It’s undeniable that customers and businesses are getting more and more tech savvy, with the COVID-19 pandemic shining a light on the power of technology, and many industries embracing the opportunities it can provide.
In many ways, this is good news for companies exporting to overseas markets, as their brand’s reputation and accessibility doesn’t have to waver due to a lack of physical presence in the country.
However, as digital spaces are constantly updating and evolving, customers expect businesses to be smarter to keep up with the advancements. Long gone are the days when people only cared about being able to buy their favourite brands online, they now expect personalised and interactive shopping experiences.
This is where Digital Commerce comes in and eCommerce takes a bit of a back seat.
Here we will be telling you all about Digital Commerce, and how your business can embrace it in the current climate when selling overseas.
If you want to discover more about how your company can utilise Digital Commerce, the Department for International Trade are hosting a free, in-person event on the 22nd March on how to scale globally using Digital Commerce to reach a £10m turnover. They will be joined by industry experts who will each provide you with a fresh perspective on the topic. You can register for this event here.
What is Digital Commerce?
To cut out the marketing jargon, Digital Commerce has evolved from eCommerce. Unlike the latter, it is not just about customers being able to purchase a product online, but is the automation of the entire customer journey.
It includes all of the activities that lead to the final sale, from the development of marketing strategies and content, to customer acquisition, retention and the overall customer experience.
It considers the use of multiple devices
Today’s customers are extremely used to accessing information about businesses at the touch of a button, and their journey from discovering the product to making the final purchase is not a one click decision. Many people will use multiple devices to save their favourite items, read reviews, and check out a company’s social media pages for current offers before they buy, and digital commerce encapsulates all of the touchpoints that businesses need to be aware of along the customer buying journey.
Businesses using digital commerce will therefore be considering a wide range of digital platforms and devices in their strategy, including websites, applications, virtual reality and augmented reality. eCommerce on the other hand is often limited to the platforms it is sold on, which might be the company’s own or a third party website.
It focuses is on long term customer engagement
The overarching goal of Digital Commerce is to maximise a customer’s lifetime value (CLV). In other words, how much revenue can be generated from the same customer over the brand’s lifetime. Due to this, it heavily relies on analytics and data to create an engaging and interactive experience for customers.
Data-driven decisions can lead to a better experience for the customer and helps businesses fine tune their services to meet customer expectations. Nowadays, people expect retailers to remember their tastes and preferences, with the ease of buying the product being a given.
Here are a few ways that data is used to enhance CLV:
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Creating a personalised experience – remembering preferences, product recommendations, landing pages
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Artificial Intelligence – advanced analysis for site search optimisation, shopping journey personalisation etc.
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Enterprise marketplaces – bundling services and products from various suppliers together to offer the customer tailored selections
It measures success across multiple KPIs
As the focus of Digital Commerce is to create a seamless experience for customers to keep them coming back, companies will be measuring success based on a variety of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Whilst eCommerce is focused on conversion rates and cost per clicks, businesses who are thinking about their digital commerce strategy should also be taking into consideration things like; how long a customer has spent on the website, the number of visits they make before the purchase, and what content pages they are spending the most time on.
All of this information will provide businesses with key insights about their customers and can help them optimise the user journey.
Why is Digital Commerce important when selling overseas?
If your business has a presence in international markets, the benefit of having a well thought out digital commerce strategy could make the world of difference to the level of loyalty and trust that your customers feel towards your brand.
The Department for International Trade are hosting a free, in-person event on the 22nd March on how to scale globally using Digital Commerce to reach a £10m turnover. They will be joined by industry experts who will each provide you with a fresh perspective on the topic. You can register for this event here.
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