Whose Turn is It? How to be a Successful Power Couple (WOC 2014)
The new power couple - eBulletins · experience, but a highly personalized one, too. ... to support...
Transcript of The new power couple - eBulletins · experience, but a highly personalized one, too. ... to support...
1 The new power couple
The new power couple:Content and commerce take center stage
DEMAND MORE FROM COMMERCE
2 The new power couple
Contents
Meet the new power couple ........................................................................................................ 1
Why you need to integrate content and commerce ................................................................ 7
What you need from technology to deliver on the promise of natively integrated content and commerce ............................................. 10
How contextual commerce can create rich, relevant customer interactions ................... 14
Don't freeze out your customers: Opportunities for cross-selling ....................................... 20
The opportunity: What this new power couple means for you brand ................................ 23
Future-proofing your business: Meeting the commerce challenge ...................................... 25
About Sitecore ................................................................................................................................ 27
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You’re probably tired of hearing how
empowered today’s customers are.
Everyone knows that they’re more mobile,
better informed, and less loyal than ever
before. And they expect brands to deliver
not only a smoother, more seamless shopping
experience, but a highly personalized one, too.
It’s no wonder more than 10% of retail
shopping is done online1 and it’s one reason
why smart retailers have advanced their
technology so much that they can send
an email reminder the day after you leave
an unpurchased item in your cart. Or personalize
promotions according to your buying history.
Much of this is a result of integrating web
content systems with commerce engines,
so that the marketing department that engages
with consumers through digital channels
has visibility into inventories and catalog
information that lives in commerce systems.
The dirty secret of contextual commerce,
however, is that it’s hard. Really hard. Not
only do companies have to overcome siloed
departments and disconnected business
processes, they also have to manually integrate
and align multiple systems and ensure
customer data is managed effectively across
all these systems.
It’s both a data challenge and an operational
challenge. The technicalities of integrating
disparate and diverse data sources, while also
getting the buy-in of numerous business units
with different agendas and goals is a hurdle
that many organizations can’t overcome alone.
1 Internet Retailer
Meet the new power couple...
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As a result, Gleanster research on enterprise
retail organizations found that 63% of all
respondents indicated changing consumer
preferences and channel proliferation were
their top two challenges. And when asked
if their organization had a five-year plan
for addressing these challenges, such as
integrating systems and breaking down siloes,
only 26% of marketers said yes. Additionally,
Gleanster states that “many organizations are
finding it difficult to support the proliferation
of emerging channels with legacy content
management solutions… The average retail
organization deploys 3-5 different technologies
to support multi-channel execution. Digital
channels have evolved faster than enterprise
technology infrastructure can support; even
with incremental investments in
point solutions.”2
Has your business evolved? If you’re up to the challenge, you could reap big rewards…
According to a global independent survey
commissioned by Infosys, almost 80%
of customers are more likely to make
another purchase from brands that provide
targeted, relevant, and personalized offers. 3
Another study divulges that more than 60%
of consumers are willing to share online
information and preferences in return
for a more personalized experience.4
The power couple4 The power couple
2 Gleanster 3 Infosys4 Sitecore
The challenges to overcome
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So if the answer to delighting and
retaining today’s empowered customers
is personalization, why aren’t more brands
delivering it? In our own digital maturity
research, we find that less than 15% are at
a stage in which they’re offering personalized,
contextual experiences.5 The vast majority
of brands may be using content marketing,
marketing automation, and social channels
in addition to their website, but they aren’t
aggregating the data around individual
customer interactions so they know what
to send, to whom, when, and where in a
personalized fashion.
This technology disconnect, where brand-
marketing efforts and insights are segregated
from commerce sites and their data, results
in lost revenue, abandoned carts,
and dissatisfied customers. This “two-site
syndrome” is a symptom of a larger problem,
one that VentureBeat discovered when it found
that 80% of marketers “simply don’t understand
their customers beyond basic demographics.”6
The answer, of course, is personalized commerce—a connection between marketing
departments and their websites, and
merchandising departments and their
product data that is so tightly integrated
that it cures the headaches of manually
joining the two systems.
5 Connect the experience 6 VentureBeat
The opportunity...
The collision of content and
commerce has opened up new
and exciting ways to acquire,
engage, convert and retain
customers, however, without the
right platform in place, it can be
extremely challenging to manage
content across multiple channels
and systems.”
