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Talkin' 'bout my generation

April 6, 2010

The questions we hear most from eCommerce CXOs are: what to spend money on, how much, and how to be sure to do it right. We won't insult you by giving cookie-cutter answers. Instead, let's figure out what "generation" of eCommerce your business is and what you should be thinking about to leapfrog the competition.

How to get ahead...

1st Generation: Your website is basically a marketing tool.

Now is the time to jump into the eCommerce pool. Be smart about leveraging the expertise and the solutions out there and you can skip "generations".

2nd Generation: You're selling online but have only basic functionality. You want to grow but are not technically or operationally positioned to handle the increased business.

You're probably doing a lot of manual updating and dual-entry. Your customer is expecting a level of sophistication and performance (new features, bells and whistles) that you currently don't have.
If you do your homework, you can go directly to 4th generation - a sophisticated website that utilizes all the tools available, including social media and mobile commerce.

3rd Generation: You're at the tipping point. You can stay the product-centric, successful website you are or you can up the ante.

You can find relatively easy and quick fixes that can improve efficiencies and/or increase revenue, earning conversion points little by little.
At the same time, assess your current technology to see if it can take you where you need to go. Consider integrating all your components or consolidating on an end-to-end solution with one admin tool.

4th Generation: You're running with the big dogs. But, the competition is nipping at your heels. It takes work and investment to stay out front.

Fill in any gaps with 'surgical' investments in point-solutions and benchmark against best practices and your competition. Don't blindly copy your competition. You can see what they're doing but you can't see if it's working.
Less than 10% of the market is true multi-channel eCommerce and that's where you need to be. Your customer doesn't care about "channels".
Bottom Line: Pull your head out of the weeds of the day-to-day. Thinking tactically will solve today's problem but won't position you for the rapidly-changing future. Look for ways to leap ahead and skip a generation.



Checkout Best Practices

February 16, 2010

Here are three ways to reduce abandonment during checkout. For more best practices, contact us.

  1. Offer the option to use the same address for billing and shipping.



  2. Make payment simple, using drop-downs and simple fields, explanations where needed, plus highly visible icons for payment options and
    security seals.



  3. Use field-level error messaging if possible and write clear non-technical error messages, using action-oriented words.

    4.

Bottom Line: Pay attention to the details and use visual cues. Never give your customer a reason to abandon.
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