Business continues to evolve at the speed
of light, and thanks to the internet it’s moving faster than ever. It’s still
possible to buy things from a physical store, but the creation of online
marketplace has made getting the products you want so easy that it threatens
the very existence of brick and mortar stores.
It’s within this context that your company needs the best ecommerce platform supporting your online store, and the best overall billing model that suits your revenue goal. Many ecommerce merchants are adopting the subscription-based approach to online sales so they can enjoy predictable revenue and foster loyalty from their consumer base.
This is a smart play, but it’s important
that your company needs to have a platform behind it that gives them all the
tools to succeed in this complex and quickly evolving ecommerce environment.
Keep reading to learn more about how the right e-commerce platform can help you
scale your online business.
Having Good Analytics Leads to More Sales
For online stores to really grow, they need
to show consumers multiple products that will be of interest to them. Whereas a
sales associate at a physical store can observe the customer and see what
products they’re looking at, the online merchant is wholly reliant on the
underlying algorithm.
Industry leaders like LimeLight make it possible to know which
of your higher-grade or complementary products are really of interest to your
consumers, based on channel data.
The best ecommerce platforms provide you deep
market insights which instantly boost your ROI by helping you understand which
markets to target, so your acquisition spend is net-positive. There should be
bundling options too, so consumers can buy products the way that makes the most
sense for them.
High-level dashboards with advanced
cohorting and segmentation logic help your company understand subscriber trends
such as Recurring Rate and Churn. Having the best tools to understand your
market helps you scale revenue.
Keep Revenue Constant
Having an online subscription-based
business is perfect for getting consistent and predictable sales, but your
backend platform helps in other ways too. The platform should have custom,
exclusive features that actively help retain customers.
For instance, some platforms have an
Account Updater function which proactively keeps customers’ credit card billing
information current. This is vital, as it can improve your rebill
rate by up to 10x the return on investment.
Anytime a customer needs to manually enter
their payment information, they have an opportunity to walk away from the sale.
Any technology that reduces such an opportunity is valuable.
Turn Customers into Brand Advocates
Online subscription-based businesses help
turn customers into brand advocates, essentially marketing your product for
free. Not only are these customers getting a product they need shipped directly
to their door for less than they’d pay in a store, but there’s genuine
excitement upon using the actual product.
Some subscription-based businesses sell boxes of dog toys, for example, and the box’s contents aren’t known until it’s opened. Excited customers tell their friends about the product, and this is how your company gets powerful and free advertising.
Don’t just be determined to sell online: do
it the right way with a subscription-based approach that best meets your
customers needs, and a powerful and smart ecommerce platform that helps your
company navigate the complex and fast-changing waters that is the online retail
market.