Digital transformations can help you gain market share and future proof your business.
If market growth is a good indication of when to enter the ecommerce market, your timing never looked better.
Retail giant Target’s online sales crossed $16B in 2020, with store pickup growing 70% and curbside pickup growing 600% year over year. Pepsi Co launched two ecommerce sites in 30 days with Snacks.com and PantryShop.com with a DTC approach to deliver consumers their favorite products on the right platform, in the right place at the right time.
Clients are ready to purchase your products, are you ready to cash in on commerce solutions?
Digital Commerce 360 Research shows an ecommerce platform is the top budget priority for 100 B2B and B2C executives surveyed in their key findings of 2021 Ecommerce Platforms Report. And most of those B2C retailers and B2B sellers are increasing their technology spending with at least a 15% increase or more, and it’s easy to see why.
Reap Revenue When You Meet Customers Where They Are
The mantra of ecommerce digital marketing is whenever, wherever, however. Building a foundation that scales to meet customers wherever they are will be crucial to your success. And supply and distribution chains are well prepared to integrate into your ecommerce sales venture. Consider these ways to gain market share and future proof your business when standing up or optimizing your ecommerce site.
1) Realize cost savings by future-proofing your organization with a digital transformation: The global pandemic accelerated digital adoption as a survival tactic. B2B/B2C buying habits are changing, so if you are not expanding your digital footprint now, make plans to meet modern buyer needs, who prefer personalized experiences through streamlined, digital channels. If you lag behind the digital curve, you miss out on reaching your best audiences and revenue. By embracing a digital transformation and leveraging digital marketing, user experience, and new payment options, you can future-proof your business to withstand any unplanned market changes.
Success story: FedEx, known as a top trusted B2B company, created numerous resources for small business owners during the global pandemic, including templates for COVID signage, shipping discounts, expert advice, and best practices. The company moved beyond just shipping to provide resources and guidance for new challenges of small businesses. Already poised for ecommerce growth, it was easy for FedEx to provide ample partner resources and support for small businesses, which provided value and increased customer loyalty and sales.
2) Add new digital channels to your ecommerce platform and scale your business faster: When you have the right omnichannel ecommerce capabilities in place, you can personalize offers to your customers targeting customers online, right where they are. With new omnichannels, you can increase engagement and conversion rates and grow your online sales and revenue. You can also improve your customer’s lifetime value, reach new customer segments, increase operational efficiency and improve your inventory turnover.
Success story: Burton Snowboards, a snowboarding gear, and apparel manufacturer, changed their business from almost exclusively wholesale to a mix that also included DTC. The company launched its digital transformation to become a consumer-centric, digital-first retailer of the future. This multi-cloud integration allowed Burton to gain a 360-degree view of the consumer across commerce, service, and marketing, enabling them to deliver a more sophisticated cross-channel and customer-driven service experience. This digital transformation allowed them to increase productivity, which set the stage for personalizing their communications, ultimately enabling 350 to 400 daily online orders.
3) Capture more market share and improve margins and retention by improving your customer’s journey: Create a competitive advantage by delivering a high-quality customer experience online, which will increase retention and improve your margins. You don’t need to be restricted by geography or your distributors’ reach when they market and sell their products DTC online. Now you can sell to the fastest-growing markets with your most desirable customer segments, allowing you to go global overnight.
Success story: Retailer Berluti, one of the oldest shoemakers in Paris, wanted to gain a global ecommerce presence that delivered the same high-quality customer experience online as in their store with custom-made products and white-glove service. As part of their global implementation, Berluti partnered with a trusted systems integrator to create eight transitional websites; 11 non-transactional websites in five different languages in five months to leverage online and in-store customer data from one location. Using a multi-cloud strategy, they had complete customer profiles with the right tools for expectational customer service and centralized data for personalized marketing, capturing more market share in new regions, improving margins and customer retention.
Scale and Grow Revenue Fast with Technology Partners
Research from MuleSoft “The State of Business and IT Innovation” explains only 37% of organizations have the skills and tech to keep pace with increasing digital projects. Whether you are launching a new ecommerce site for the first time or need to optimize your current technology, consider partnering with an experienced systems integrator to help you navigate the challenges and opportunities as you accelerate your digital initiatives.
You’ll need a best-in-class global ecommerce solution built for growth, enabling you to have a connected commerce solution with a 360-degree view of your customers. For rapid deployment of your ecommerce ecosystem to increase sales, consider OSF Digital and Digital River for a complete and fully integrated customized solution designed for scale and accelerated for global expansion.
