Page 14 - BOSS Today Issue 26

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a very poor-looking site! So we functionality as a full site: “If you have to grow their customer order pad, because ordering
are working with templates and just have a mobile app, then it services team in relation to stationery is at the bottom of
palettes that dealers can use.” is simply restricted to what the the number of new clients their priorities, so they want
Other examples of ‘keeping designer thinks should be the they are getting, one answer to get on with it quickly, order
it fresh’ can include having 360 main buttons – which is why could be having a self-service what they’ve had before, and
degree images of printers so it’s ideal for just ordering hotel portal, which is effectively then leave. This means that you
that users can see the number rooms or booking a restaurant.” pushing out that customer don’t really get any added value
of ports it has, as well as hosting So, in order for mobile service function and making it or upsell opportunities on the
online product videos and OP buyers to have the same available on the web. shopping cart.”
manuals. functionality and the same Using this facility, clients The answer is to have a
richness that is available on can track where their orders B2C system that dealers can
2. Exploit Social a full site, dealers’ sites need are – just like Amazon does – or, offer to B2B customers which
Media To Help CSS (Customised Style Sheets), if someone is compiling the is intelligent enough to look
Customers Find You which looks like a mobile app, furniture order, the customer at the mix of product in the
One way that can help a but contains all the content might want to know what stage shopping basket and take
relatively small dealer get to the required, since the data behind the furniture’s at. Clients can that opportunity to suggest
top of those Google searches is the page is intelligent enough also pull down pdf versions of cheaper alternatives to the
linking their site to social media to know what it can consolidate their invoices, or get a page customer (and for which the
(eg Twitter messages, Facebook to display. Explains White, up that allows them to go dealer is going to make more
and LinkedIn etc). “CSS makes it look mobile and make payments online. money). Says White “You need
but actually all it is doing is As White notes, “Effectively, the system itself to have some
3. Make It shrinking the pages but still anything that a dealer would intelligent business logic in
Properly Mobile keeping all of the data behind do with a support desk, the order to be able to offer those
At the BOSS ‘Future Of The it. So while it looks like an app self-service portal will push out, switches. Otherwise dealers
Industry’ conference we heard on a phone, it actually has all so that the customer starts to will just spend weeks and
that 50% of visits to the Tesco the business logic behind it, manage it.” months trying to maintain
site are from a mobile device, so but displayed in a much smaller those associated products.
it is obvious that any dealer site format.” 5. Maximise So it’s important to get good
must be able to accommodate The Basket Size analytics on the site: those will
this. However, as White explains, 4. Do It Yourself As White explains “On a B2B site start to measure and mention,
mobile apps are very restrictive For OP dealers who want to the difficulty a lot of dealers or promote like for like products
as they have very limited data emulate Amazon and sell have is that the same clients that should probably go
and do not offer the same everything, but don’t want to come in and really just fill in an together.”

14 BOSS TODAY | February/March 2015

E-commerce.indd 4 28/01/2015 14:53