E-commerce Trends: What To Expect!

Score with social commerce

Use the power of social media! Social networks are and will remain important in the coming year. If you want to reach your customers as quickly as possible, these platforms are particularly suitable for advertising your products and services. Even more, since it has also been possible to shop via social media (keyword: social commerce), you enable your customers to get things done quickly and easily.

Small influencers have a big impact!

Another decisive advantage social networks have in store for your online shop is influencers! In doing so, in 2023, you should rather direct your gaze away from the “big” celebrities towards the “small” influencers. Keywords: micro-influencer campaigns . It can be a significant advantage if you rely on the trustworthiness of influencers with fewer followers. Why? The proximity to their followers now often radiates significantly more seriousness and authenticity.

More satisfaction thanks to instant payment

In 2023, it is worthwhile to deal even more with instant payment to encourage the receipt of order processes. The principle is very simple: if you make the ordering process easier for your customers with uncomplicated order processing, this increases the usability of your online shop and thus ensures greater customer satisfaction. Decisive for this is a fast payment option, e.g., via instant payment. This is a transfer in real-time. The recipient receives the payment in his account in a maximum of 20 seconds. Big advantage: a faster shipping process is promoted!

Go Green!

Would you like a look into the countryside? The topic of sustainability will continue in 2023. Consumers are paying more and more attention to how environmentally conscious a company is and how sustainable its products are. If you are attentive here, you can actively react to the new shopping habits of consumers with the right strategy. The possibilities are numerous, whether it’s climate-neutral shipping, donations to charities, or sustainable products. But be careful; the line between practiced sustainability and clumsy greenwashing is often narrow. If you want to take advantage of this trend, you should be one thing above all else: authentic.

Mobile shopping is an important gateway for e-commerce.

Rely on the availability of your customers! The mobile phone is and will remain an important tool. Keyword: mobile commerce! No matter where your customers are, the mobile phone is always ready to hand and in use. It is advisable to optimize your website for mobile devices and thus simplify the shopping experience for your customers. This trend is subject to growth and is essential for your smart e-commerce strategy.

Immerse yourself in product worlds – with augmented reality.

Another trend in the e-commerce world is “Augmented Reality.” This includes the virtual representation of products in reality. The camera, for example, is useful because it combines analog and digital life. Consumers get a better insight into the advertised product world. This simplifies sometimes time-consuming visits to brick-and-mortar retail. Cosmetics can, e.g., B. tried out, glasses can be tried on, or furniture can be placed on the premises virtually! The desired product is thus tested in advance so that a safe purchase decision is made. This so-called “augmented reality” on your website gives you the advantage of counteracting returns.

Chatbots, yes, please!

At first, contact with them seems strange, but the trend to use them is growing all the time: chatbots. This innovative way of solving consumer problems is constantly growing. The user experience shows that consumers react positively when problems are solved, regardless of whether a bot or a human responds. In addition, a return of products can be counteracted quickly and efficiently.

Better purchase recommendations thanks to AI

The importance of artificial intelligence and its performance is growing every year. Clever algorithms allow customers to be better analyzed. Purchase recommendations are based on this, which in turn can have a beneficial effect on your sales. Because not only the shopping behavior is examined but also factors such as search history or gender are included, the search for products can be fine-tuned even more. Your customers, on the other hand, are happier thanks to the successful shopping experience.

Visual Commerce

In contrast to voice input, where visualization plays a secondary role, the importance of images increases in visual commerce. Numerous online shops market their products by capturing them in attractive images or videos. The upcoming trend is 360-degree product views. Another trend in this area is the optimization of visual search. This enables consumers to find the product they want using photos or screenshots.

Voice Shopping: Shop with Alexa or Siri

Voice search is becoming more and more integrated into everyday life. There is a growing trend towards ordering processes, for example, in ​​groceries or household goods, made only by voice input (so-called voice shopping). With the help of Alexa, Siri, and Co., the visual aspect of your product marketing is supplemented by strong auditory marketing. Although the effort involved in configuring voice search is significantly higher at the beginning, in the long term, there are opportunities to address users in an even more targeted manner.

Value-Based Audience Management

A company or a brand is more efficient in the long term if a base of existing customers is formed. However, more than concentrating on the size and behavior of your target group is required. Therefore, value-based analysis is a good tool for audience research. This focuses on the target group that generates the most value, regardless of their size, to retain the customers who generate the most revenue for the company in the long term.

