THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
However, some e-commerce businesses have a disparate unified commerce strategy, often caused by a lack of smartphone-friendly browsing. Businesses need the professionals and software to seamlessly commit to investment in smartphone optimisation. Case in point – having the right tools to hand for every e-commerce task Take Toolstream, a B2B supplier of hand tools, power tools and premium workwear that is on the way to becoming Europe’s largest tool distributor, as a case in point for how businesses can deliver a consumer-like e-commerce experience to their customers. Toolstream wanted to make its delivery of tools and workwear faster and realised it needed to deliver an outstanding customer shopping experience that could win and keep customers. For Toolstream, the decision was made to install a CMS to reinvent its back office. They were unable to make even simple content changes on their old platform without developer involvement, which was costing both time and money. Since bringing in a high-quality CMS, however, they have been able to define its user flows, page designs, and styling of every website component to achieve an on-brand digital buying experience. Through its OnTarget Delivery Methodology, which fits transformational IT projects into its functional framework, Columbus helped Toolstream to create a fully responsive e-commerce website – meaning that customers can browse and place orders at any time, from anywhere. Since launching the website, the B2B company has seen an increase in mobile usage and their loyalty scheme has also been well-received by its customers. A win-win CX strategy enabled by a successful digital transformation E-commerce businesses that implement a flexible CMS as part of an effective digital transformation strategy can improve the buyer journey by tailoring and personalising digital customer experiences. Businesses working with a digital consultancy will be empowered to own their content and create personalised experiences that their customers demand. This enables businesses to focus on designing their content around their customers’ expectations and reduce pressure on internal IT systems.
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a third party as even the smallest changes can take time and financial resources to enact, let alone account for webpage redesigns or content optimisation. E-commerce businesses need a CMS that is flexible, grows with their business to deliver improvements over time, and is responsive to market changes. If a product suddenly surges in popularity across the market, or its function changes, businesses need to be able to prioritise it in their product search engines accordingly and update information to reflect this. Instead of having to wait for a developer and potentially losing out on business. 3 Don’t overlook smartphone users – instead, embrace unified commerce strategies to target more customer preferences To create truly unified commerce and improve digital customer experiences, e-commerce businesses need to optimise their website for smartphones. Harnessing smartphone- friendly buying features via a well-designed website and mobile application should be a top priority for retail businesses. This is especially important as the McKinsey Global B2B Pulse survey found the number of buyers using mobile apps to look for detailed specifications, samples, and pricing, more than quadrupled from 2019 to 2022. Additionally, a unified commerce strategy allows e-commerce businesses to understand customer needs across different channels and tailor experiences. Businesses that improve usability and standardise appearance across all devices will help transition in-store customers to online customers, and even create omnichannel customers.
Businesses working with a digital consultancy will be empowered to own their content and create
personalised experiences that their customers demand.
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