Change Management & Customer Adoption: The Real B2B Game Changers with The Crew

In the fast-evolving world of B2B commerce, it’s tempting to believe that digital transformation starts and ends with a sleek eCommerce platform. But as Episode 11 of the B2B eCommerce Association podcast made abundantly clear, the real goal isn’t to “build eCommerce” it’s to build digital tools that make your customers’ jobs easier.

The Shift from eCommerce to Digital Experience

One of the most impactful stories in the episode came from a practitioner whose CEO didn’t believe eCommerce was actually easier for their customers to use. And, surprisingly, he was right. As the conversation unfolded, it became clear that their current digital offering wasn’t designed around the customer’s actual process.

If you work back from first principles, your customer and their job, then the solution may or may not include eCommerce. What matters is making it easier.

That shift in perspective changed everything for that company. Once the CEO saw the vision as creating digital tools tailored to real workflows, not just a website for ordering, the support and resources followed.

Change Management, Customer Adoption, and Product Content: The Real Priorities

The consensus at B2B Online? The most urgent challenges weren’t flashy tech, but foundational ones:

• Change Management: How do we bring the organization along for the ride?
  
• Customer Adoption: Are we building tools customers want to use?
  
• Product Content: Do we have what customers need to make informed buying decisions?
  

The most talked-about topics were change management, customer adoption, and product content, AI was there, but these were top priority.

Product content emerged as a central theme, not just among vendors, but practitioners. From taxonomies to clarity to contextualization, the understanding is growing: you can’t personalize experiences without good data.

Customer & Product Data: The Engines of Personalization

A key insight from the episode was the importance of maturing both your customer and product data models, and aligning them.

When your customer and product data models mature and start interacting, that’s where adoption takes off.

Too often, data sits in silos. CDPs (Customer Data Platforms), built for B2C, often focus on individual users, missing the account-level view essential in B2B. Real personalization in B2B demands understanding the full buying group: procurement, engineers, finance, whoever influences the purchase.

Friction is the Enemy

A theme echoed across voices was that friction kills digital adoption.

Friction is the factor. The online experience has to become less effort than the offline one, or buyers will opt out.

When digital tools aren’t aligned with how buyers actually work across departments, tools, and workflows they abandon them. In B2B, buyers might be juggling 25+ supplier portals. The digital tools that win are the ones that embed themselves into the customer’s world, not force customers to learn a new one.

The Customer Journey Needs an Owner

One of the most compelling calls-to-action was for digital leaders to take ownership of the full customer journey, online and offline.

If you take ownership of the customer journey, you’ll get invited to the table every time. You’ll influence strategy, not just support it.

Many eCommerce teams don’t realize they are sitting on a goldmine of data that could transform how their company serves customers. Becoming a “customer journey owner” elevates your role from technologist to strategic leader.

Where Should eCommerce Sit in the Org?

An often debated question, should eCommerce sit in IT, marketing, or sales? The consensus: it depends on your goals.

• If your goal is system uptime, let IT own it.
  
• If your goal is customer experience, revenue, and strategic differentiation, it belongs in the business.
  

The team that owns digital should be the one aligned to the business outcomes you’re trying to achieve.

Ultimately, digital strategy must be owned by business leaders, cross-functional teams who understand the customer, the brand, and the balance sheet.

Building the Culture B2B Deserves

Beyond platforms and data, Episode 11 left listeners with a powerful message about community and culture. The B2B industry is still early in its digital transformation journey, which means we have a rare chance to shape the culture we want, collaborative, inclusive, and human.

Imagine a community where people aren’t judged by company logos, but by their curiosity, generosity, and contribution to the conversation.

Whether it’s removing name badges at events or focusing on meaningful networking over sales pitches, the opportunity is to build a culture that others want to join and emulate.

Final Takeaway:

Digital transformation in B2B isn’t about eCommerce. It’s about customer enablement.

The companies and careers that will thrive, are those that prioritize customer understanding, cross-functional alignment, and value-driven innovation.

And that starts not with a platform, but with a mindset.