If you run a B2B ecommerce site and want to squeeze more value out of each order, upselling during checkout is a tempting play. But B2B buyers aren’t like retail shoppers—they’re on a mission, and they don’t care about “customers also bought” fluff. If you want to do this right, you need the right tools and a smart approach. This guide is for folks who want real-world results from implementing Optimizely recommendations for B2B checkout pages—without wasting time on tactics that sound good but never move the needle.
Why B2B Upselling Is Different (and Harder)
Before you start wiring up buttons and banners, it’s worth pausing for a reality check:
- B2B buyers are busy. They know what they need. They’re not here for impulse buys.
- Procurement rules matter. Many buyers have set budgets, pre-approved product lists, or even contract pricing.
- Order sizes are bigger. The stakes are higher, so a clunky or pushy upsell can blow the whole deal.
In other words, lazy upsell tricks that work on Amazon won’t fly here. But well-placed, relevant recommendations can still boost average order value—if you’re thoughtful about it.
Step 1: Get Your Data House in Order
Optimizely’s recommendations are only as good as the data you feed them. If your product catalog is messy or your customer data is half-baked, you’ll end up suggesting the wrong things to the wrong people.
What to focus on:
- Accurate product data: SKUs, categories, specs, pricing, compatibility info, etc.
- Customer segments: Are your buyers organized by industry, company size, or purchase history?
- Order history: The more complete the purchase records, the smarter your recommendations get.
Pro tip: Don’t try to fix everything at once. Start with your top-selling products or biggest buyer segments. Clean that data up first—otherwise, you’ll never launch.
What to ignore: Fancy personalization tags or “AI enrichment” if your basics aren’t solid. Garbage in, garbage out.
Step 2: Decide Where Recommendations Make Sense
Just because Optimizely can inject recommendations anywhere doesn’t mean you should. There’s a fine line between helpful and annoying, especially at checkout.
Where upsells can work:
- Cart page: Right before checkout, suggesting add-ons or upgraded versions.
- Shipping/Review step: Offering expedited shipping, bulk discounts, or related services.
- Post-purchase: After the order is confirmed, recommend training, support, or replenishment items.
Where to skip recommendations:
- Login or account pages: Buyers are focused on getting in, not buying more.
- Payment step: Don’t distract when someone is entering sensitive info.
Honest take: In B2B, less is more. One well-placed recommendation usually beats a carousel of random products.
Step 3: Configure Optimizely’s Recommendation Engine
Now for the nuts and bolts. Optimizely’s recommendation tools are pretty flexible, but they’re not magic. You’ll need to put in some time to set them up right.
Key steps:
- Integrate your product catalog: Use Optimizely’s API or feed uploader to sync your products, categories, and attributes.
- Define your audience segments: Are you upselling to everyone, or just specific industries or account types?
- Pick the right recommendation types: For B2B, “Frequently bought together” or “Recommended upgrades” tend to work better than “You might also like.”
- Set up business rules: Limit which products can be shown together, respect contract pricing, filter out out-of-stock items, etc.
- Design the display: Keep it clean—show specs, pricing, and a clear call-to-action. Avoid clutter.
What works:
- Showing compatible accessories or bulk options for items already in the cart.
- Upselling to a higher-tier product that matches the buyer’s typical order size.
What doesn’t:
- Generic “popular products” lists.
- Pushing unrelated items just to fill space.
Step 4: Test (and Don’t Trust the Defaults)
This is where most teams get lazy. They turn on Optimizely, pick the default template, and hope the numbers go up. Don’t do this.
Here’s what you should actually test:
- Placement: Does the upsell work better before or after the shipping step?
- Wording: Is “Upgrade to Pro” more effective than “Add advanced features”?
- Number of recommendations: One strong suggestion usually beats three weak ones.
- Design: Try a simple button vs. a detailed product card.
Set up A/B tests in Optimizely for these variables. Don’t fall for “best practices”—every B2B audience is different.
Pro tip: Watch your conversion rates, but also track cart abandonment and negative feedback. If upsells annoy buyers, pull back.
Step 5: Measure What Matters
You’re not aiming for more clicks, you’re aiming for more revenue (or margin, or whatever your boss actually cares about). Be honest about what’s working.
Metrics to track:
- Uplift in average order value (AOV).
- Incremental revenue from recommended products.
- Impact on checkout completion rate.
- Customer feedback or complaints.
If upsells are adding a few extra bucks per order but tanking your conversion rate, it’s not worth it.
What to ignore: Vanity metrics like “impressions” or “recommendation clicks.” If they don’t lead to real sales, who cares?
Step 6: Keep It Compliant (and Not Annoying)
B2B buyers often have internal rules—approved vendors, contract pricing, restricted SKUs, etc. If your recommendations ignore these, you’ll frustrate buyers and maybe even violate agreements.
Checklist:
- Only suggest products the buyer is allowed to purchase.
- Respect custom pricing or negotiated discounts.
- Hide out-of-stock or discontinued items.
- Make it easy to decline or remove upsells—no tricks.
Honest take: If your upsells create extra work for the buyer (like needing additional approvals), you’ll lose trust. Keep it simple and above board.
What to Watch Out For
- Overpersonalization: B2B buyers want relevance, not “Hi Bob, we picked this just for you!” Stick to practical suggestions.
- Mobile experience: If your checkout is used on tablets or phones, make sure recommendations don’t break the flow.
- Integration headaches: Syncing data between your ecommerce platform, Optimizely, and back-office systems can be ugly. Budget time for this.
- False positives: If your rules are too loose, you’ll recommend weird combos (e.g., industrial solvents with office snacks). Always sanity-check your output.
A Quick Word on Hype
Optimizely’s recommendations engine is solid, but it won’t magically fix a bad product catalog or force uninterested buyers to add more to their cart. Don’t expect a silver bullet. Smart upselling is about small, incremental wins—nothing flashy.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Annoy Buyers
Upselling in B2B checkout flows is a balancing act between helping buyers and staying out of their way. Use Optimizely’s tools to surface relevant, useful recommendations—but keep things simple. Start with your cleanest data, test placements and wording, and measure real outcomes. Most importantly: listen to your buyers. If they’re happy and your revenue goes up, you’re doing it right. If not, dial it back and try something else.
Don’t overthink it. Launch, learn, and keep tweaking. That’s how the best B2B teams win.