Only 19% of B2B buyers say their online buying experience meets expectations. Meanwhile, 73% expect the same personalized experience they get in B2C. Something has to change.

In this episode of Master B2B Friday 15, Brian Beck and Andy Hoar are joined by Denise Foley, EVP of E-Commerce at ULE Group, who spent years running B2C merchandising before making the switch to B2B. She brings a rare dual perspective on what actually translates — and what doesn’t — between the two worlds.

Q: What can B2B actually learn from B2C merchandising? A: Several core B2C practices translate directly: fast and intuitive search (with the added B2B need for part number and UPC searchability), proper navigation and filtering, rich product detail pages with specs and documentation, transparent pricing, low-friction checkout, real-time order visibility, and testimonials/social proof. Denise Foley noted that the fundamentals are essentially the same because “the consumer is just expecting to shop the way they expect to shop.” Andy Hoar framed it as less about B2C teaching B2B and more about digital maturity — B2C companies have simply been at the problem longer.

Q: What doesn’t translate from B2C to B2B? A: The emotional dimension is the biggest difference. B2C relies heavily on “romance copy” — aspirational, emotional product descriptions designed to create desire. In B2B, that approach is counterproductive. As Foley explained, ULE Group was “very deliberate to say absolutely no romance copy.” B2B product pages need specs, compatibility information, installation guides, and documentation. The purchase decision is transactional and solution-oriented, not emotional. Additionally, some B2C marketing channels like broad social media and horizontal influencers don’t directly translate, though vertical influencers (like electricians demonstrating products) are an emerging opportunity.

Q: Why are B2B companies still hiding pricing online? A: Multiple factors are at play. Contract pricing creates legitimate complexity — different customers get different prices. But Foley argued that much of the reluctance comes from sales teams wanting to maintain leverage on pricing relationships. Her position: every B2B site should have standard pricing for the general public, with personalized contract pricing visible when customers sign in. As she pointed out, “People can go on Home Depot or Lowe’s and see the price of things. They can go on Grainger. They’re going to find the price.” Hiding it only creates friction and pushes buyers to competitors who are transparent.

Q: What was the biggest surprise for someone going from B2C to B2B? A: Foley said the biggest parallel was the data problem. In B2C, CPG manufacturers resisted providing digital product data because they were accustomed to store-bound products where everything was on the packaging. B2B is in that same position now — manufacturers say “we just let them know when they call” or “we’ll send them a spec sheet” rather than providing structured digital data. “The B2B world is in that same challenge with manufacturers right now that I saw the CPG world be in 10 years ago.” The fundamentals of needing weights, dimensions, specs, and documentation for digital commerce were the same gap in both worlds.

Q: How did ULE Group solve the checkout friction problem for complex products? A: One of the biggest checkout challenges at ULE Group was electrical wire that needs to go on a reel at certain quantities — which changes the weight, dimensions, and shipping cost. Rather than forcing customers to call for a shipping quote, Foley’s team solved it by thinking of it as “gift with purchase” — a familiar B2C concept. When the wire quantity triggers a reel requirement, the system automatically adds the reel to the cart with its dimensions and weight, enabling real-time shipping calculation. “It’s honestly gift with purchase. It’s not hard to set up when you think about it that way.”

Q: Does B2B actually have an advantage over B2C for AI and AEO? A: Yes — and this was one of the episode’s most surprising insights. Andy Hoar pointed out that B2B’s spec-heavy, factual, unemotional product content is exactly what AI agents prefer. “The robots love this unemotional, factual information. Machine-readable sites where bots read the content and put it into answer engines are going to love that kind of content.” FAQs are especially valuable because they mirror how agents operate — question and answer format that fits perfectly into the AI metaphor. This could position B2B companies ahead of B2C for answer engine optimization.

Q: Is social media and influencer marketing relevant in B2B? A: Yes, but differently. Foley explained that for ULE Group, Meta reaches smaller independent electrical contractors who advertise their businesses there, while decision-makers at larger companies are more likely found on LinkedIn, Google, YouTube, and Reddit. TikTok isn’t in their current mix due to resource constraints, but brands like Milwaukee Tools are already using influencers — electricians who promote products while going about their daily work. These are vertical influencers specific to an industry, not horizontal influencers. As Beck noted, “Electricians are influencers — they’re just vertical influencers, not horizontal ones.”

Q: What was the breaking news about measuring agentic commerce? A: eMarketer released survey data showing that US enterprise decision-makers rank revenue growth (55%) as their top KPI for agentic commerce, followed by customer satisfaction (48%) and cost per transaction (40%). Andy Hoar called this “wishful thinking,” arguing that most current benefits are in customer satisfaction and productivity, not incremental revenue. He drew a parallel to early e-commerce: companies only wanted to talk about “lift” (incremental revenue) when much of the value was “shift” (moving customers from offline to online channels). “If they’re just focused on lift again, they’re going to run into a world of trouble — the business case won’t play out.”