The exceptional shopping experience in times of global recession

In a difficult economic situation, companies must adapt their offer to the customers’ wishes in a more targeted manner. During a global recession, it is therefore important to offer customers an exceptional shopping experience to buy anything at all. For example, it makes sense to simplify returns procedures, optimize customer service or link online channels with physical stores.

Also Read: Use This eCommerce Advice to Grow Your Online Business

Conclusion

The e-commerce trends for the coming year are promising. In particular, these are technical advances that can increasingly affect the everyday life of your company over time. This includes trends such as social commerce or instant payment, which are becoming increasingly important as they develop. The trends mentioned also provide an overview of various starting points that could be relevant for your company. However, a critical examination of the various trends is advantageous, especially regarding options such as augmented reality or voice shopping. The implementation here is usually much more expensive. Overall, all e-commerce trends for 2023 are a foretaste of the years to come.

The post E-Commerce Trends 2023 – Breaking New Ground appeared first on Web Updates Daily.

Advantages and benefits of ecommerce for SMEs: There has been a constant renewal and digital transformation of companies in recent years. The number of customers who bet on online purchases is increasing, and it is a global market in which any company that can fit into their sales plans should decide to implement their online store. If you don’t know why you should make this decision, learn about some of the benefits of ecommerce for SMEs, and don’t miss out on this opportunity to expand the market and customers of the digital age.

No geographical limit: One of the main advantages for companies with an online store. It uses the entire width and length of the network to achieve sales. Each country’s tax regulations must be considered since this may involve costs or bureaucracy for the client and must be informed. Ecommerce aims to reach the global market. The internationalization and progress of logistics worldwide have given a solution to the fact that you can buy a physical product from another part of the planet and receive it in a few days at your home.

Open 24 hours a day In ecommerce, unlike physical stores, it does not have any time restrictions for its regular operation. Sales are active during all hours and every day of the year. It represents a considerable increase in sales compared to the physical store format.

More comfortable for the customer, some users do not have enough time to make their purchases during business hours so that they can do it without any concern or time limit. Knowing that they would receive their product in the next few days without going to any physical establishment.

Payment Flexibility In e-commerce, it is allowed to unify many of the available payment methods. In this way, payment is facilitated by all digital and traditional means since cash payments can also be made on a cash-on-delivery basis. There are already new forms of payment that have been very well received in online purchases, such as payment with cryptocurrencies or deferring payment until days after receipt, testing, and product conformity.

With more catalogs, the number of products that can be offered to customers is superior to sales systems in physical establishments. The virtual format does not understand linear spaces and corridors. Therefore, the product offer can become unlimited.

Lower costs, unlike a physical site, are considerably lower. Since the costs associated with customer service of store personnel, supplies, or commercial premises; are much smaller. The commercial attention of the physical site has left aside information online for the purchase in that channel or the purchase decision in the local area already being informed. They are this last element of a lower cost for the company and more influential.

Customer loyalty thanks to ecommerce, it is much easier to keep customers online and to be able to offer them an experience to make more purchases again. Having all the customer information better documented than in physical stores provides the possibility of always being in contact with the customer, sending useful and valuable information so as not to lose ourselves as a trusted brand.

Do you need e-commerce? Electronic commerce is an excellent opportunity for SMEs to make themselves known and expand. The European average of online buyers is 69%, increasing in age ranges from 20 to 30 years to almost 90%. It is a growing and continuously renewed market for adaptation to social changes. As seen throughout this post on the benefits of ecommerce for SMEs, this resource will allow us to optimize for higher sales and digital recognition.

Also Read: Use This eCommerce Advice to Grow Your Online Business

The post Benefits Of E-commerce For SMEs appeared first on Web Updates Daily.

Google Panda Content Quality

Launched in 2011, Google Panda is a filter which went through several updates before being integrated into the real-time operation of the algorithm. As Google indexed more and more pages, the firm had to find a way to clean up its index to avoid being invaded by spam. Quality then becomes an important criterion, which must be defined and considered. The main sites in Google’s sights are content farms, content aggregators (legal and illegal), forums and price comparison sites. Penalized, they experience a significant drop in attendance. While the way Google Panda works remains obscure and technical, the direction is obvious. Quality content is favored, the tags used to source the information are valued, and duplicate content is penalized. The product sheets should, therefore, not be neglected.

