Choosing the Right B2B Ecommerce Technology Platform for Your Business

With so many easy-to-use B2B e-commerce platforms out there, it has become more and more difficult to decide which one to choose.Selecting the correct medium for your business can affect how well you can survive on top of updates and content as well as avoid missing out on potential clients due to usability issues.In most cases, by simply plugging in your logo and some content, an entire solution can be created, instead of taking a more traditional development approach.Depending on which B2B e-commerce platform is picked by you, this decision can make a world of a difference in the success of your business.

It will allow you to have more control over design from start to finish.The nature of your business must bring you closer to the B2B e-commerce platform that is right for your products or services.Think about what’s unique to your business and what you really want in your e-commerce platform.Here are a few questions you should consider before choosing the right e-commerce platform.How tech-savvy are you, and will you require any help or support?Even if you aren’t highly experienced when it comes to designing or developing an e-commerce solution, there are platforms that make this process accessible for beginners.Assess your skills wisely, and choose a platform that suits your technical capabilities.What is your budget?Do your research when deciding the amount of money you’re willing to spend.

Some e-commerce platforms offer add-ons or plug-ins that may require additional costs.Just keep this in mind when shopping around and make sure you feel 100% sure before making a decision, considering the overall costs and extra charges that may apply.How much customization will you need?In some cases, a B2B website platform will offer an array of templates and features to choose from, tailored to various industries.If you need any additional features, you may require the assistance of a developer.Try to choose a platform that is dynamically customizable so you don’t need constant help from a developer.Best practices for selecting the right B2B e-commerce platformStart with writing a business caseThe business case should include a return on investment (ROI) based on hard data like site-traffic and average order value, and soft data like reduced operational cost and cost per customer call.Use your business case to prioritize what you do, and measure the effectiveness of your decision.A business case and a B2B e-commerce strategy go hand in hand.Understand the components of an e-commerce systemEducate yourself on every aspect of an e-commerce platform, like customer purchase patterns, promotions, and merchandising.

Then you can integrate these in your solution.Get business and IT on the same pageTo select a platform that is suitable for your organization, you must balance what you need to deliver with the process of construction.Unite with joint use cases, business cases, and requirement.

This should include experience architecture, merchandising tools (product relationships), and management.Try to be agile and prepared in your approach to avoid any disaster that might come your way.To the IT team: Figure out the need of your business counterparts, why they need it, and the tools they require.The customer experience matters the most, no matter the requirements.To the business team: Be very clear about your requirements and make sure they are completely understood.Assess the development status frequently and keep comparing it with your requirements.Discover which requirements are unique to your businessWhen writing requirements, the main focus should be on the different ways you are unique.While you certainly need to understand these needs, it isn’t easy to provide all these requirements right away.The use case diagrams will trigger a race between who can build your requirements the fastest versus how your organization customizes the right solution.

Start your discovery process by doing these things.Develop use cases: Divert your financial resources into building use cases.

Recently call centers have evolved rapidly in many sectors such as banking, retail, Government, tourism etc. from being a simple add-on, customer-facing service to an important differentiator. In today’s race for competition and internationalization, customer satisfaction can have a serious impact on a company’s bottom line where, though one can easily calculate the direct loss of losing a customer, he often ignores the damage caused due to customer sharing his negative experience in his immediate social circle. Before diving further into the ‘how’,

Let’s take a look at ‘why’ customer satisfaction is so crucial for your business-

– Happy customers will always interact with your brand over and over again resulting in higher revenue.

– Because offering terrible customer service can make them switch over to the competition in a heartbeat.

– Great customer experience leads to brand promotion via satisfied customers sharing content across social media.

– Providing better service quality than your competitors will also give you an edge over the competition.

So, it doesn’t matter whether you run an in-house customer care team or availing your services from an Indian outsourcing company or any such, as long as you are ignoring the fundamentally interactive nature of customer service transactions, chances of improving customer satisfaction in your call center will always be slim. Below are some such transformative ideas to help you along the way toward generating the virtuous circle that customer service is always meant to create.

