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To stay competitive in this dynamic market, we have had to make significant strides in operational efficiency and E-commerce Management methodologies over the past few years.
Since Check Commerce launched in 2015, our team has been continuously refining the way we work.
However, new tools, behaviors, and technologies create new paradigms.
We want the entire market to embrace e-commerce, so we have decided to share part of our methodology for building or evaluating an E-commerce Strategy.
In short, it is a simple process that aligns the entire team, management, and suppliers around the same goal: selling more and better. In this 6-article series, we will focus solely on the Strategy component of E-commerce Management, as you will see below.
In this first article, those who already have experience will be able to start applying it immediately. If you do not yet have experience in this area, I recommend reading the other articles in the series before trying to apply it.
What is the methodology?
First, at Check Commerce, we divide the management of an e-commerce business into two main departments:
- E-commerce Management
- Strategy
- Action Plan
- Sales Funnels
- E-commerce Operations
- Logistics
- Customer Service
- Billing
- Payments
How to apply it to your company?
The methodology will not change the way you work today. You can apply the strategy using your current workflow, whether you work alone, with a team, or with an agency. Everyone benefits when thinking together, and the E-commerce Management Canvas is designed for exactly this purpose.
So, let's get to work!
E-commerce Management Canvas
Do not think that quick tips will transform your small online store into a multi-million dollar business.
These are the 5 steps that every online store needs to complete to generate revenue from different channels, minimize risks, maximize media spending, and grow.
Here are the 5 steps:
Possible scenarios for an online store with problems
Where do the 98.4% of users who do not buy go?
If you ran a paid search ad and many users browsed your site for 5 minutes, that is a clear indication of interest. On the other hand, if you do not have acquisition mechanisms, these users will abandon their browsing (98.4% on average), and you will have no way of contacting them to make a sale at a more opportune time.
I do not communicate regularly or create compelling content
Suppose you are generating qualified traffic for your online store and capturing the email addresses of 10% of all new visitors. Even so, if you do not create relationship campaigns or deliver relevant content to these users, they are unlikely to move on to the purchase phase.
If you are not seen, you will not be remembered.
I lose many customers at checkout or in the cart
However, if your store is making few sales despite generating qualified traffic and running effective campaigns, simply encouraging users to return to the store to make purchases is not enough. When it comes time to swipe their card, the rational side will confront the irrational side. Use social proof from other users to show that your store is trustworthy.
My customers do not return, and my emails do not convert
On average, 70% of sales occur only once a year. In contrast, it is difficult to build a sustainable business by buying traffic and guiding users through the entire sales funnel for every transaction. Often, the next purchase depends on small incentives, messages, and benefits for existing customers. You need loyal customers.
Understanding the Canvas
The user journey
You must understand that it is natural to lose users at each stage of the funnel. Not only is it natural, but it is also part of the process, where every message, action, and incentive acts as a filter through which only some users pass to the next stage. Our job here is to help customers move to the next stage of the canvas by creating tactics that influence this journey. In this example, the store has a Conversion Rate of 1.68% and a Retention Rate of 10%, which is above the Brazilian average.
Hot, warm, and cold audiences
It is important to understand the differences between the audiences so that you can take specific actions for each one. The hot audience interacts more, actively searches for the brand, and is more likely to buy.
Meanwhile, the warm audience has purchase potential but requires more targeted and personalized marketing messages to make a purchase.
The cold audience has little interest in your store, but with the right incentives at the right time, they can be warmed up again and make a purchase.
Generating traffic for your store
There are 3 ways to activate your store. The first is through actions that generate Free traffic, meaning direct traffic, organic search, user-generated content, etc.
It is also possible to generate traffic through the store's Relationships with the market and customers, such as social media, influencers, public relations, YouTube channels, etc. Finally, it is also possible to generate Paid traffic using channels such as Google, Facebook, native ads, programmatic media, OOH, etc.
Not all traffic comes from Activation. To make it clearer how to generate traffic, we divide it into 3 categories, for example: traffic you do not control, traffic you control, and traffic you own.
Post-its and tactics
Each column has 3 quadrants (or squares, whichever you prefer), and each one corresponds to a category of actions, tactics, and activities that you and your team can perform to ensure extra revenue at the end of the month.
However, every empty quadrant represents an unexplored opportunity. Use post-its to place your ideas in the canvas within their respective categories. Each idea, or tactic, should be an activity or action, not the final result you expect.
IMPORTANT: If you have a beachwear brand and want to generate organic traffic, do not use a post-it that says “Organic Search.” Describe your tactic or idea for influencing organic search, for example, “Blog post on the best beaches in Brazil.”
The color system improves visibility
By adopting the color system, it will be easier to understand which actions need to be performed next, which actions are producing results, and how the strategy is being executed. It is very common for teams to meet for hours discussing strategy without taking any action. The color system clearly shows what still needs to be done.
Putting it into practice
Print your canvas
Download the E-commerce Management Canvas by clicking on the image below and printing it on paper larger than A3, if possible.
Gather your team or your group
Set aside 2 hours, get plenty of post-its and pens, and meet with your team or colleagues who can contribute ideas. It is time to show everyone the current situation.
Current Situation
The first part of building the Strategy is understanding how your business operates today. You and your team will need to be honest and clearly share what you are currently doing, even if it is very little or nothing at all. Put everything on your canvas.
Self-assessment
In the second part, you will evaluate your Canvas by noting all empty quadrants or those with actions that produce little result. Look at all the possibilities offered by the completed Canvas and identify ideas you can implement in your store.
Strategic Plan
Start by thinking about everything you could do in each of the quadrants:
- Generate more traffic at a lower cost
- Capture more emails and data
- Improve communication
- Make purchasing easier
- Encourage repeat purchases
Place your ideas on post-its and stick them in the respective quadrants where they fit. Here are some examples:
- Hire influencers: Activation > Relationships
- Install the Facebook Pixel: Acquisition > Tracking
- Send offers to our best customers: Engagement > Next Purchase
- Flash sale with a countdown timer: Conversion > Offer
- Collect product feedback: Retention > Shopping Experience
Everything changes, accept it
The strategy is meant to be applied, not discussed and set aside. But know that everything changes, and you will have to constantly adjust your strategy to adapt to market forces. The Canvas helps you understand which actions are working and which should be discontinued to make room for new ones. Review your Canvas regularly and use the color system.
Final considerations
Those with more experience will put it into practice immediately. Beginners will have to wait for the next pieces of content in this series to understand how to create and activate the actions in the strategy.
Over time, and with the continuous application of the methodology with your team, everything will become easier. You will find it easier to communicate internally and standardize marketing terms. It will also be easier to understand whether new ideas, tools, and platforms will add value or simply result in more of the same.
So good luck, and see you in the next article on Activation.