Google Penguin The Quality Of Net Linking

In 2012, Google launched a new filter, which will also be integrated in real-time, Google Penguin. After cleaning the content with Panda, it is the turn of the links to be screened. Netlinking is essential in an SEO strategy, provided it is relevant. Artificial and poor quality links are now penalized by Google. Unlike Panda, Penguin does not penalize an entire site, does not blocklist it, but directly targets the page concerned. Links bringing nothing to the Internet user via opaque directories, blog comments, or forum interventions are considered poor quality. A good link for Penguin adds value to the user experience. Following the same logic, Google Penguin also fights against over-optimized anchors:

Google Rankbrain Search Intentions

Launched in 2015, Google Rankbrain is now the 3rd criterion for positioning a site, after content and net linking. The goal of the algorithm is to understand the user’s search intent. It was deployed in particular to facilitate voice and conversational searches. As with the previous techniques, machine learning (or automatic learning) is at the heart of this technology. The algorithm understands the purpose of the search and not just the keywords used. The page must contain the request and valuable quality content and related sub-themes. Thus, even if it does not have precisely the key request, a page responding to the same intentions can be well-positioned. Google learns as it searches and does predictive analysis accordingly. Thus, even when the word “buy” is not searched by the user,

Google Pigeon Local SEO

Deployed in 2014 and 2015, Google Pigeon improves search results related to local queries, the most optimized pages will be highlighted. For this, registration with Google My Business is an essential asset. Free, it allows you to reference your company precisely and appear in the Google Maps results in the “local pack”, that is to say, at the top of the results page. For the algorithm to perceive the company’s seriousness, all the information present on the web must be identical. Depending on the sector of activity, registration on sites and social directories such as Yelp, the Yellow Pages or even Trip Advisor is valued by the algorithm on local referencing. Finally, let’s not forget that Google geolocates most of its users.

The post 4 Google Algorithms To Know To Boost An E-commerce Site appeared first on Web Updates Daily.

The traditional tools used until now are no longer enough. They cannot extract the valuable knowledge that hides the large volume of data available today to optimize processes and tasks. This directly influences employees’ day-to-day work and, above all, customer satisfaction.

Advanced Analytics as a Lifeline For The Retail Sector

In the current retail industry, offering the best experience to customers has become the key objective to improve sales and a challenge for retailers. So much so that the success of their businesses depends directly on achieving this goal. This is where the role of data becomes relevant. Data hides valuable knowledge, which can help us make better decisions that directly impact business results. But what data is necessary, and how to extract value from it?

Thanks to advanced analytics and historical data, it is possible to accurately predict the volume of visits that the store will have, forecast sales volume, or optimize operations such as replenishment or customer service. The application of advanced analytics can help us improve the customer experience in all its dimensions, working on each of the main pillars of the retail sector: the store, the product, the employees, and the customer.

The Store

The store is one of the most valuable assets of physical retailers since, together with the employees facing the public, they are the point of differentiation from online retail. Attractiveness to customers seems like an obvious requirement for retailers, but sometimes this is not enough for consumers. They want to find what they are looking for quickly, although they are not close to acquiring other items of interest to them. And how can retailers take advantage of this?

Thanks to data such as the history of visits and customers’ movements within the store, heat maps can be generated that indicate the most visible areas of the establishment. With this information, advanced analytics can create an optimal configuration of the products in the store. For example, on which shelf to place each product and in what way, which products to put next to others to improve cross-selling or their distance or proximity concerning the boxes; always looking to maximize the conversion of each visit.

The Employees

On the way to achieving the best “customer experience,” as we have already explained in other articles, the most valuable asset that the retailer has is the employee. And the employees, together with “the store,” are the other key point of differentiation with e-commerce.

The employee is the visible face of the company in front of the consumer and is the one who, thanks to customer service, can offer a memorable experience to customers. Not to mention that they are the only ones who can convince them to purchase at the key moment of consumer decision. That is why it is essential that store employees’ management and their training are focused on achieving high customer satisfaction.

Emphasize the importance of having an optimal sizing of store personnel. Customers do not like having to wait longer than necessary or not being served due to the lack of employees in the establishment. Properly sizing the store at all times is not easy. Still, if we do it correctly, we can have the indicated number of workers both during peak hours and when there is less influx of customers, optimizing resources and maximizing sales.

But it is not only essential to have the correct number of workers overtime and to plan for the right employees at all times. For example, suppose you want to maximize the number of visits that end in conversion and thus maximize your results. In that case, it is crucial to plan the employees with the highest performance in the peak hours of visits, leaving the rest in less productive hours in sales.

Personnel management solutions that only automate the process of scheduling workers do not consider a prediction of visits by type of client or employee profile, among other variables. In addition to not generating shifts looking to improve the conversion rate and customer satisfaction.

