Build It and They Will Come…or Will They?

Did you know that “Build it and they will come” is one of the most misquoted movie lines?

This quote is from the movie “Field of Dreams” and should actually be: “If you build it, he will come”. This quote is often used to describe a certain mentality regarding dreams and achieving an incredible feat. It’s an approach that says “if we create this one really great thing, good things will automatically follow.” Instead of building baseball diamonds in a cornfield, however, we’re building webshops.

In e-Commerce, there is sometimes a set-it-and-forget-it notion where building a website to sell stuff is good enough. Just get it done and watch the customers roll in with credit cards in hand.

This could not be farther from the truth.

While it’s certainly a start, it cannot stop there. Creating a webshop, an e-Commerce business, is not easy. The very word “building” suggests that it takes planning, resources, and effort. Nobody ever says, “Oh, I’m going to build a house now. Be back in 10 minutes.” It’s absurd. So why apply that mentality to a webshop and business?

Building anything from the ground up is difficult. There are so many factors to consider, countless decisions to make, lots of people involved, and precious time and effort. After it’s done, we may think that we can lay back and relax because it’s over and done with, but that would be wrong.

So wrong.

If you have taken the time to do the right thing in investing in e-Commerce and building a webshop, why would you just stop there? So much time, effort, planning, and money have gone into this venture. Why would we allow it to fail by not maintaining it properly or managing it in a way that makes sense?

Here are some things to think about:

1)      Acquiring or honing skills.

When making the move into the e-Commerce industry, we are going to have to adopt a whole new set of skills. It’s a different ballgame now. The digital landscape is evolving quickly and you should be doing your part to keep up.

2)      Marketing

So you have a new webshop. Does anybody know about it? Do customers even know you’ve made the leap into e-Commerce? If we want people to come to our website, see what we have to offer, and ultimately spend money, we have to let them know. Traditional marketing tactics can work but try digital marketing. Be involved in social media. When you’re online, there are so many more ways to connect with your target audience. Make sure you have a consistent marketing message across all channels of promotion, online and offline. Get the word out!

3)      Analyzing the data.

When you are in e-Commerce and your webshop is connected to your ERP system, you will have access to a lot of information. Probably more data than what you know what to do with. Learn how to interpret this data and use it to your advantage. Resources, tools, the right staff, whatever it takes. With all this data, you can gain new insight and construct new strategies. This could change how you run your business. It will be a constant cycle of strategizing, executing, and monitoring.

4)      Staffing for your e-Commerce business

Not just staffing your business to fill the new roles that come with e-Commerce, but also make sure everyone is well-trained and on the same page. When we move into the e-Commerce industry, we’re exposed to a much bigger audience. If you’ve done everything right, with the strategy and marketing, you could see a huge influx in sales. Are you well-equipped to deal with it? You always want to be one step ahead.

5)      Keep investing

Think about a brick-and-mortar store. Something is always changing. There’s new stock on shelves, new promotions, and new signs. Perhaps it’s been rearranged to increase space in the store. The design of the store is refreshed every season to stay modern and relevant. Holidays mean different decorations. The music changes with the season and there could be new displays around the store. There are countless ways to update a brick-and-mortar store. Why should our webshops stay the same day-in and day-out? It’s important to keep updating, re-evaluate designs, content, images, and layouts. What’s working? What’s not?

We have to keep moving and improving. Having a well-designed webshop is only the beginning. You can build an e-Commerce platform customized to your specific business needs, but will the customers come? The site is only part of the equation. What will you do to get customers to visit?

Here’s a 4-minute video tour of the latest Nav-to-Net version for a preview of tightly integrated e-commerce for MS Dynamics NAV / Business Central.

Nav-to-Net feature video library: VIDEO BITES

Whitepaper (2 min read): Five Reasons Dynamics NAV Business Central Should be the Master Copy of Your eCommerce

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