#digitalande-commercesolutions

[brianburell]

Three Tips to Make Your E-Commerce Business Sustainable

E-commerce has exploded over the last year, but with it a large carbon footprint. To stay competitive, companies have to produce more products and faster, but this has come at a cost of the environment. According to their annual sustainability report, SustainAbility found that the rapid expansion of digital commerce during 2020 has had an unprecedented impact on the planet.

While customers might appreciate demand being met, the internet has educated many around the world on the horrors of mass deforestation, global warming, and pollution, leading to a cry for change. In fact, the number of Americans that considered themselves “alarmed” about climate change nearly tripled between 2014 and 2019 according to a study done by The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

Sustainability is not just a reason to keep your customers happy, but a responsibility on your part to minimize the impact your business has on the planet. In this article, we will give you a rundown of what it means to have a sustainable model for your business, as well as three tips on how you can implement eco-friendly changes in your company.

Why Should You Become Eco-Friendly?

Before we get too carried away, let us first peg down what exactly it means to be “sustainable.” While some differ in the lengths they would go to, sustainability generally involves meeting the needs of the present while not sacrificing the needs of future generations. It may not be the most convenient for your business, but the more companies take up these methods, the better off our world will be.

As news about climate change and pollution intensify, a notable amount of consumers—especially Gen Z—expect E-commerce businesses to start making the move to more sustainable operations and products. As a matter of fact, a study by Nielson confirmed that an astounding 81% of global respondents felt strongly that companies should push to be more eco-friendly. Additionally, those who do feel strongly about these issues are not afraid to put their money where their mouth is, with 72% stating that they actively bought more eco-friendly products over the last five years, according to Business News Daily.

Becoming more sustainable can also be beneficial for your business outside of keeping your customers happy. Many small aspects of sustainability can build up over time, easily saving your company thousands a year. For example, beverage company Florida Ice and Farm decided to become water neutral in 2008, and over the next two years achieved a compound annual growth rate of 25%, twice the industry average.

To know more - https://katalysttech.com/blog/three-tips-to-make-your-e-commerce-business-sustainable/

[brianburell]

From Personalization to Purchase: Customizing Your E-Commerce Business

Today it is not enough to just bring your business online, you must also keep a strong connection between you and your customers through excellent use of personalization. An aspect physical stores cannot compete with, customizing the experience for each of your customers will set you apart from the pack in today’s crowded E-commerce landscape.

Why Personalization?

Traditionally in retail stores, you would be greeted by a sales associate upon entering, forming a bond of sorts with you as you go around the store and try on products. Shopping on the internet, however, is a vastly different experience, being more cold, impersonal, and done through a glowing screen in your home.

Personalization is something that we as customers have grown so accustomed to online that we hardly notice it, unless it is absent. In fact, Shopify found that 86% of customers said that that personalization had impacted what they eventually purchased from an E-commerce business.

Additionally, humans apply emotions—consciously and unconsciously—to everything they experience, and this applies to digital commerce too. If someone has a positive experience, a sense of loyalty will emerge, resulting in them likely returning for repeat business.

Steps to Better Personalize Your Business

Naturally, it is nigh impossible to apply that warm human touch over the internet, but the advancement of technology still allows you to reach out to your customers in an inviting way.

With plenty of information data out there like browsing and purchase histories that can help you get a grasp of what customers want so you can make them truly feel like individuals, not just one of your many regulars. Even something as small as knowing a customer’s name is pleasing to 75% of consumers according to Forbes.

Here are some tips on how to personalize your experience for each of your customers:

Your data is your friend

As an owner of an E-commerce business, keeping track of your data should already be second nature to you for managing your monthly costs. However, this can also be applied to your customers to better grasp what they are looking for out of your digital store.

With E-commerce platforms like BigCommerce or Shopify, you can utilize a wealth of customer analytic data, from the web traffic each page gets, the words customers search for, and their personal information. Investing in these services, or a consulting company like Katalyst Technologies, will give you the edge your sales and marketing team will need in the future.

To know more - https://katalysttech.com/blog/from-personalization-to-purchase-customizing-your-e-commerce-business/

[brianburell]

The Rise of Self-Service in E-commerce

With the rise of online shopping and E-commerce in recent years, it was only a matter of time before many businesses moved towards digital commerce. However, the sudden surge of COVID-19 delt a huge blow to brick-and-mortar businesses all over the world and in many cases serving as the final death blow.

Whether they were prepared for it or not, businesses had to make the jump online to survive the pandemic, but while a functioning website with information and a shopping cart is welcome, it is far more necessary to continue your relationship with your customers. Keeping your customers happy and cared for is always vital for a business. It is essential to keep that spirit of customer service alive through proper self-service for your E-commerce company by making the jump to digital.

What Exactly is “Self-Service?”

Before getting carried away with optimizing your customer experience online, it is important to pin down exactly what self-service is in E-commerce. Much like a self-checkout at a grocery store, customer self-service is a system where your business can provide all the help clientele need to browse, purchase, or receive help in regards to the services you provide.

From FAQs, , or online chatbots, customers have taken to this kind of service extremely well over the years. According to Zendesk, 67% of customers would rather go through self-service systems than speak with a company representative.

Why Should You Do It?

The fact that customers are fans of self-service should be enough to give you a push to start or improve your systems, but there are plenty of other perks that will make the jump worthwhile.

For starters, with an easy-to-browse and informative website, customers will keep coming back for return business. Pleasing and intuitive design is not just for looks, as if potential clients can easily find what they want on your webpage and leave without too much trouble, they will likely keep coming back. Even something small like a password reset function can do wonders to help customers stay satisfied with your business. A confusing interface and categorizing will often frustrate them, resulting in them taking their business elsewhere rather than suffering any more with your business.

Proper self-service also includes systems to ensure the customer has their questions and problems taken care of while on your website. With the rise of video and picture guides on the internet, many consumers have given up on dealing with company call centers for smaller issues due to the hassle. Incorporating visual elements and FAQ sections on your website will help keep customers coming to your page to deal with any problems instead of resulting in other organizations cannibalizing your income.

To know more - https://katalysttech.com/blog/the-rise-of-self-service-in-e-commerce/