– Is Your Platform Ready for the Content and Commerce Collison? FitForCommerce
“
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In a digital era where 74% of online consumers get frustrated with websites when content appears that has nothing to do with their interests7, it’s time for marketers to think differently about how they personalize the shopping experience, and we’ll show you how.
Why it’s time to natively integrate your content system
with commerce.
How this “new power couple” alleviates your brand’s issues with
managing and leveraging its customer data from multiple touchpoints.
How native integration between content and commerce delivers
big rewards—boosting your customer base and your bottom line.
In this ebook, you’ll learn:
The power couple6 The power couple
7 Janrain
7 The new power couple
Why you need to integrate content and commerce
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While commerce refers directly to the selling
of products online, content is most likely the
driving factor that leads to these transactions.
Both content and commerce are crucial
elements in the shopping journey, yet for
many brands, they are not easily connected.
Marketers are unable to collect data in
the content platform that shows them
each customer’s interaction and shopping
history across multiple channels and devices.
For example, if a customer browses a website
for a new refrigerator, they may be served
a shopping experience from a commerce
platform, so data about what model they’ve
bought and its features is usually siloed
from your WCM platform. Marketers wouldn’t
immediately know which refrigerator filter
would be most appropriate to promote in
a follow-up email or what other accessories
are suitable. The transaction and relationship
ends there, thereby missing vital cross-sell
and up-sell opportunities where the consumer
could have been offered contextually related,
timely products. Worse, that very marketer
could be planning a campaign around
refrigerators and send that consumer an email
promoting the model he or she just purchased.
This is where the power of content combined with commerce becomes apparent.
Wouldn’t you rather work with one platform
that allows you to manage the customer
experience in context, before, during,
and after the sale?
Why you need to integrate content and commerce
Did you know?
Ordering on the go (27%) and
having mobile apps that can
adapt and react to location (25%)
will become key requirements
for consumers over the next
three years.8
8 Sitecore
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Why combine content and commerce?
To personalize the customer experience: By 2017, 89% of marketers expect customer experience to be their primary differentiator.9
To reduce customer churn: 60% of surveyed businesses see personalization as important for improving customer loyalty.10
To boost revenue: 34% of surveyed companies see increased profitability.11
To increase ROI: 40% of surveyed companies have seen increased revenues by focusing on the customer experience over the past 12 months.11
9 Gartner 10 Pricewaterhouse Coopers11 Sitecore
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What you need from technology to deliver on the promise of natively integrated content and commerce
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In order to deliver an effective personalized
commerce experience, you need contextual
intelligence about how your customers are
interacting with your brand before, during,
and after purchase. And this information
can’t live in siloed applications. It needs
to be aggregated so that you have a holistic,
end-to-end view of each individual’s experience
with your brand in a single centralized system.
Data should not just be about a customer’s
demographics—you need to know where
they have browsed, any items they left in their
cart, and whether they purchased on a mobile
phone as a result of clicking through a paid
social campaign, and so on.
Data also needs to be deployed in real time
and encompass all your brand’s commerce
touchpoints. You need to be able to
automatically deliver content across
and between channels—in an omnichannel
manner so that each interaction on one
channel builds on the former channel’s
experience and contributes to the next.
That way, customers can, for instance, begin
a purchase from a social channel on their
mobile, and finish it from an app on their tablet
later that day. Their cross-channel experience
is seamless.
This is where contextual intelligence is integral,as it allows you to know how, when,
and where your customers are consuming
product and web content, ensuring you
market to them based on their current
and previous transactions. That and
omnichannel automation lets you send
a follow-up email that offers discounted
cookware to customers who’ve bought
a new stove.
The power couple11 The power couple
Leveraging contextual intelligence
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Finally, you need a robust content management
platform that allows you to write a product’s
content once and repurpose it across multiple
channels and devices thoughout the customer
journey. With the shared content management
system (CMS) repository, all content across
your range of customer touchpoints is in one
place, and you can preview how it’ll appear
across different devices and buyer types.
Not only are you carrying the same experience
through to purchase and beyond, you’re
serving relevant content along the way
from one repository.
For example, if you add the product content
for a particular pair of boots to your CMS, it
populates that info both on the product page
and at the shopping cart stage. Now that these
are connected, you’re only writing the content
once for both places, keeping the original
content in one place. Instead of having
to replicate content in your CMS, the product
pages, and the tool that serves your commerce
experience, it’s in your smart, natively
integrated commerce and content platform.