Only those that use advanced analytics and artificial intelligence achieve the main objective: having the right employee in the right place at the right time. Well, they are capable of predicting the volume of visits to each store to adjust the schedules and tasks of each employee with the real needs of the store and its potential and seeking to improve the conversion rate without neglecting employee satisfaction and salary cost.

The Product

Ensuring a good supply of products so as not to lose sales and avoid having surpluses is crucial for saving costs and optimizing results. Often the tools used by retailers do not achieve the main objective, which is to ensure that the right product is present in the right store at the right time. The negative result is excess stock in some stores, stock out in others, and large amounts of surplus at the end of the season. This translates into costs, lost sales opportunities, low profitability, and dissatisfied customers for not finding what they wanted.

To correctly manage inventories and product replenishment, a solution is needed that applies advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to the replenishment process, such as NEXTEL, optimally distributing items between stores to avoid stockouts and maximizing sales and the ratio Of conversation. In addition, these tools automatically review and update the actual stock levels at the point of sale and in the warehouse in real-time, which allows, in the event of low stock of a product in the warehouse, to prioritize its deployment in stores with a greater probability of sale.

The Client

Who better than customers to give us the key to their satisfaction? Knowing what customers want and how they want it will allow retailers to offer it to them in the most optimal and individualized way. Personalization has become one of the main ways to attract customers and offer them the best possible experience. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to know their tastes and preferences through the data they generate during the multiple iterations in the different channels, including the social networks themselves.

Having a repository in which customer interactions and experiences are consolidated in the various channels allows us to have a 360-degree vision that will make it possible to provide exemplary service or products to the customer when they reach us through any point of contact. Thanks to advanced analytics, it is possible to discover trends, consumption patterns, and other insights related to our clients, which encourages the creation of new products and services and guides us towards more effective and efficient operations.

The post How Advanced Analytics Can Improve Operations In The Retail Sector appeared first on Web Updates Daily.

The integration between ecommerce and ERP helps increase sales and reduce costs. “the interaction between ecommerce and ERP drives the reorganization of business processes, but requires that both solutions be designed to be able to do so.” 

In general terms, the integration of ERP software and e-commerce platforms improves accounting management, cash flow, and, of course, the entire business process – inventories, suppliers, sales, warehouse, etc. But, the key question that SMEs that operate in a digital commerce environment should be asked is the following: why does integrating both systems increase the efficiency of processes?

• Avoid the loss of information and the generation of silos. Automating functions in an integrated way minimizes duplication of tasks, reduces the margin of error, and shortens the time spent on studies of little value.
• Allow information to flow freely. For the virtual store to work well, the data must circulate bi-directionally between the ecommerce platform and the ERP.
• Facilitates order management in all its phases by synchronizing information and making the process faster and safer. All information on stocks and replenishment will be online and visible.
• Simplifies the monitoring and control of collections and payments. When placing an order on the ecommerce platform, the information on billing and collection is automatically passed to the ERP. There is no need to re-enter the data manually. Receipts and payments can be tracked and workflows set up, for example, to claim outstanding invoices.
• Optimizes stock management since the ERP updates the availability information in real-time after each order made in the online store. This eliminates the risk of not fulfilling orders due to lack of stock or substantially increasing costs due to accumulating too much inventory.
• Improves customer relationship management. In this sense, if the organization optimizes, supplier management can offer better prices, promotions, and delivery conditions. The relationship is direct: you can sell at higher discounts and broader margins if you control costs. But, the benefits for the customer are even more significant. With connected solutions, your information is always up-to-date and available by operating with a single centralized database. The contacts created in the e-commerce platform are added directly to the ERP customer base. Therefore, it is easy to modify or consult, for example, the purchase history. And, thus, offer a better service. In short, a better knowledge of the customer, better service, and a more detailed follow-up positively impact their shopping experience.
• Also Read: Digital Tools To Manage Your E-commerce

The post Why Is It Key To Integrate E-commerce And ERP In SMEs appeared first on Web Updates Daily.

What Is Cross-Docking

Cross-docking, also known as dock crossing, is a logistics technique that consists of receiving the products sent by a supplier and immediately moving them to a transport vehicle to put them back in distribution to the different consumers or final companies in less than 24 hours.

Through cross-docking, the aim is to minimize the time a product spends in the warehouse, minimize storage costs, and reduce risks to ensure that a package reaches its destination in optimal conditions and its exact period.

