Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is typically one of the primary drivers when improving performance in digital commerce. However, that’s not everything there is: everything affects conversion, but there needs to be much more than just that to unlock the full potential that lies in the world of online sales.

We think the best way to go about this is to approach the optimization from the full customer journey POV – supported with data and all the best practices we know about selling things online. This is how you’ll be able to materialize all the efforts you make.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the basics of it.

Setting the scene

Competition for customer share of wallets has always been intense, but it has become even more so in the digital age. With more companies being able to reach customers online, the battle for their spending has become fierce.

At the same time, the customers’ expectations are higher every day.

The challenge

For many companies, growing their online revenue is the top priority – and yet many of them fall short in results. There are millions of ways to make a mess with digital commerce, but here are some of the very fundamental reasons why things go awry:

• Many companies simply struggle with providing a seamless and enjoyable online shopping experience. This typically leads to two things being low: 1) customer engagement, and 2) conversion rates. Customers are unlikely to return to a store that provides a poor experience – and may instead turn to a competitor.
  
  
• A mediocre online experience typically results in a high rate of cart abandonment, which causes a significant loss in potential revenue. This is very likely to happen e.g. if something looks shady, and the customer starts to doubt secure transactions or the overall trustworthiness of the service provider.
  
  
• Some companies are just way too slow to adopt new technologies, and/or they are unable to keep pace with customer expectations.

Read more: How brands and companies can optimize digital commerce to increase efficiency, improve customer centricity and drive growth

What causes this?

In our past experiences with many leading brands, we have seen some common traits:

• Digital commerce is often not recognized as a crucial (or even as an actual) part of a business, and when that happens, resources and attention are not allocated to it. This leads to inadequate investments in technology, talent, and processes.
  
  
• There is no clear view of where to focus the efforts in digital commerce, and companies end up applying generic or channel-specific optimization strategies without fully understanding the actual business problems and objectives. This can result in inefficient use of resources and misalignment of efforts with business goals.

The solution lies in shifting priorities and being clear about the accountabilities and decision rights. After that, the simplest way to start improving things is to start addressing these challenges by understanding the baseline of current performance and focusing on what works.

Read more: Why is digital commerce broken, and how should it be fixed?

The secret ingredient to driving change and optimizing revenue growth

A holistic view of the customer journey uncovers potential revenue uplifts and pitfalls. One needs to identify focus areas and realize where and what to optimize in order to create an uplift.

But what is the secret ingredient?

Well, the secret ingredient is that there really is no secret ingredient: but the experience (sometimes also known as the enlightened gut feeling) and knowledge about the best practices together with data will tell where to focus first.

The primary factors driving online sales in our experience are the following:

• Conversion: How to optimize the purchase journey?
• Navigation: How to optimize navigation?
• Merchandising: How to optimize merchandising through the shop?
• Performance: How will we improve site speed?
• Traffic: How to optimize traffic and distribution?

Leverage points from these areas should be prioritized and formalized as a concrete pipeline or roadmap to growth.

We recommend starting smart and experimenting before scaling implementations further. Our recommended approach involves using existing data to make small but valuable improvements in the customer journey, improving the overall digital commerce experience, and guiding future priorities for maximum value and customer satisfaction.

Unlocking value through planning assessments – get started today!

In previous engagements, Costa Commerce's experts have worked with brands and companies to boost their revenue through improvements in the customer journey.

Our experts have estimated the potential revenue increase, and when their suggestions were fully implemented, the impact on sales has been significant. This has not only led to increased revenue but has also driven a change in the way of working that contributes to higher digital maturity and further revenue growth.

We partner with brands and companies to increase their online revenue by focusing on optimization and experimentation through A/B testing and other initiatives. We believe that by investing in the key factors of digital commerce, companies can unlock their full potential.

TL;DR

Point 1) There are many ways to go wrong with online sales, but luckily, there are even more ways to overcome them – and we are experts in that.

Point 2) We can help you by assessing your current state of online sales and identifying its best potential.

This can lead to:

• Strategic plan focusing on conversion rate optimization
• Advisory on investment considerations in digital commerce
• Roadmap planning for accelerated growth
• Blueprint to identify fit-for-purpose capabilities
• Something else you need but none of us knows it yet – let’s find it out!

You in?