Before we talk about social selling, influencer marketing and Marketplaces to invest in, here are 5 tips to optimize creating and managing your e-commerce site, yes, it also applies if you're thinking about a replatform.
Selling at the click of a mouse and from any device naturally accelerates choices that companies must continually make to transform processes and activities online and offline, because the market and even the competition demands it.
How to keep up? There are many aspects to consider, which is why we want to focus on the processes that are useful to your customers and therefore to your business, not just the technology to be adopted.
It is important to remember that the e-Commerce site alone cannot meet all of your business needs, especially if it is a custom solution that you have to update over time, forcing the company into costly, ongoing, and slow development, if that is even possible.
Open SaaS solutions and composable e-commerce
The Open SaaS solutions, native integrations or with API are the answer to immobility that risks slowing down your goals, because you need flexible and timely answers to focus on business, not technology.
In this regard recently on our blog we have already talked about composable eCommerce, it is not a hype topic, but a new way of thinking about your sales infrastructure.
Think of an e-Commerce site as a puzzle that you must and can integrate with many other vertical features. Asking an e-Commerce to do everything and well is next to impossible, especially when it comes to CRM, logistics, billing.
Working with vertical solutions in their market, seamlessly integrated with your sales platform, frees you to question all processes and functionality if the platform on which you developed them from scratch is outdated and needs to be changed.
Don't start from scratch.
How much does it cost to open an e-commerce site?
A question often asked by entrepreneurs, managers and IT is: how much does it cost to open an e-commerce?
Everybody is looking for definitive and transparent answers, we'll start dissecting them in a moment, but it's important to consider that there's a cost even in not opening an e-commerce site or thinking about a replatform, don't you think?
Not choosing is already a choice.
An e-commerce site not only involves external costs, but also internal costs, which require the effort of your team for example, should not be left out in the analysis phase.
Because while it is true that an e-commerce site
- offers unlimited sales, since it is open 24/7 beyond your office hours
- allows testing of new markets and formulas often faster and cheaper than traditional activities, with real-time analysis and reporting
- reaches a wider audiencea for which you can think of internationalization projects
- also accompanies the sale of physical outlets
- has different operating costs from traditional retail
- allows you to have a direct and personal contact with each user
- optimizes time and transactions
it is also true that it brings new dynamics into play. Let's look at some of them:
- ensuring efficient and scalable customer care to meet potentially growing demand
- create up-to-date and relevant content, leverage automations to streamline the work of all teams
- offer streamlined onboarding to quickly digitize the team
- optimize target audience, to create more conversions for campaigns
- reduce returns to avoid unnecessary costs.
Total cost of ownership (TCO): don't leave out short- and long-term costs as well as hidden ones
When we talk about Total Cost of Ownership (Total Cost of Ownership) for an e-commerce site we refer to all the expenses associated with the purchase for the entire duration of use, short term and long term costs are part of it, plus the hidden or underestimated ones.
The TCO should be analyzed at 3-5 years. Of course, it is not the only element, but it may ease the evaluation process to consider recurring costs, development time, internal management, ease of use, and future integrations.
Start-up costs
The initial costs include audit, architecture construction, and design-related details, up to the development of the website. The training of business teams is also important to manage the back end and all functionality.
There are those of integrations with solutions already in use such as the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), then the installation of external applications that can add specific functionality and have different payment methods.
Recurring costs
This is just the first step in creating a professional online presence that attracts customers and generates sales. Next, let's turn to recurring costs.
Subscription related to software licenses of Open SaaS platforms has positive implications more than on premise. In fact, it relieves your company from site maintenance, upgrades and ensures that everything works properly. Of course, some software frees up additional functionality only when you upgrade.
E-commerce website alone is not enough, promoting products and services through social, SEO, and email marketing is another important step because it improves visibility, conversions, and brand awareness, in fact it is a systematic activity that should not be neglected. That is why marketing and advertising costs are another essential element of TCO.
Next we come to the transaction committees. Check to see if the e-commerce platform you're considering provides them, because with each transaction you'll have to share revenue from your business. If you then add external payment gateways, such as Stripe or PayPal, costs will be added.
Here in our imaginary list we also add the maintenance and support costs which can be made available in various ways, for example on a pay-as-you-go basis or through various channels.
Unforeseen costs
While unexpected costsmay include consulting, contract purchases, or targeted hiring.
The right partner can help you navigate investments, choices, and opportunities. By carefully managing and optimizing all your expenses, you can create a sustainable online storefront that delivers value to your customers and helps you grow.
5 tips you can't overlook for your e-commerce project
We have talked about the total cost of ownership, let's come to the aspects not to be overlooked for a customer centric e-Commerce site.
We often focus on technological tools or cumbersome processes and lose sight of ease of use and management, for agents and users.
Here's what you should not leave out:
- value service. When we talk about service, we are not just referring to price. The e-commerce site must offer value throughout the customer journey: pricing, navigation, purchase, check out, delivery, and follow up.
- direct and personalized contact thanks to data. Direct contact with your users, B2B and B2C, will uncover things you hadn't considered. Customers expect you to get to know them. The e-commerce site must be integrated with CRM to identify targets, optimize audience, customize discounts and communications.
- scalability, a key word for speeding up and relieving teams of manual and repetitive tasks. Automations and artificial intelligence can take your activities to the next level. Your users don't want to repeat themselves and neither do your agents. From administration to sales everyone can work fluidly and connected.
- Sustainability. It is not only the green one that users are increasingly asking for, but also the economic one. Consider not only the external costs for your e-commerce project, but also the internal ones -- such as the effort of your team -- of which you may not have full control.