This logistics process has become popular thanks to the development of electronic commerce since it is increasingly common for the user to buy their products through a marketplace, where they select items from different suppliers. In this way, the distribution company (Amazon) must receive the products from the manufacturer and send them to the final consumer.

Likewise, cross-docking becomes a vital technique in a context in which this type of entity guarantees delivery in a reduced time, especially for perishable products. The main companies that use this technique are food, pharmacy, and electronic commerce, among others.

Types Of Cross-Docking

Cross-docking can be classified according to the load units with which it is carried out, although the most common distinction is the one made according to the following process. Generally, this usually follows the following steps:

• Scheduling of delivery by suppliers.
• Receipt of the merchandise by the intermediary company.
• Quality control of cargo and its registration.
• Consolidation of orders, preparation, and shipment to the customer.

The types of cross-docking according to the process carried out are:

• Cross-Docking Redistributed: The supplier is in charge of preparing the load units taking into account the final demand. In this mode, the workers of the reception warehouse should only receive the products and send them.
• Consolidated Cross-Docking: The products are sent unprepared, and in the warehouse, they are in charge of conditioning them according to the order made by the consumer.

Benefits Of Cross-Docking

The implementation of this technique in international trade is undoubtedly due to its advantages to the different actors involved in the transaction. Likewise, we can classify the benefits of cross-docking based on how it affects the parties:

• Benefits Of Cross-Docking For Suppliers: This technique allows you to improve the distribution of your products, offering the customer the added value of fast shipping, which will directly affect your reputation. In addition, thanks to cross-docking, storage costs are reduced, giving higher inventory turnover and reducing the obsolescence of products in stock.
• Benefits Of Cross-Docking For The Distribution Company: The speed of this process means that the products spend little time in the intermediary’s warehouse, reducing the possibility of theft or loss.
• Benefits Of Cross-Docking For Consumers: The customer is the one who obtains the most benefits from this method since they receive their orders in less time, in the best conditions, and with an optimal transaction. This is especially important when the products you order are perishable, since thanks to the cross-docking, you will receive them in a minimum time, guaranteeing the storage conditions.

Undoubtedly, cross-docking has brought about a revolution for commerce, changing distribution processes and optimizing the transaction between supplier and customer. All the characteristics of this method are developed in the Superior Degree of International Trade at a distance.

Also Read: The Key Features Of The SD-WAN

The post Cross Docking – The New Trend In The Retail Sector appeared first on Web Updates Daily.

However, taking this step requires the right tools to help us with the basic and daily tasks of our e-commerce. Although each company is different and has different needs, some are essential. In this post, we show you six digital tools to manage your e-commerce successfully. Why Are Digital Tools So Important To Manage Your E-Commerce?

Why Are Digital Tools So Important To Manage Your E-Commerce?

As we have said before, nowadays, more and more businesses choose to leap selling through the Internet. Therefore, those who know how to take advantage of its possibilities have found a very useful way to sell their products, especially now that Internet purchases have increased greatly.

Suppose these companies want to have an effective presence such as e-commerce. In that case, they cannot just keep a corporate page since this will only provide information without the possibility of taking any other action unless we have complementary tools. Fortunately, advances in new technologies have allowed the existence of various systems that allow electronic businesses to improve the user experience, thus positively influencing the sales results of companies.

Also Read: 5 Key Tools Of Digital Workplaces That Guarantee Team Productivity

What Are These Digital Tools To Manage Your E-commerce

Create And Manage Your Website

In e-commerce, the first step we must take is to create our website. It is an essential element through which we display our products and provide information about our company. For this, the best known and most used tool is usually WordPress. This content management system allows you to create a web page and a blog through which you can create articles with different topics related to your product so that they draw attention to your e-commerce and create value for the reader. On the other hand, in addition to the different themes and plugins with which we can touch our website, it allows integration with e-commerce platforms such as Magento or WooCommerce to put our products on sale and keep track of the main tasks of our store.

Manage Your Clients

In addition to our website and our products, it is essential to manage another fundamental pillar of our business: customers. Without them, we would not exist. Therefore, controlling the interactions we have with them to offer them quality care is something we have to bear in mind.

The most used digital tools for this task are CRM ( Customer Relationship Management ). It is a customer management solution that allows us to organize and manage everything related to interaction with our consumers. Thus, it gathers information on each sales process from the first contact with the user to analyze the level of satisfaction. There are countless CRMs, but the most used to manage e-commerce are HubSpot and Shopify.

