With UK online sales experiencing double-digit growth in January, digital commerce is an increasingly significant revenue stream for many retailers.

Ensuring that websites enable customers to find what they are looking for and easily move from research to purchase has to be a priority for all businesses that sell online.

Getting the Technology Right

A 2014 commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting found that just 32 percent of organisations are on an entirely shared platform between their brand marketing and eCommerce teams. The majority suffer from ‘two-site syndrome,’ in which the online store is run on one platform, separate from the web content management system that controls the main brand site. Brands can’t easily leverage the same content on both portions of the website when they’re stored in separate systems, making the creation of a unified and personalised customer journey difficult. As such, the overall experience for the customers is disjointed, requiring them to visit different parts of the website when they switch from product exploration to the purchasing stage. The integration of web content management and commerce technology can help create a seamless and cohesive digital customer experience.

Content, Commerce, Collaboration

Technology integrations are not the only solution to this conundrum. A large number of organisations have marketing and commerce teams that function independently of each other. Marketing teams primarily use content management systems and care about brand perception, tracking, and increasing engagement between the customer and the brand. Commerce teams are focused on order management systems and platforms to ensure that sales and order processes are working correctly. Retailers need to break down the organisational silos that stand in the way of collaboration between the content and commerce teams. By doing so, they will ensure that these teams work together to create customer-centric experiences that will lead to more successful sites, supplying both the digital engagement and the revenue generation that all brands should be aiming for.

Creating a collaborative content and commerce team makes sense given the changing nature of the customer journey. Consumers now interact with a brand across multiple channels and touchpoints as they research products, compare prices, and ultimately purchase goods and services. However, according to Forrester Consulting, nearly 60 percent of companies state that they have separate marketing and commerce teams. A truly collaborative approach is far from a reality for many organisations.

So how can retailers begin to breakdown the organisational silos that are holding them back, and reorganise to improve the customer experience?

Leadership that bridges the divide

With marketing teams usually reporting to the CMO, and commerce teams reporting to the CIO or COO, there may be a need for a unifying leader who can understand and work with both disciplines. A Chief Digital Officer could be the solution here, with the ability to strike the balance between telling great brand stories while also increasing conversions, average order values, and other brand and commerce metrics.

A single workspace

It may seem a little too simple, but the act of making the commerce and marketing teams share the same workspace could lead to greater collaboration and integration. By allowing each team to see what the other does day to day, both sides should gain a better appreciation for and understanding of what the other does and its importance. Give your teams the tools necessary for them to do their jobs well and create an environment that fosters creativity, collaboration, and success.

Plug your skills gaps

Groups that have always worked separately may need some extra help in coming together, and adding new skills can help that to happen. In a unified content and commerce environment, organisations could consider making the role of UX designer one that works across both disciplines. This role would be similar to a digital visual merchandiser, designing in a way that both attracts customers and maximises sales.

Shared objectives

Merging teams and changing reporting lines will have little impact if marketing and commerce continue to have different objectives, with commerce concentrating on sales, and marketing concentrating on engagement. Ensuring that the metrics being measured are in sync for both teams will provide a shared focus and encourage greater collaborative practices.

Merging content and commerce successfully relies on both teams working collectively and understanding each other’s goals and needs. Combining this with the right integrated technology will create the recipe for retail success.

 

By Emma Acton, Senior Director of Marketing, EMEA & APAC at Acquia. 

 

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