There is no reason why mid-size businesses cannot compete with big name brands if they have bags of ambition and a clear vision.
In this age of accessibility mid-size ecommerce companies are in a better position than ever to be able to provide all the features a customer requires; such as enabling sites across desktop, mobile and tablet, and ensuring international reach including language and currency. For a mid-size company this has previously been expensive and unachievable. However, solutions that deliver rapid multi-platform and international roll out, along with a quick return on investment, are helping to make competing with the big boys a very realistic possibility.
Rather than trying to make a product the biggest and best, more ecommerce companies are focused on providing flexibility and cost effectiveness to offer customers the greatest return on investment in the shortest possible time. The process of building an ecommerce site should be kept simple and consultative so clients can focus on their own business.
There are many different elements to consider when building an ecommerce site, with some key basics listed below:
Rapid multi-site and international roll out (including URL, language, currency), all delivered without technical intervention by the customer. This is crucial for businesses that sell internationally; anything less can alienate potential customers.
Future-proof platform: ensure additional functionality can be added incrementally to support scalability and sustainability in changing market conditions. There have been many cases in the past of companies stretching their ecommerce platform beyond its limitations before seeing it crumble.
Shopping cart and secure checkout for anonymous, registered or returning users: some buyers like being able to pay without registering, others want their payment information to be stored for future purchases. Everyone needs to feel their details are secure.
Virtually seamless, multi-platform (i.e. PC, mobile, and tablet) user journeys: the buzzword is ‘omni-channel’. Technology advancements have greatly opened up what is possible in the world of commerce. Any strategy that doesn’t include plans for all platforms is not future-proof.
Marketers empowered to run personalised campaigns and promotions: give your customer’s marketing teams the power to position their brand exactly as they want to
e2x developed RoadRunner, a feature-rich solution for ambitious mid-size businesses, with these key points in mind.
RoadRunner is a fully-functional internationalised enterprise implementation of Oracle ATG Web Commerce, the industry’s leading ecommerce software package, and consultancy delivered at a fixed price.
It enables ecommerce sites to go live within three months, so customers can generate extra revenue that would otherwise be lost during a standard six to twelve month ecommerce build.