External Communication

Internal and external communication in the company is always a factor to take into account. If in any business it is an important element, in e-commerce, it acquires a fundamental role. The reason is that consumers do not physically see the product but rather see a representation of it, which is why good customer service is necessary to accompany them during the purchase process and even afterwards to resolve possible doubts and problems that may arise. To do this, offering different communication channels through which customers can contact you will allow you to give your service “an extra” of quality. 

Currently, one of the means to communicate with each other is instant messaging applications. And it is that if we give our clients the possibility of contacting through WhatsApp, chat, email, telephone or even Telegram, and we will be showing them that we want to make things easy for them by adapting to the medium that best suits their needs at that time. The most used tools in these cases are virtual switchboards that include connecting these types of applications to them. An example of it is the Fonvirtual.com virtual switchboard, through which you can manage the contacts that come to you from any medium.

Internal Communication

In addition to your customers, communication with your employees is essential. One of the advantages of e-commerce is that employees can be found anywhere globally since everything happens through the Internet. However, this requires great coordination and a good communication strategy. The most demanded digital tools to manage your e-commerce, in this case, are virtual solutions that include systems such as internal chat and internal video and voice calls over the Internet. If you want to know more about them, you can find more information at this link.

Analyze And Obtain Statistics

Once you have created your page and your e-commerce is active, you will need to know if the content you publish on your website and the strategies you are carrying out are successful. To do this, you will need tools like Google Analytics. Currently, it is one of the most useful in terms of data analysis and metrics. In addition, it is free and will allow you to obtain a global vision of the traffic that your page is having.

Organize Your Tasks And Projects

It may seem that in an e-commerce organization, tools are not necessary. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Precisely because it is something unconventional (in the sense that it is a sector that has been growing in recent years), the organization is a fundamental aspect. Knowing what we have already done in our online store and what remains to be done is essential to meet the expectations of our customers. To do this, tools such as Trello allow us to create cards that we can move between the different columns to know in what state our projects are specifically.

Also Read: 7 Advantages of a Digital Workplace

Conclusion

Having an effective presence on the Internet acquires great relevance, especially if we are talking about e-commerce. As we have just seen, although managing our electronic commerce requires some time, if we have the right tools, we will be able to optimize processes and daily tasks to not become an impossible mission.

As we said before, countless tools can help us make our e-commerce the best in each category. However, it is necessary to be aware that each company is different and that not all have the same objectives. Each system is defined to satisfy a specific need. Although many are adapted to any company, in other cases, this does not happen, so it is necessary to have all the information to know if it is what we require at that precise moment or not.

The post Digital Tools To Manage Your E-commerce appeared first on Web Updates Daily.

E-commerce sales increased dramatically in 2020, and according to McKinsey, only 20% of B2B buyers and sellers hope to return to traditional in-store models. The crisis has proven the importance of diversifying business models and digital income streams. The health crisis has intensified the challenges of the past. Companies must now reinvent themselves, thoroughly analyze their sales channels’ effectiveness, or even consider new ones.

How do B2B companies assess the risks and rewards of diversifying their digital sales channels? Where to start? Which channels to choose from? Ibexa DXP is a digital experience platform that supports B2B companies in transforming their traditional sales models into digital shopping experiences.

Through a free downloadable ebook, Ibexa DXP experts explain that B2B companies should assess their options and focus on the implications of diversifying their digital sales channels. According to them, three digital sales channel options are available to companies: marketplaces, direct digital commerce, and online resellers. Each of these options can provide considerable value depending on the stage of the company’s digitalization.

B2B Marketplaces

Today there are more than three hundred B2B marketplaces. These external sales channels, acting as intermediaries, connect businesses to their customers. This facilitates the entire sales process and, despite the cost of such solutions, the benefits are numerous. In this ebook, Ibexa DXP experts also explain that the long term risk can lie in price erosion and loss of brand authenticity.

However, since marketplaces are very localized, the pressure on brands is less, and they can stand out from the competition more easily. While the products and services of B2B companies with weak branding can be lost in the cloud of offers, market leaders leverage the power of their image and sometimes create their marketplace. As presented in the Ibexa DXP ebook, it is a question of thinking about several elements before deciding to join a marketplace.

For companies without a digital commercial presence and substantial brand value, marketplaces are a considerable asset in accessing the market quickly and efficiently. Marketplaces can also present the opportunity to capture new customers from competing products or solutions. Finally, customers benefit from the coupling of their purchase with other products. According to Ibexa DXP experts, the most effective solution is nonetheless direct digital commerce.

