Choosing the right platform is crucial for all e-commerce businesses, but at times you will have to migrate to a new one.
Is it possible to do so without experiencing data loss and other friction points?
In this episode of The E-commerce Toolbox: Expert Perspectives, host Kailin Noivo is joined by Adrien Levinger, CEO of FAV Solution. Together, they explore the importance of choosing the right CMS for your e-commerce business, how you can prepare for the discrepancies that come with a big migration, and what expectations you should have about that process.
Choosing the Right CMS
When you are looking to push ahead with your digital transformation process, you will likely face one key decision: choosing the right CMS for you.
Adrien’s advice for this decision is to first design clearly your requirements.
In the past, ease of use was one of the most important considerations in this decision, but that has largely dropped out of the running due to CMSs now having similar usability scores.
Now, the factors digital leaders should be concerned with include the levels of customization, how well it integrates with your existing processes, how big the support community is, and what the total cost of ownership is. It’s also incredibly important to consider scalability, as that is where Adrien has seen previous issues crop up.
Managing Data Loss During Migration
When undergoing a digital migration, data loss is always a big concern. To Adrien, some data loss and discrepancies are inevitable, so it’s important to prepare as best you can.
He advises getting lots of eyes on the site at launch and proactively seeking out the problems. This will help you to avoid the dip in traffic that comes with those discrepancies.
The other key is to not attempt too many changes at once. Adrien recommends keeping the front end of the site the same, which will help to flatten the curve of change and minimize the negative impact of any problems you face.
It’s also very helpful to work iteratively, so that you can easily identify what exactly is causing a problem, should any arise.
Design Versus Usability
With most CMSs being user-friendly today, aesthetics are now one of the most important considerations for establishing an edge over your competition.
Your visual design is the first impression that your audience will have, and so you want to make it a lasting positive impact so that they remember you and keep coming back.
Adrien also stresses that there is no reason to believe that aesthetics and functionality are mutually exclusive, so still keep ease of use in mind. In fact, something that both looks nice and is easy to use will naturally increase sales.
Commerce or Content: Which is the Priority?
Optimizing for commerce and content are two distinct approaches, and this is important to recognize when measuring the success of your approach.
If you are optimizing for content, then you are likely concerned with growing an audience and keeping them engaged with your brand. Thus, your KPIs should be centered around open rates, likes, shares, user feedback, and other similar metrics.
If, however, you are optimizing for commerce, and thus looking at improving your bottom line, then it would be more practical to observe conversion rates. Adrien does warn against becoming overly enthralled with your conversion rate, however, advising to look at more nuanced metrics like average order value and lifetime value.
Whatever approach you choose, it is important to stay consistent and understand exactly what success looks like in that domain.
Listen to the Full Episode Below!
Tune in to this episode of The E-commerce Toolbox: Expert Perspectives with Adrien Levinger and Kailin Noivo to learn more about mitigating the negative effects of migration.
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