Hot Topics

2009-10-12

Smarter Retailers are redefining the customer journey

By Errol Denger, Program Director, WebSphere Commerce Strategy, IBM US

The proliferation of new digital mediums, interaction models, and touch points has transformed and fragmented the customer journey. This creates new opportunity for innovative marketers and spells disaster for those that are not prepared.

The New Customer Journey

Customers are embarking on a new journey traversing a complex web of new impression and interaction points. This journey begins long before most companies have the opportunity to deliver their carefully crafted brand messages. Brand awareness is now influenced by new impression formats such as heated community discussions while product discovery is driven by affiliate sites and visual shopping engines where shoppers assemble new looks. The actual shopping process now includes powerful new touch points such as mobile which offers instant access to information and transactions that span multiple channels such as buy on mobile pick up at your closest store.

Thus, the traditional marketing funnel and ecommerce as we know it has been eclipsed by this new paradigm -- an extended web of influence that traverses new interaction mediums and is being executed across numerous touch points.

A New Set of Customer Expectations

This customer journey will continue to fragment and evolve continuously raising customer expectations. Jim McCain, CEO of 1-800Flowers.com has embraced this reality and built his business around it. “Customers seem to change every day. It is their expectation set that has changed which is driven by the technology change”. 1-800-Flowers.com aggressive strategy to leverage technology is continuously enhancing the customer experience with innovations such as an optimized mobile purchasing experience, a transactional Facebook store, and cross channel initiatives like their incredibly successful “Spot A Mom” campaign that was simultaneously executed across all of these mediums.

Changing the way we market, build relationships, and deliver brand value

Today’s successful brand experiences don’t happen by accident, they are carefully planned and executed. Moosejaw Mountaineering knows this better than anyone. “Every customer interaction is a planned marketing event specifically timed and focused on building relationships and differentiating the Moosejaw Brand” says Jeffrey Wolfe, Founder of Moosejaw Mountaineering. “Whether they’re interacting with our Facebook page, receiving an SMS, or visiting our website they will experience a carefully orchestrated brand experience”.

Customers now expect a highly personalized, integrated cross channel brand experience that retains context as customers jump across touch points. The next generation ecommerce platform is designed with this in mind. Precision marketing capabilities now enable marketers to establish rich dialogs with shoppers that span multiple channels. Marketers can finally respond to new interaction behaviors such as rewarding shoppers after they have written their fifth review. E-commerce is no longer a web cart and catalog, but instead, a cross channel customer interaction platform that optimizes every brand touch point and cohesively links them together.

As marketers, we must redefine the way we look at traditional ecommerce and marketing. Our marketing strategies must now focus on optimizing every customer interaction across the new fragmented customer journey.

2009-09-16

Delivering Smarter Commerce

Nya version av IBM Websphere Commerce Server Version 7 "på väg"

Under parollen ”Delivering Smarter Commerce” är nu IBM Software Group på väg att lansera den 7:e utgåvan av sin världsledande e-handelsplattform WebSphere Commerce Server V.7. Precisionsmarknadsföring, optimala kundupplevelser, Cross Channel Process Optimering/Mobil Commerce, pålitligt fundament samt integrerat ecosystem är de fem hörnstenarna i satsningen som kommer att vara en av IBMs största på området.

Starka funktionsförbättringar och prisprestandaförbättringar i det tekniska ramverket i lanseringen gör implementationsinsatserna mindre och förbättrar den totala ägandekostnaden (TCO) för plattformen.

Mars 2008

Nytt Product Center ”Management Center” i IBM WebSphere Commerce V6

Nu lanserar IBM Commerce ett nytt Product Center kallat ”Management Center” till den världsledande e-handelsplattformen IBM WebSphere Commerce.

Sortimentschefer, produktchefer och marknadsföringsansvariga eller andra roller med arbetsuppgifter runt produktinformation har länge ställt krav på att applikationerna inom Internet världen måste förbättras. Detta har gällt användargränssnitt (UI) och att man måste få en mer enhetlig och effektiv hantering av sina vardagliga uppgifter. Det är inte ovanligt, speciellt i mindre och medelstora verksamheter att samma person sköter arbeten för flera roller samtidigt. Att då behöva vandra i lösningar med olika UI och svåradministrerade verktyg har gett påverkat de inblandades effektivitet och produktivitet.

Management Center

Med denna bakgrund lanseras nu Management Center till IBM WebSphere Commerce V6.

Det nya verktyget ger effektivt stöd för följande affärsscenarion:

• Skapa/underhålla Produkter och SKU
• Berika och underhålla produkt content
• Skapa och underhålla kampanjer

Mer tid till kreativitet

Vi på Fiwe tror att det nya verktyget kommer att ge användare mer tid till kreativitet och anpassning för mer viktiga affärsdrivande frågor. Vi tror också IBM Commerce plattformen genom denna lansering kraftigt stärker sin position på en av de viktigaste områdena i produkten.