I recently read that 59% of consumers who have a bad experience online will go elsewhere for their purchase. In the world of click and go, it is easy to see why consumers do not have the patience or the apathy to give your brand a second chance.
My company, ObjectWave, has been engaged in developing ecommerce sites for the past 15 years. In the last six years, it has become a significant portion of our business, the other being mobile development.
As a hands-on CEO, I am involved in all aspects of customer engagement. I experience, first hand, the multiple disciplines that go into creating an ecommerce site. I have the privilege of working with digital strategists, creatives, technologists, and marketers to see an ecommerce site develop from concept to reality. The one discipline I see getting the least amount of attention is digital strategy.
Ecommerce is no longer a nice to have. It is a must have. As our economy continues to evolve into a digital one, who can deny the transformation that companies like Amazon have had on our lives? Companies need to heed attention to their digital world.
Wikipedia defines digital strategy as:
“The process of specifying an organization’s vision, goals, opportunities and related activities in order to maximize the business benefits of digital initiatives to the organization.”
When done properly, you will understand your customer personas, their likes and dislikes, their behavior, and their expectations. It will guide your decisions on everything you do digitally and it will serve your company well for years to come.
With respect to your ecommerce site, if you don’t have a strategy, you’re just building a website and that doesn’t guarantee commerce will follow. Embrace a digital strategy and reap the benefits of everything you do digitally.
ObjectWave is a full-service provider of digital commerce solutions. He can be reached at samc@objectwave.com.
