February 22, 2023
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What would the ultimate e-commerce strategy look like?
What would the ultimate e-commerce strategy look like?
Well, the answer depends on which perspective you’re coming from. For most digital marketing teams, the ultimate e-commerce approach comes in one of two forms:
Regardless of which approach you take, for the people who are learning about your business and products, and for existing customers, there’s no such thing as an “ultimate” e-commerce strategy… for them, there’s just your brand and the experience they have when they interact with it.
So, is the customer experience easy? Or is it “branded” – enriched with subtle reminders and hints of all that you represent?
Both perspectives require us, as marketers, to be mindful of how we’re creating personalised experiences on our websites. Balancing an easy experience with brand-focused content means offering a fully optimised online and mobile shopping experience that is personalised. Personalisation can help bridge the gap between simplicity and brand.
The unifying element that can help bridge the gap between ease and experience for brands is personalised marketing. Marketers can deliver easy, personalised e-commerce experiences by analysing what customers viewed, what they have in their cart and even previous in-store purchases. Savvy marketers can take this personalisation one step further by customising marketing content like emails, SMS messages, and even website overlays/widgets to strengthen the brand/consumer relationship.
We must find ways to not only convert customers but also to make that experience for them as delightful as possible. Let’s explore both of these requirements in greater detail, and see how to achieve a great balance where customers are satisfied and you’re converting and retaining a loyal, brand-aware community.
What does an easy customer journey look like? And does making a customer journey “easy” compromise our ability to drive leads and conversions?
The “easy” side of the scale doesn’t rely as much on forging an emotional bond between brand and consumer – in fact, the more cut-and-dry the shopping experience, the better.
Online retailers like Amazon have built their businesses and their reputations upon the delivery of customer journeys that are as easy for the customer and free from barriers that could prevent them from making purchases.
These types of e-commerce sites make the shopping experience quick and easy and require minimal involvement on behalf of the customer.
The Amazon marketplace -- including the innovative “dash button,” Alexa, and auto-subscription feature -- aims to simplify the end user’s shopping experience by making things convenient.
Amazon’s subscription options make it easy for customers to select items they need on a recurring basis. Image Source: Amazon
Intelligent product recommendations are another key characteristic of easy e-commerce experiences.
Amazon’s recommended products – in the above example, via email – help customers to find new and relevant offerings based on their behaviour. Easy online shopping experiences are those that are simple. ThirdLove, a loungewear brand, sends product recommendations via email, too:
Easy shopping experiences leverage predictive marketing techniques like product recommendations to make it simple for customers to find related products. Image Source: ThirdLove
Aside from one logo on its homepage, Nordstrom Rack doesn’t push itself upon visitors, nor does it use emotive tactics. It prioritises “ease” by making it simple to browse with definitive categories. Image Source: Nordstrom Rack
Apple is another example of a brand that, in some instances, focuses on ease. Even though it does put its brand front and centre and is known for its emotional taglines, its product pages are substantially simpler. They aim to communicate factual information as concisely and succinctly as possible.
Additionally, ‘one-click buy now’ options on sites like eBay and Target, as well as newer artificial intelligence (AI) models like Google Home (and Alexa) all make the experience the customer has an easy one. These innovative technologies completely removed the digital platform altogether, deleting even the smallest interaction a consumer has with a brand in favour of the quickest path to purchase.
Overall, characteristics of an easy e-commerce approach might include:
For example, presenting “Frequently Bought Items” or only highlighting a handful of popular selections on a homepage eliminates consumer choice for maximum efficiency.
The benefits of this easy e-commerce model? If something is easy to buy, consumers are more likely to purchase it, thereby creating an easy and efficient shopping experience that increases sales and revenue.
On the other side of the e-commerce coin is the “branded” shopping experience.
This type of digital marketing experience involves a customer becoming immersed in a brand’s essence, values, program, or system. The brand is at the heart and centre of the experience.
There is a connection between the consumer and the brand, which forges a lasting multi-dimensional relationship. This is often a more labour-intensive strategy for these digital marketers in that it requires engaging content, constantly-on communication channels, and creative campaigns.
“Branded” shopping experiences typically:
Innovative luxury brands that are doing these things both online and off. Fashion retailer Rebecca Minkoff, for example, is using “smart mirrors” in its dressing rooms to enable customers to look for other styles and sizes, and even discover new items they may not have considered. They can also use them to order champagne while they peruse. Image source: Rebecca Minkoff via Econsultancy
A five-star branded shopping experience is built around a consumer’s emotions and interactions with a brand… taking time, seeking mindshare, and cultivating an affinity for the brand itself through a coordinated, planned, often extravagant effort.
These experiences contrast the in-and-out easy buying journeys described above. They often involve looking around at multiple items or pages to dive deeply into what a brand can offer.
This digital marketing approach typically takes longer to plan and implement, but the rewards usually extend beyond e-commerce-related metrics (conversion rates, products viewed, etc), impacting other areas like customer lifetime value (CLV), loyalty, and affinity.
The key to delivering a transformative shopping experience is finding a balance of both ease and experience – a happy medium that provides the best of both worlds with limited downfalls.
Doing so requires you to assess your goals. What is your priority? The most common e-commerce strategies aim to achieve one (or more) of the following:
Ultimately, you shouldn’t have to choose between increasing sales and delivering an amazing customer experience. Instead, mix and match elements of both simplicity and ease with the authenticity of the brand to achieve both.
Your website should make it easy for consumers to find what they want, and also must successfully highlight the elements that help set your brand apart from the competition. Doing so will help entice consumers with an easy buying experience while simultaneously forging lasting, 1:1 relationships.
The key is to not let the retail pendulum sway too far from one camp or the other – to deliver a unified approach that works best for your brand. Work to find the balance of ease and experience your customers seek and you will be rewarded not only with happy customers but also their loyalty and repeat business.
While creating an e-commerce strategy around providing ease for the customer does build sales, the interactions and experience also build repeat customers. If you can find a happy medium between these two big-picture strategies, you can deliver on the ultimate consumer journey.
