Improved Customer Experiences Make eCommerce Solutions

Every organization with an existing eCommerce strategy is looking for ways to maximize its potential. With “nice-to-haves” being thrown out the window in a time of uncertainty, retailers and brands are prioritizing those investments that can have an immediate impact. Organizations should now require a clear and thorough analysis of the impact of cost savings and revenue generation initiatives weighed against economic outlook, current eCommerce progress, and other tangible and intangible metrics. Calculating an exact return on investment (ROI) is important for organizations looking to both maximize their eCommerce strategies and capitalize on existing resources.

Focused Metrics

“Every action has an equal and opposite reaction” is a staple of motion. Newton’s third law is equally applied to the world of eCommerce, as every backend change you make has an equal impact on customer experience. Taking into account some tangible metrics including expanded assortment, partnership strategies, curation, and automation, yet have a very real impact on how shoppers interact with your site/brand.

Expanded Assortment

In times of economic recession, it’s hard to justify providing more. As margins tighten, customer spending drops and businesses look for ways to stand firm rather than expand, eCommerce has to adopt an opposite reaction. What our ROI calculator looks at, and what many organizations ignore, is sell-through. As you add more items to your site, a majority of eCommerce metrics are bound to improve including sales of your own products. 

Expanded assortment isn’t just about adding 10,000 SKUs to your drop ship or marketplace program, however. Expanded assortment needs to be done the right way with data-influenced product releases. As your data pool expands, and your understanding of your current customer grows, your expanded assortment strategy should look at ways to expand your owned inventory, drop ship model, and marketplace model all at one time. 

With more SKUs targeting your customer demographics, more and more customers will be drawn to your site. This curated expanded assortment is one of the most important intangible metrics. 

Curation

Curation is hands-down the most overlooked aspect of all eCommerce solutions. A curated approach to expanded assortment, rather than a “catch-all” marketplace designed to pit 20,000 low-quality SKUs against one another with no real insight as to how those products perform. Companies like Zalando are actually modifying their assortment because they realize they are diluting their brand. Organizations like Macy’s will have to come to terms with whether such a wide variety of items are really necessary on their eCommerce platform. 

Knowledge is power, and in a down economy, data and efficiency are key. When adopting an eCommerce solution, look for powerful reporting tools that give valuable insights into your top-performing vendors, SKUs, and identify new areas for growth. With a curated assortment, organizations can spend less to acquire new customers as automated onboarding and supplier visibility tools work seamlessly together to create an environment designed for your target demographic. 

The absolute worst-case scenario for organizations is that customers come to your website and search for targeted products with no results. With a curated selection, and secondary and tertiary suppliers waiting to fill supply chain gaps, your customers and target customers can shop freely. These sales open up the opportunity for positive word-of-mouth and an even greater ROI. 

Strategic Partnerships

eCommerce cannot be done in a vacuum. Partnerships with Microsoft, Shipwire, a Ceva Logistics company, Shopify, Salesforce, and more help retailers and brands deliver a great customer experience, supply chain predictability, and access to new and unique products that will differentiate you from your competitors. These partnerships, coupled with a comprehensive eCommerce solution, are often an unregistered part of calculating your ROI. 

If your organization is already exploring eCommerce solutions, partnerships through co-sell marketplaces can provide both dollar-for-dollar relief and alternative financing options. For example, Logicbroker’s partnership with Microsoft as a co-sell incentivized partner means organizations with Microsoft Azure MACC commitments can reduce their overall spending by signing with Logicbroker. This means that companies with an Azure commitment will get relief by adopting an eCommerce solution through the Microsoft Commercial Marketplace.  

Automation

The last focused metric to look at is automation services. When discussing ROI, it’s critical to consider the effects manual operations have on your team not only from a Full-Time Employee (FTE) perspective but also just in terms of the attention given to certain programs. Organizations like Nanit utilized white-glove service to connect with more retailers but discovered that the peace of mind automated systems gave their internal teams a more measurable impact than expected. 

Automated systems provide the clarity retailers, brands, and suppliers need to onboard, scale, and grow at their own pace rather than the speed of hiring. With automated systems in place and FTEs under control, your organization can finally bring on new products, launch new programs, and meet customer demand at true speed-of-market. 

Calculating Real ROI

To help prospects and customers understand the real ROI of their investment, Logicbroker works closely with each organization to gather and analyze validated data from existing customers and industry analysts like Forrester. 

By leveraging this data, Logicbroker is able to provide its clients with a comprehensive understanding of the tangible benefits that can be achieved through the use of any eCommerce platform, not just our own, including increased operational efficiency, reduced costs, and improved customer satisfaction. Additionally, our team of experts works closely with each client to identify and quantify the unique value proposition that their targeted eCommerce solution can provide to their specific business. 

We utilize proprietary calculators and metrics through working sessions that consider all possibilities, including helping influence decisions to build new solutions, migrate to a new platform, or simply do nothing additional. 

Book a Working Session

After nearly a decade of working closely with our customers as their partner, eCommerce provider, and consultant, we hope our ROI calculator can help guide your organization to the correct decision. Understanding the value of SKUs, product development, and cloud-based eCommerce solutions cannot be done in a vacuum. Reach out to a Logicbroker representative today to set up an easy 60-minute working session where we can demonstrate the power of an eCommerce solution built with ROI in mind.