You know a conference is going to be a good when you start gathering insights while waiting in line to register.  Here is the story.

I identify myself to the fellow in front of me in the registration line as a show blogger and ask what brought him to the event.  He volunteers the following:

(1) He’s from a very large CPG firm ($6 Billion in revenues)

(2) From a B2B division that sells via catalog and increasingly through well-known office supply retailers

(3) Who are now asking for more engagement to support sales on the web

This was a brave new world to him, or in his words: “I don’t know what I am supposed to know so I am hoping to learn that here.”

Observation

While basically familiar with how to deconstruct the B2B catalog and in-store shopping experience, he was unfamiliar with how to make sense of what goes on in a web sale.

Analysis

1. The CPG firm is best practice leader in gathering consumer insights. For many reasons, the market research organization is not engaged, is this a lost opportunity?

2. Chances are, these retailers are somewhat aware of the knowledge gaps in this channel. Is it in their benefit to share web merchandising and promotion knowhow?

The bell curve of industry adoption is merchandise and category dependent.  We started with books and music, CPG, as a retail category is part of the fat-middle and tail end of the curve. CPG products are being sold in non-food channels – Is there a big enough audience of B2B brands now selling B2C to justify new services from Shop.Org and/or special attention to those in the education business.

Perhaps the more important takeaway is this: In a growing industry, folks may not have the cycles to support and more importantly empathize with the new beginners – those on the back end of the bell curve. Helping this group learn how to create a business case for web selling may be low hanging fruit – check your business cards for outliers and don’t just hand them off to your telemarketers as a “c” level opportunity.