Blog 4 minutes

Look what you can do with Lookbook

Nathan Dennis
September 15, 2022
Man showing Lookbook concept to two coworkers

Let’s face it: the B2B buying process can have some hiccups.

From customer confusion over what parts to order to costly returns due to order errors, there are countless ways where the B2B customer journey can get bogged down.

Each of those hiccups takes time out of your day, while you work to fix the issue.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could prevent some of those B2B problems from happening in the first place?

The good news is, you can — with an e-commerce feature called Lookbook.

This feature helps buyers easily discover the right products that they need to purchase.

Let’s take a “look” at what you can do with Lookbook.

Look what you can do with Lookbook

    What is Lookbook?

    Lookbook is a content element available on our e-commerce solution, Sana Commerce Cloud.

    Lookbook allows you to upload a photo, diagram, or exploded view to your web store. On this photo or exploded view, you can add clickable buttons that allow customers to view item variants and descriptions, go directly to product pages, or add items to cart.

    null

    Look here: By clicking on the button, we opened a pop-up dedicated to this bench. You can add that bench directly to cart without navigating away from the page!

    Why do I need Lookbook?

    Lookbook is a great way to help customers choose the right product and solve some of the biggest frustrations you may have with B2B e-commerce.

    Say, for example, that you are a company that sells industrial washing machines and their replacement parts. When a washing machine breaks down, your customers will turn to you to order the parts they need to repair their machines.

    There are just a few problems – sometimes they order the wrong parts or don’t know how to find the parts they need.

    Sure, they may have a manual, but it’s hard to flip through the manual, look at the broken washing machine, and make sure that they know exactly which part they need to order.

    With this feature, you can upload an exploded-view diagram of the machine, and add those “hotspots” directly to the parts in the diagram. That way, your customers can click on the exact part they need.

    From there, they can either add to cart or go directly to the product page.

    Thanks to Lookbook, you can reduce customer order errors, speed up efficiency, and improve all-around customer satisfaction.

    How can I use Lookbook?

    There are many great ways you can use Lookbook to increase customer engagement and provide clarity to your buyers.

    Here are three great examples of how you can use Lookbook to elevate your e-commerce experience.

    Use Lookbook for diagrams

     

    exploded view of machine with lookbook hotspots

    As we mentioned earlier, Lookbook is a great way to provide clarity around diagrams.

    With Lookbook, you can upload an image of a diagram or a schematic (sometimes called exploded view), and then create hotspots on various parts in the diagram. These hotspots are linked directly to those parts, and they can be quickly added to the cart by customers, or customers can go directly to the product pages to learn more.

    This reduces the need to flip between a diagram and a catalogue – be it online or on paper. By removing this additional step, you reduce the amount of order errors, ultimately increasing accuracy and improving the buyer journey.

    Use Lookbook for curated furniture displays

    Perhaps you’re a furniture supplier, and you’ve developed an exciting series of “model” rooms and spaces.

    You have a model office, a model living room, and a model backyard patio.

    Each of these rooms has several different pieces of coordinated furniture and accessories.

    With Lookbook, you can upload photos of each of these curated rooms. Then, you can quickly add those clickable hotspots to the furniture, allowing buyers to add items (such as tables, chairs, and couches) directly to the cart.

    No more frustrated searching and visual comparison. With Lookbook, customers know exactly what they’re purchasing.

    Use Lookbook for clothing

    Lookbook also is very useful for simplifying the experience of shopping for clothes.

    We’ve all shopped for clothes online, right? Nearly every article of clothing has a photo of a model, wearing the garment – along with additional pieces of clothing.

    With Lookbook, you can add clickable hotspots to all of those articles of clothing in the image.

    Here’s an example. You have a model wearing an outfit comprised of:

    • Chinos
    • Blue oxford
    • Boat shoes
    • Leather belt
    • Necktie
    • Navy Blazer
    • White pocket square

    By using Lookbook, you can add clickable hotspots to each of those items, allowing your buyers to seamlessly choose their size or variant, or add individual products to their cart. They can pick one item (maybe the tie), or end up selecting the entire outfit!

    Lookbook helps buyers make the right purchase

    At its heart, Lookbook provides clarity. It puts your products in context – be it a diagram or an ecosystem. It’s this context that helps your buyers discover which product they need; by seeing the screw within a parts schematic, they see that it connects to that washer, and therefore needs to be that size.

    This clarity reduces order errors and streamlines the buying process; ultimately improving customer relationships and buyer satisfaction.

    Ready to transform the way you do B2B e-commerce?