lifetime value is a great metric in theory. It’s a very difficult metric in reality, but a very necessary one.
Andy Hoar, Master B2B