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Online conversion success begins from the ground up

PHILADELPHIA - Brands and retailers looking to integrate ecommerce and mcommerce into their offerings should work their way up from the bottom while reassessing the goals of the business, according to a Rue21 executive, during a session at eTail East 2014.  

Through steps of restructure, branding and collaboration, a company is likely to see success in its ecommerce efforts. A departmental team dedicated to ecommerce endeavors must sit side-by-side other sectors within the company, rather than as a mere layer, and every other team must a collaborative partner to reach ideal ROI. 

?For chains, stores are going to be the bulk of your sales and profit that the company will gain over the next ten years, and ecommerce is where the bulk of growth and increase in profitability is going to come from over the next ten years,? said Brett Trent, senior vice president of digital retail at Rue21, Pittsburgh. ?This will only happen if these two departments orbit around each other.?

Core values
?It turns out that business executives may have a different idea of the single goal of their company. While more than one goal actually exists, if there is not a specific one to pinpoint, conversion is not possible.

Once executives align and one single goal is confirmed, all performances of a company can be more profitable.

While mostly all companies value top and bottom line sales and the maintenance and enhancement of brand value, those three aspects can create a revolving cycle. Sales garner profits, profits garner brand establishment, and brand establishment garners sales. 

Of those three key focus points, brands should decide a starting point based on which one is best for their particular business. Then, there should be constant reassessments that that one goal remains to be the core focus among all parties associated with the company.

?If all parties are aligned, it could lead to a high level of profitability,? Mr. Trent said. 

Once all team members are on the same page, they can focus on branding and creating the ultimate brand experience to satisfy the customer. Ways to ensure a brand establishment are having a branding statement that reflects the overall goal of the business.

Necessities among structure?
Mr. Trent recommends a pyramid format of structure, beginning with vision followed by strategy and tactics. Execution is next and measurements and money rest at the top of the pyramid. 

By providing for a continuation of the business through profit, executives can lead their company to ecommerce success by knowing first the mission of the business and following through with the most innovative and relative strategy.

Togetherness is also crucial, given Mr. Trent?s reference to the Buffalo Theory. Viewing each department within a company as a buffalo, each entity must work in partnership and at the same speed as one another. 

?The herd can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo,? Mr. Trent said.

Final Take?
Caitlyn Bohannon, editorial assistant for Mobile Marketer, New York