You can also add personas and persona-specific
product information into this platform, ensuring
you deliver a critical element of the personalized
shopping experience.
By integrating content with commerce, you gain these capabilities,and by ensuring a native integration between
the two, you rectify the hassles in trying
to connect the information down the line.
The power couple12 The power couple
The power of a content management platform
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This new content and commerce “power
couple” alleviates the burden on IT teams
and gives marketers key insights to market
in context not only before the customer
purchases, but also during and after. Previously,
IT may have been heavily involved in any
changes to product descriptions or promotions
but now more of that power can shift to the
marketer or merchandiser.
With consumers constantly connected to digital channels and more companies exploring hyper-targeted digital marketing,many online retailers are reaching $100 million
in sales just four years after launch.12
While these numbers are impressive, if your
business is failing to invest in personalization
and your contextual marketing ends at purchase,
you’re not helping your customers or giving
them the chance to interact with you again.
The power couple13 The power couple
A significant shift
12 Branch
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How contextual commerce can create rich, relevant customer interactions
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The digital customer experience is paramount to a brand’s success. By using the right platform, one that natively integrates content with commerce, you will get analytics in real time throughout the customer journey (from pre- to post-purchase). These analytics provide you and your team with the background and insights you need to set up targeted messaging. As a result, you can direct your messaging and information to your customers in real time and at the moments of maximum influence—targeting them at the right time with the right message.
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For brands to truly understand the impact
of natively integrating content and commerce,
we’ve created a scenario of a typical online
shopping experience.
Mike, 25, visits your outdoor adventure
company website twice in two days, searching
for hiking boots. As he browses, your web
content management system collects implicit
data from his search history that provides
insights into Mike’s price range, brand
preference, and preferred safety features.
What happens next? Here are two very different marketing strategies and sales outcomes—one based on a business whose content operates separately from commerce, and the other when content and commerce are closely, natively integrated in a single platform…
The power couple16 The power couple
Getting personal: A “before-and-after” shopping experience
12 Branch
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Before tight integration of content and commerce...
• Mike browses for hiking boots on your website.
• Merchandising has a special promotion on scuba diving wetsuits.
• Blind marketer sends a promotional email to Mike for 10% off a wetsuit.
• Mike deletes the email as he has no use for a wetsuit or interest in scuba diving.
• Mike adds a pair of boots to his shopping cart but fails to make the purchase.
• Mike is remarketed to with a free shipping voucher for a wetsuit.
• Mike gets annoyed and frustrated with the irrelevant product promotion.
• Mike deletes the offer and buys boots from a competitor who offers him free shipping.
Result: $0 in purchases and a failed customer experience.
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...after natively integrating content and commerce
• Mike browses for hiking boots on your website.
• Data collected via Mike’s opted-in social media channels reveals he has an interest in hiking.
• Commerce data reveals that Mike purchased a lightweight vest from your website last week.
• Marketing automatically sends Mike an offer for boots, showcasing several pairs, as well as featuring other products typically purchased by first-time hikers.
• Mike adds a pair of boots to his shopping cart but fails to make the purchase.
• Within 24 hours, the system triggers an email to Mike, reminding him of the abandoned cart with a free shipping promotion.
• Mike not only buys the boots, but purchases socks, a flashlight, and a pair of waterproof pants, which were recommended in the earlier offer.
• But the interaction doesn’t end there. Three months after Mike’s purchase, and with the snow season approaching, marketing sends Mike an email, prompting him to waterproof his new boots and providing an offer for thermal hiking gear.
• Marketing follows up with a brochure on “essential winter hiking gear.”
• Mike is impressed and buys snowshoes and poles.
Result: Up to $870 worth of clothing and equipment purchased, thanks to the right platform and your teams’ efforts to set up smart, real-time engagement plans.
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Having such remarkable insight into Mike’s current needs as a customer—and anticipating his future needs—is made possible when a market-leading web content management system is natively integrated with a commerce engine.
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Don’t freeze out your customers: Opportunities for cross-selling
The power couple20 The power couple
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With a natively integrated content and
commerce platform, point-of-sale is only
the middle of the customer journey. You
don't need to stop at selling a customer simply
what they’re looking for—you can anticipate
their needs and offer additional, related
products. For example, once a customer buys
a refrigerator from your website, your content
and commerce platform can process that data
and trigger post-sale follow-up emails and
promotions that relate to their purchase.
