Keeping up to speed with developments in the e-commerce sector counts as essential knowledge in these times as the industry finds itself supercharged by technological advance, the influence of the pandemic and grand shifts in consumer demand and expectation.
As the centrality of a “customer first” service approach becomes increasingly evident, businesses need to be fully aware of the tools and techniques available to them as they work to secure new opportunities in the emerging digital landscape.
These topics are set to be addressed in an upcoming webinar series hosted by e-commerce agency 18th Digitech, a six-episode interactive event built around the full customer journey through a brand’s e-commerce store that examines how consumers interact with brands both pre- and post-purchase. A panel of leading merchants and digital professionals will be participating in the series, which is being co-sponsored by 18th Digitech, Adobe and StarShipIt and will bring together some of the most successful names in the industry – including presenters from Searchspring, Klaviyo, ClearSale and Yotpo joined by e-commerce professionals from Motorcycle Holdings, Linen House, Thendro and The Party People.
“The series is for everyone who’s thinking about e-commerce,” says 18th Digitech’s Director Tanuj Rastogi, who will be co-hosting the series along with the other panellists. “There are a lot of issues to be discussed that can affect conversions, the mobile user experience and more. Participants will learn how to equip their store with an ongoing communication strategy targeting customers and to develop a long-term relationship with each customer. They will learn how to enhance a customer’s experience of their store, providing them with a positive browsing and checkout experience in order to improve conversions and average order value, followed by communication and customer service strategies to ensure buyer satisfaction with the product or service they have purchased – and turn them into brand enthusiasts and loyal customers.”
Running on the On24 platform, the conversational series will comprise of six 40–45 minute episodes, with each webinar reserving around 10 minutes for users to ask questions to the panel. The discussions cover a spectrum of e-commerce topics, with each episode touching on various pain points in a customer’s journey – from removing frictions in the customer experience across various touchpoints, the importance of search/merchandising and automation in shipping and fulfilment through to the benefits of reviews and user generated content.
“Every episode is built around improving customers’ experience with the different aspects of their e-commerce journey,” explains Rastogi. “I think the audience will appreciate the first episode with Nicholas Kontopoulos from Adobe, where we’re going to talk about the importance of user experience and why this is going to be very, very significant in the future. He is going to share three key take-aways for merchants to be able to implement in their business to improve their conversions and revenue. Then there’s an episode with Dean Salakas, who is one of the pioneers in Australian e-commerce. He’s going to talk about how he has been able to grow his business in a David-versus-Goliath style, and how he survived during the pandemic. Dean is going to share his tips and tricks with the audience, which a lot of merchants are going to find very useful.”
The series is expected to be of particular interest to businesses that are well aware of the importance of building customisation into their e-commerce solutions but may not know where to start. Presenters will be sharing real-life tips and tricks that merchants can implement straightaway. The webinar organisers have placed a particular focus on how the ideas being shared can help participants to improve and grow their businesses, providing straightforward advice that people can use in every episode.
For Rastogi, whose agency generally specialises in working with SMEs to grow their business via Adobe e-commerce as well as other platforms, the webinar series puts a timely spotlight on the extent to which personalisation has become central to contemporary e-commerce practice and how businesses need to respond to encroaching trends in the space.
“I think customers are strongly expecting more individualised service now, especially online,” he says. “What they want is for the business they are dealing with to understand them, to understand their needs and provide them with customised offers and merchandise. They are now used to personalisation of the kind that companies like Netflix are offering, in the sense that Netflix knows what you have watched and what people tend to like, what people who have watched similar series like – and then they generate recommendations based on that. Customers are getting used to it, especially the millennials and Gen Z. They want everything now; they don’t want to spend hours looking for it. Businesses need to be able to respond to those expectations.”
Interested participants can register for the webinar series via this link and add the series to their calendar.