Abstain from the Agent Maze

Don’t waste time by escalating or passing over the problem to multiple agents who cannot help them and, in the process, leave unsatisfied customers and frazzled agents. Instead, install data-directed routing system to your contact center platform to automatically directs the calls to the best possible agent. Also encourage operators to handle situations on their own by spending time with the customers, thus taking full ownership of the problem.

Provide Multiple Support Channels

Making yourself available on as many support channels as possible and providing multi-support channels such as telephone, email, live-chat, social media etc. to your customers goes a long way toward improving customer satisfaction and higher retention. It not only offers a seamless transition between channels but also works well for customers who want greater flexibility and real-time interactivity.

Bestow a Human Touch

Providing a humanly touch to your customer service is the best way to make sure all your customers get equal and excellent service. You can do this by

• Engaging customers proactively
• Keeping your agents accessible at all times
• Keeping your language simple
• Always ask for a feedback
• Offer personalized recommendations
• Treat customers as individuals rather than demographics

Use KPIs to Measure Satisfaction

Choosing the right KPIs or Key Performance Indicators such as Net Promoter Score, Overall Satisfaction, Brand Attributes etc. to measure key metrics and analytics is crucial to building a service footprint that delights customers and delivers insanely great experiences by gathering actionable insights to guide long-term planning, smoothing out the kinks in the system along with fostering goals and objectives among staff.

Monitor Performance through CSAT Scores

CSAT or Customer Satisfaction Surveys is a form of research based on your customer’s reviews regarding your company’s performance. It’s a great way of understanding your customer’s requirements and concerns in order to improve the quality of your products and the standards of your service to that of the customer’s needs which in turn will improve customer loyalty and generate revenue and profitability.

Never Underestimate the Importance of Critical Moments

Creating meaningful relationships is a sure shot way of standing out from the crowd. Though there are numerous ways of showing your appreciation but keeping track of and acknowledging critical moments such as anniversaries, birthdays and other important achievements with the help of various tools available in the market will help strengthen the relationship and take you long ways towards your journey to success.

Wrapping Up

Customers’ expectations are constantly on the rise, sometimes even faster than the speed with which call centers in India and elsewhere can improve their customer satisfaction service. The important thing to understand here is that customer service is an area that needs great nurturing and care with focus and in due time, you will be rewarded with a positive impact on customer loyalty, increased revenues and higher retention.

Original Source: https://www.theoctopustech.com/how-to-improve-customer-satisfaction-in-your-call-center/

New Business Strategies®, a global B2B marketing and customer experience professional services firm, has been selected as the external marketing agency for SmartForce® Technologies, Inc., a leader in insights-driven, crime reduction software.SmartForce Technologies has signed on with New Business Strategies’ Parachute Services, a suite of services designed to accelerate marketing results and program execution.New Business Strategies was selected for its approach, client-first/can-do culture, and proven track record.

The Parachute Services that SmartForce signed-up for include demand generation, content strategy and creation, customer marketing, media communications, product, and digital marketing.SmartForce Technologies enables local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to boost intelligence-led and data-driven crime reduction strategies.

Through the SmartForce SmartComms platform, agencies can measurably reduce crime, violent crime, and manhours spent solving crimes by improving productivity and collaboration between Investigations, Crime Analysis, Patrol, Specialty Units, and other law enforcement partners.“We have worked with several types of marketing consultants and approaches without the results we were seeking,” said Brian McGrew, SmartForce Technology’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

“New Business Strategies stood out for their experience, reputation, and aggressive yet pragmatic approach to achieving results.”“Our selection by SmartForce Technologies further demonstrates that our differentiator is our ability to leverage decades of experience into a focused, ‘hit the ground running’ approach aligned to clients’ needs and culture.

We are honored to serve SmartForce,” said Christine Crandell, President of New Business Strategies.

“Time is the new basis of competing.