Perhaps the customer was also looking at
microwaves while shopping for their refrigerator
but removed the microwave from their cart?
As you gain more knowledge about the customer based on their engagement patterns and activity, you can continue to fine-tune the content you provide.
Six months after their purchase, you could
send the customer a promotion for a discount
on microwaves, and as winter approaches,
a recipe guide on easy-to-reheat soups
and stews.
The power couple21 The power couple
Go beyond point-of-sale
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13 Gartner
Did you know? A 2016 Gartner report reveals13 that:
• 31% of marketers at high-tech providers say digital marketing techniques are fully incorporated into their larger marketing operation.
• 75% of marketers in high-tech own or share profit and loss (P&L) responsibility.
• Of those, 18% said their P&L includes revenue from digital commerce transactions, supporting the increase in digital commerce spending.
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The opportunity: What this new power couple means for your brand
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Natively integrating content with commerce will create more than just exceptional, end-to-end customer experiences—it can result in significant financial gains for your organization.
For most organizations that invest in the
customer experience, of which a seamless
commerce and content experience is key, every
$1 spent on improving it results in a $3 return.
Some organizations are seeing even higher
results; those in the financial services industry
are seeing as high as a $5 return on their
investment.
Almost 80% of organizations say they are achieving benefits, including increased sales, by investing in modern marketing technology14. Being able to efficienctly manage the complementary elements of content and commerce in one, natively integrated platform is an incredible step-change in the way busineses and marketers interact and communicate with consumers. Your marketing team will be empowered, your IT team can focus on more strategic or architectural issues, your business will see big benefits, and, most important, by going beyond the transaction you’re on the road to creating lifelong customers.
Digital commerce is surging, capturing 11% of the digital marketing budget of high-tech providers as marketers become more accountable
for driving results.”
High-Tech Industry Insight: Survey Reveals Marketers’ Focus on Digital Commerce, Gartner 16
The ROI of brands investing in customer experience strategy
• 34% have seen increased profitability14
• 37% have seen improved sales cycles14
• Almost six in ten (58%) organizations have seen increased customer satisfaction over the last 12 months14
• 68% are going to be investing in customer experience management in the coming year14
• Customer experience leaders outperform the market by 35 points.15
14 Sitecore15 Watermark Consulting16 Gartner
“
The big benefits...
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Future-proofing your business: Meeting the commerce challenge
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As customer expectations for a more personalized shopping experience continue to gain momentum, businesses need to rethink and reinvigorate the way they operate, from commerce platforms to marketing, data management to business processes, to meet this challenge head-on. Brands must realize that they need to deliver a customer experience in context and across the customer journey, from initial interest to consideration, purchase, post-sales and long-term loyalty. Where is your business failing along this journey? And what can you do to integrate your data, share insights across your business, and engage customers?
Investing in a combined content and commerce platform puts you in charge of how you manage the customer experience because you gain a complete 360-degree view of how each consumer is interacting with your brand, across
any device and medium, and in real time.
Those organizations that fail to keep pace with this new era of content and commerce technology risk losing customers, money, and the competitive advantage that comes with a data-rich, end-to-end, integrated customer experience.
To learn more about the benefits of integrating your content management platform with commerce, download our ebook, “Revolutionizing the commerce experience: Five key benefits of integrating content and commerce.”
The future of commerce
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About Sitecore
Published 10/2016 © 2016 Sitecore Corporation A/S. All rights reserved. Sitecore® and Own the Experience® are registered trademarks of Sitecore Corporation A/S in the U.S. and other countries. All other brand and product names are the property of their respective owners. This document may not, in whole or in part, be copied, reproduced, translated, or used in any other form without prior written consent from Sitecore. Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Sitecore.
Sitecore is the global leader in experience management software that enables context marketing. The Sitecore® Experience Platform™ manages content, supplies contextual intelligence, and automates communications, at scale. It empowers marketers to deliver content in context of how customers have engaged with their brand, across every channel, in real time. More than 4,600 customers—including American Express, Carnival Cruise Lines, easyJet, and L’Oréal—trust Sitecore for context marketing to deliver the personalized interactions that delight audiences, build loyalty, and drive revenue.
Visit us at sitecore.net.