Check Whether Your Business is E-commerce Ready
• 4 min
Hello! I'm Palina, a content specialist at Fively. In my well-penned articles, you can find many exciting things about modern web development and IT business.
Ready to boost sales online? Before taking any steps, read this blog post and decide whether you're prepared for e-commerce.
Among all the dire straits of 2020, e-commerce has become a ray of hope for business since consumers switch to online transactions. According to eMarketer, while total worldwide retail sales declined by 3.0%, retail sales online grew 27.6% for the year. That is prompting us to rethink the opportunities of e-commerce for business in 2021.
source: eMarketer
Now let’s talk about your business. You must have started using a website or even an app. Have you ever wondered whether it’s enough and what else can be done? This article is intended to help you to determine whether it’s time to start looking for an e-commerce development company or it will be perfectly fine if you just maintain the status quo.
Take a Look Around
Before rushing into the technology, look at your competitors and industry as a whole system. Despite the total digitalization trend, some businesses are still strongly tied to offline - so-called labor-intensive industries like caregiving or agriculture. At the same time, some industries are in immediate transition to total e-commerce and if you belong to one of them, you should respond quickly. Therefore, explore what your competitors do and what’s the demand for your products or services online.
Before we start discussing the technical aspects of the e-commerce software, let’s keep in mind that the main business objective is to sell. It sounds clear as a bell but sometimes online customers get distracted by technical stuff and completely forget their intention. Therefore, before introducing any upgrades, make sure it will make the customer journey easier.
Managing Customer Relations
If you use a customer relations management system, you save time and provide high-level customer support. CRM is a powerful tool since it brings together client databases, sales modules, marketing tools, technical support, and organizational management tools for a team. One of the key factors of CRM relevance is access to customer data in real-time. Moreover, the data is always systematized and up-to-date.
CRM is the fastest growing marketing software. You can find server and cloud solutions, web and mobile versions, ready-to-use or custom CRM. If you make it a part of your e-commerce kit, you’ll do half the job.
Customer Support Department Taking a Pass
You may invest tons of money in e-commerce design and development, boost marketing campaigns, and end up with nothing if there are troubles with processing the requests and dealing with complaints. A large staff is often unnecessary when you deploy and adopt an AI chatbot that could handle standard situations and answer immediately.
89% of consumers have switched to a competitor following a poor customer experience. It means that you should have someone focused on that part of the business processes. The larger the turnover becomes, the more responsibility falls on customer service.
Omnichannel Presence
73% of customers use multiple channels while shopping online. Customer journeys are getting more complicated - a client might find an Instagram account, proceed to a website, and place an order within an app. To stay in sight, use all the suitable media platforms and formats. Moreover, all your channels should work cohesively - no one wants to deliver a fragmented experience.
If you already have a physical store, include it in the omnichannel strategy. It perfectly corresponds to the online-to-offline (O2O) commerce principle that underlies home delivery and curbside pickup services - two strategies that can be effective during pandemics.
UX as a Secret Ingredient
User experience is a cornerstone of e-commerce. It takes a customer 50 milliseconds to decide whether to stay on your website/in your app or not. The way you present yourself, position the products, and provide a customer journey means a lot. You can succeed in e-commerce with the help of online store design.
You may think of UX design as a subjective thing or a judgement call. In fact, design and UX lead to greater conversion rates in e-commerce. It may turn out to be your best investment. So, while planning to create a mobile or web solution, allocate a sufficient budget for UX too.
Building E-commerce Solutions That Work
E-commerce expansion is the logical step for a business to take in 2021. It doesn’t mean though that you should jump in at the deep end. Before making any decisions, analyze your business domains, your capability to respond, and your omnipresence for customers. Hire an e-commerce developer to provide technical assistance and connect all the elements into one system.
If you’re not sure what software company to choose, keep in mind that the Fively team would be glad to analyze your project and offer a competitive solution right for your needs. Feel free to contact us!
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