Commerce and content

Paige ClarkPaige Clark
Jul 11, 2024

How smarter content supply chains drive B2B purchases

In the world of B2B e-commerce, supply chains are everything. We talk about optimizing logistics, streamlining fulfillment, and getting products to customers quickly. But there's a hidden factor transforming supply chains from the inside out: content. From product descriptions to images, videos, and reviews, the content surrounding your products plays a surprising role in driving purchasing decisions. And at the heart of it all is the content supply chain – the often-overlooked system for creating, managing, and delivering the content that fuels purchases. 

But while most businesses focus on streamlining logistics and fulfillment, there's a hidden bottleneck many overlook: the influence of content in increasing conversions and improving loyalty.  

For Hunter Engineering, a leading manufacturer of automobile service equipment, this intersection was the key to unlocking an 88% surge in leads, 72% boost in traffic, and a 20% rise in monthly orders.  

Learn more: Hunter Engineering boosts leads and traffic with Optimizely 

The power of content in purchasing decisions

In B2B purchasing, decisions are rarely made on a whim. Buyers do their research, comparing products, reading reviews, and weighing options carefully. At every step of the journey, content plays a crucial role. An Optimizely study found that 98% of consumers have been dissuaded from making a purchase due to incomplete or inaccurate content.  

On the flip side, a study by Salsify found that, “...detailed product content is the number 1 reason why 73% of consumers click ‘Buy’.” Rich, detailed product content – think high-quality images, in-depth product descriptions, and customer reviews – builds trust, answers questions, and ultimately, increases sales. 

But creating great content is only half the battle. That content needs to reach buyers where they are, whether that's on your website, their mobile device, or beyond. This is where the content supply chain helps – the end-to-end process, workflows, and tools a business leverages to create, manage, approve and distribute content. A well-oiled content creation process  ensures that relevant, personalized content gets to the right buyers at the right time, fueling purchasing decisions and driving revenue. 

The content-commerce connection

The content supply chain begins with ideation, then moves into an actual request, followed by drafting, editing, and designing. But in today's world, the content supply chain doesn't exist in a vacuum. It's intimately tied to commerce – and that's where things get really interesting.  

Take product descriptions, for example. These aren't just a dry list of features and specs. They're opportunities to tell stories, highlight benefits, and paint a picture of how a product can solve a buyer's problem. And with the rise of AI-powered content tools, businesses can create personalized, relevant product descriptions at scale – then deliver them to buyers across channels, from websites to social media, to email. 

The same goes for images and videos. Rich media gives buyers a deeper look at products, allowing them to visualize how they'll work in real life. And customer reviews? They build trust, provide social proof, and give buyers the confidence to click "buy". 

So how can businesses optimize their content supply chains to drive purchasing decisions and fuel commerce? It starts with centralizing content and streamlining collaboration. Tools like Optimizely's Content Marketing Platform allow teams to ditch manual editing and siloed workflows, collaborating on content in the cloud. Then, with Optimizely’s Commerce, businesses can create site experiences that extend their brand globally and empower non-technical users to curate engaging, content-driven buying experiences. 

The results are staggering. Businesses see surges in leads and traffic, rises in order volume, and a competitive edge in the market. But the impact goes beyond just numbers. By integrating content and commerce, businesses enhance collaboration, boost morale, and set themselves up for global growth. 

The lesson: content fuels commerce

Hunter Engineering’s case study teaches us a valuable lesson: in today's digital-first world, content and commerce aren't just nice-to-haves – they're the backbone of a healthy supply chain. By investing in smarter content production and customized commerce experiences, businesses can streamline their operations, enhance collaboration, and ultimately, drive more revenue. So as you're looking to optimize your content supply chain, don't just focus on logistics; see how a focus on content and commerce can transform your business. 

A buying experience that works harder

Optimizely combines powerful AI with native experimentation to help brands optimize products, pricing, and experiences across B2B and B2C channels so you move quickly from insight to revenue.