Remember what life was like, say, 10 to 15 years ago? Myspace reigned supreme of all social networks (there wasn’t much competition). Most of us carried a Blackberry (forget iMessages, we sent BBMs instead). The World Wide Web had been around for some time, but we hadn’t reached the era of ubiquitous internet. Given this, eCommerce companies faced less competition and competed based on product price or quality – because they could.
Today, we have 4.1 billion active internet users across the globe, and competition is stiff. As a company, you’ve got to provide a top-notch customer experience to remain competitive. The new generation of customers can switch from one merchant to another with a click, and then share their experience – positive or negative – with the rest of the world.
This is where content comes into play
Not just any content, but relevant content, delivered in the right way, at the right place, and at the right time. No matter the industry, or even the size of your company, content plays a critical role in building trust and converting visitors into buyers.
This impact has been felt by retailers, as 81% of shoppers conduct online research before making a big purchase. And the B2B market, in particular, has experienced a shift due to the enhanced online shopping experience that consumers have come to know.
As customer expectations continue to rise, we must counter with better, more relevant content. Generic product descriptions and images are not enough.
The substantial amount of content needed for this superior customer experience requires a solid foundation. With the large quantity of data required to merge content and commerce, many companies seek help with commerce platform implementations. But organizing and structuring data and content in a way that supports the customer journey across all touchpoints is also critical to ensuring a positive experience.
Next-generation commerce
Supporting the customer journey across all touchpoints to deliver a personalized experience throughout – this is where a traditional CMS falls short. Companies are moving to web experience management systems (WEMS) to deliver tailored content across the journey and basing that all on a plethora of data. These evolved platforms are even being used to manage brand and commerce experience through a single tool.
Adobe, our partner, has built a reputation for delivering top-notch customer experiences. And with their acquisition of Magento, Adobe has created the first and only commerce platform to combine both B2B and B2C experiences and integrating the entire customer journey. This marks the beginning of a new era. A single cloud platform that allows us to meet all of our goals.
Download our guide to Deliver an End-to-End Commerce Experience.