Also read: Digital Skills Of The Managers Will Decide The Success Of The Companies

Direct Digital Commerce

We could define direct digital commerce as exploiting the company’s e-commerce channel to reach an end customer (consumer, company, public body or others). Companies use their website and eventual application to sell their products directly and thus take advantage of their digital maturity. According to Ibexa DXP experts, this direct sales channel offers many opportunities. For some products and business models, this is the best route to market, and the benefits presented in the Ibexa DXP study are numerous.

Direct digital commerce is a massive opportunity for companies with a strong brand image capable of attracting large audiences to digital brand ownership. It also brings total control over pricing, promotions or packaging and enables personalized products and value-added services. A real asset for luxury or high-end product companies offers the best digital approach for advanced and complex pricing and is ideal for customer engagement. To find out more, consult the book of Ibexa DXP, the expert in the digital shopping experience.

Digital Commerce Via A Reseller

The third option presented by the experts at Ibexa DXP is digital commerce through the online reseller. Thanks to this solution, companies do not disrupt the value channel. They can rely on distributors and resellers to sell to their customers on the web – these customers most often being businesses. The objective here is to sell to distributors and provide them with the digital tools to trade.

The Ibexa DXP study explains that most B2B companies with a digital presence sell directly to other companies or networks of resellers and distributors online. Gartner estimates that by 2023, 70% of marketplaces will be open to B2B buyers. What are the advantages and strengths of this option? Ibexa DXP experts explain that this is a more natural extension of selling to intermediaries. Resellers provide additional support and services to their customers, thus making the products more attractive.

The post How To Diversify Your Digital Sales Channels To Support Its Transformation? appeared first on Web Updates Daily.

Why catering to customer service problems should be a priority?

As per research conducted by Loyalty One and Verde Group, dissatisfied customers’ impact varies based on the industry you’re talking about. For instance, it can lead to a potential loss of 11 percent if we’re talking about grocers, whereas it can cause a loss of up to 25 percent if we’re talking about mass retailers. Considering that the e-commerce industry in the US alone is an $861.12 billion industry, you can very well ascertain how important it is to ensure the timely solution of customer service issues. 

Furthermore, when you start focusing on customer service problems, you’re able to identify the pain points in your customer journey. This information allows you to make adjustments to reduce the friction while also providing you with valuable data that can be used for your email or SMS marketing campaigns.

What are the common customer service issues?

The growth of the e-commerce industry has been spectacular. However, it has also altered how people shop, and that has led to customer service challenges. How? The competition is growing, and so are the customers’ expectations. It has become easier than ever to lose your customers if they feel that their expectations aren’t being met.

The goal of ensuring a seamless customer experience even when there are problems is one of the biggest obstacles in customer service. Your customer service problem-solving skills must continue to grow as you adapt to new technologies, tools, and marketing trends, thus ensuring that your company is capable of overcoming the obstacles.
What follows is a list of customer service issues in the e-commerce industry that can negatively affect your customers’ experience. By catering to these customer service challenges, you will offer a great customer experience, thus increasing your sales and maximizing customer retention.

You don’t have an answer to the customer’s query

This is perhaps one of the most common and significant customer service problems. A customer reaches out to your customer service team, and the rep doesn’t have an answer to their query. What should be done? Remember, it is more about what you shouldn’t be doing at this point.
Always ensure that you are not unclear in your response. If you do not have the necessary knowledge to answer the question, refrain from guessing. Admit that it is a difficult question and that you will have to look for the answer. Then ask the customer for some time and guarantee that you’ll contact them back with the answer.
It’s also a good idea to attach some sort of timeline to your response. For instance, ‘I’ll get back to you in thirty minutes regarding the answer to this question.’

You have to transfer the call to another department

There are times when the best approach to helping a customer will involve transferring the call to another person or a different department. This is one of the biggest customer service challenges since it tests the inter-department communication efficiency. Most of the e-commerce companies tend to carry out a ‘blind transfer.’ 

Blind transfer is where you transfer the call to a teammate without ensuring that they are available to take the call. This can lead to the worst possible customer experience. Therefore, customer service in e-commerce should approach this issue cautiously. 

You should start by letting the customer know that the call will be transferred. In the meantime, you should verify along with passing the relevant information to the other teammate, thus ensuring a seamless customer experience.

