The e-Commerce landscape is changing by each passing minute, the massive improvements in technology is further fueling its growth. Every day thousands of online shopping stores are being introduced on the web utilizing the ready to deploy e-Commerce applications and tools. Many new businesses are keen to take advantage of these rapidly evolving technologies and interested to leverage the e-Commerce explosion. But merely having an online store is not adequate to succeed in the competitive online marketplace. Your business also needs to consider the following aspects, which are crucial to the success of your business in the e-Commerce space.

• Suitable Mobile Platform
• Robust Sales and Marketing
• Proactive Customer Care
• Delivery and Logistics

Adopting the Mobile Platform

Mobility would play a key role in advancement of e-Commerce. With the advent of Smartphones technology is accessible by people in all walks of life. Mobile using has become a part and parcel of each individual’s life and they are utilizing this technology even for online shopping. Businesses need to provide their end-user with a mobile optimized e-Commerce website and mobile applications, using which the end-user can buy products and make payments. Major businesses such as Amazon and eBay have already created and launched dedicated online shopping applications to provide end-user various personalized options, which would help them find the right products with great convenience. Do you know: In the UK, mobile will account for approximately 24% of retail e-commerce sales this year – Source: eMarketer (2013).

Sales and Marketing

A great sales and marketing team is the engine of an e-Commerce business, they not only help in the growth of business, but also build a great brand. With the rapid advancement in technology, digital marketing has become extremely crucial to businesses across the globe. A sales and marketing strategy without digital marketing is irrelevant in today’s online environment. A very interesting fact, “79% of marketing leads never convert into sales. The lack of lead nurturing is the common cause of this poor performance.” (Source: Marketing Sherpa). The sales and marketing team’s role is not only to push your business across the online media, but ensure that the leads are nurtured with the right campaigns and sales drive, this would help your sales grow drastically. Having a robust sales and marketing teams will not only ensure profits, but a strong brand reputation.

Proactive Customer Care

It plays a very crucial role to gain new customers and retain existing ones. Having an excellent e-commerce infrastructure would basically assist you in selling your products online, but to retain them you need an efficient customer care team. Your business should have a dedicated customer support team that is ever ready to address all the grievances of your consumers. A carefree attitude would result in your business losing precious customer to your competitors. Whereas providing an active customer support would result in consumers addressing their issues right away, this would keep them happy, thus retaining them forever. Donald Porter (VP British Airways) mentioned is right when he quoted “Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.”

Delivery and Logistics

Did you know that 72% of online retailers offered next-day delivery, compared to 68% last year (2013)? That’s a huge improvement isn’t it? You may be successful in developing and deploying a state-of-the-art e-Commerce engine, but what if your logistics and delivery team is unable to meet your customer expectations in terms of delivery? Wouldn’t it be a huge disappointment? Your customers prefer online shopping as it is convenient and goods are delivered timely in front of their doorsteps. Customer expectations are really critical for any online retailer, it not only affects your business, but also your reputation. It is highly recommended to have a strong Delivery and Logistics arm in place, in case your business does not have the necessary resource, it is suggested to outsource the delivery and logistic part to the specialists in the field.

Author

Younus Suleman is involved in various Digital Marketing Initiatives at Evoke Technologies. He is passionate about following new technologies and software trends. Currently, his focussed on emerging trends in digital marketing.