Failure to understand what your customer wants

Customer service problem solving is primarily correctly identifying what your customer wants. Generally, customers aren’t able to accurately explain what they want, and that’s where the customer service rep must do all in their power to ascertain it quickly and accurately.
You should start by asking the customer to walk you through their issue step-by-step. Ensure that you are taking notes while explaining and asking for details where you deem necessary. If you have time to do so, discussing it with a teammate may help you solve the issue quicker.

Handling angry customers

One of the biggest customer service challenges is dealing with an angry customer. However, you shouldn’t worry because even the best companies get calls from such customers. The best way of dealing with angry customers is to calm them down. Once you’ve managed to calm them down, you can figure out how you can help them with their issue. An effective technique for such customers is known as HEARD technique. It is defined as follows:

H – Hear

E – Empathize

A – Apologize

R – Resolve

D – Diagnose. 

Catering to multiple customers

There will be times when your e-commerce company’s customer service skills are going to be tested. One such situation is when there’s a load on your customer service team, and they are catering to multiple customers simultaneously. This could be happening during a season or in Q4 when people are generally going on an online shopping spree. 

Remember, a customer will always be willing to hold if it means that their issues are being resolved. This gives your customer service rep to listen to another customer. You have to ensure, though, that the hold-time is minimal and that you’re using tools that allow you to prioritize tickets and assign them to relevant people.

Bonus tips – improving your e-commerce customer service
The following are some of the ways that you can enhance your e-commerce customer service:
Use omnichannel marketing – be where your customers are (email, text messages, social media) while following marketing laws!
Focus on growing your company’s customer service skills
Provide as much information as you can – use FAQs, blogs, and product descriptions
Incorporate tools – for example, live chatbot & help desk software

Conclusion

If you want to grow your e-commerce business, you must retain your customers and ensure that you’re attracting new ones as well. What’s the best way to attract new customers? Word of mouth or referrals! How do you ensure this? By consistently providing your customers with an exceptional customer experience. And how do you offer a superb customer experience? By overcoming obstacles in customer service!
In Sam Walton’s words, the goal should be to have an e-commerce customer service that’s legendary!

The post 5 Customer Service Issues That Many E-Commerce Companies Face Daily appeared first on Web Updates Daily.

Greater Customization

One of the best opportunities that electronic commerce offers is the possibility of gathering a rich volume of information about our target audience. This will allow us to know in greater depth the tastes and interests of the users. In this way, we will soon observe greater customization in the products offered by eCommerce, with each person can obtain the same item but with a different design or shape. Likewise, this will also achieve customer loyalty and establish a relationship between brand and consumer in the long term.

Also Read: 6 Factors That Matter the Most in Website Design for an eCommerce Business

Artificial Intelligence And Augmented Reality

There will be an incorporation of artificial intelligence and augmented reality in online stores to provide added value to users about the point discussed above. To take advantage of the intensification of personalization, technology will allow users to observe carefully and with great detail each one of the eCommerce products.

Thus, the realism offered will be so optimal that we will feel that we can even touch the object in question. Also, we can see how the item is on our body, in the case of being clothes or the style that our living room would acquire, in being a piece of furniture. Thanks to this fact, users will have greater security that the chosen product is the correct one and will have more confidence in their purchase decision.

Better User Experience

User experience will be another of the best in the future of electronic commerce due to its importance and its influence in getting the individual to make a conversion finally. For a person to have a positive user experience, they will have to be comfortable while browsing our website, to be able to find the information they want to access quickly, and to be able to carry out any action on the site easily. In this way, brands will show a greater interest in their website’s structure, usability, and peculiarities.

Predominance Of E-commerce

When we talk about e-commerce, we refer to buying through the internet but using a mobile device. It is a reality that the mobile phone has become an essential tool in our lives. Lately, it is the primary means of making inquiries, accessing different web pages, and making purchases. For this reason, it is increasingly essential that online stores are adapted to mobile devices, or even that brands have an app from which users can purchase their products with ease and comfort.

More Efficient Cast

Finally, it should be noted that we will not only observe progress in the eCommerce platforms themselves but also in the characteristics of delivery and shipments, these being much more efficient. In this way, our orders can be received more quickly, and we will know the route that the carrier is taking. Besides, the use of drones to get our packages home to us is an imminent reality to improve delivery services.

As has been observed throughout the article, electronic commerce is advancing at an incredible pace, offering new functionalities that increase the quality of service for users and gain ground on physical or traditional sales. What did you think of this post about the future of electronic commerce? Do you know other characteristics that will mark online shopping in the coming years? Leave us in the comments, and we are looking forward to hearing from you.

The post The Future Of The eCommerce appeared first on Web Updates Daily.