One major problem retailers face in the digital age is trying to find the right strategy for their specific online niche. Companies often adopt generic strategies that do not reflect their business model, their clients, and their brand. These might seem like something secondary, but it can actually make a big difference in the online business world.
Defining the right digital strategy for your retail business is hard, but there are ways to make the process easier, and most importantly, fun. In this post we discuss the Minimum Lovable Experience, a retail concept that will surely help you figure out the right strategy for your business.
Online Retail Strategy
What are the basic principles of a successful online retail strategy? There is no single answer to this question. Within the world of digital sales, there are many different types of companies, each with its own customer base and online narrative. However, a few things come to mind:
- Not every customer is the same on the web. There is a need to connect with customers through digital channels. Brands and marketing activities should consider this.
- Loyalty on the web is not the same as in the real world. Companies need to develop digital products that make it easy to gain and retain customers.
- Creating memorable digital experiences matters. It is necessary to understand digital customer journeys to reduce friction.
- Technology is very important. Having the right tools is key. Retail apps are one of the most powerful instruments companies have access to.
Retail companies that excel on the web understand that technology is a medium to connect with customers while offering them a strong value proposition through a brand they feel identified with. Apps play a major role in this process. As a matter of fact, they are central to any online retailer’s strategy.
Although it is almost impossible to compete directly with giants like Amazon or Walmart, retail apps and eCommerce platforms are helping many smaller businesses leverage the field and create niche markets.
Shopify is one of the eCommerce platforms leading the way. It is helping all sorts of companies sell their products online, and most importantly, connect with their customers in ways that would otherwise be impossible. This is helping many businesses stay afloat in spite of the crisis. Its easy to use platform can be quickly integrated into a variety of businesses. Shopify understands that generating remarkable user experiences is key for succeeding on the web.
Keep in mind that as good as these tools are, a successful retail strategy on the web depends on more than just having the right sales platform. It is also a matter of innovation.
Retail Innovation
Innovation is a great online retail strategy. For many companies, the idea of innovating on the web seems impossible, or even worse, unnecessary. The most common mistake many executives do is believing that online retail is similar to running a brick and mortar store. Nothing can be farther away from the truth.
With the pandemic, we are now seeing how many businesses are finding new and creative ways to connect with customers on the web. After all, it has become a necessity to rethink how retail operates. Failing to do so means being at risk of becoming irrelevant.
There are many ways in which retail companies can innovate online. The key to any online innovation mindset is to focus on the customer experience. By doing so, you are integrating every single aspect of your company and putting them at the service of your customers. Remember that how customers perceive your online brand presence will end up determining your entire business.
That’s why it is so important to have a powerful retail app for your online strategy. Using an app can help you manage your business processes, connect your brand to your customers, improve your online experience, and use the latest retail technology in your favor.
One of the best ways to strengthen your strategy and deliver an outstanding customer experience through an app is to focus on the Minimum Lovable Experience. When you pair this retail concept with an app, you’ll be able to connect with your customers at a whole new level.
Minimum Lovable Experience
When it comes to figuring out your right business strategy, it is very difficult to know for sure when you’ve found it or how to improve it. More often than not, your strategy will require changes, so you must be ready to pivot at any moment in order to respond to new circumstances or to refine any wrong premises you might have had.
The Minimum Lovable Experience (MLE) is a strategic retail concept that can make a big difference for your business. To love is to connect, thus an MLE will allow you to find the correct strategy for your business and implement it easily, reducing risks by making sure you have a safe starting point that customers love.
Just as the Minimum Viable Product (or for that case, Minimum Lovable Product) helps project managers develop a product that can be easily iterated and improved, a Minimum Lovable Experience helps develop a customer experience and app that everyone will love from the start, even if it needs to be refined along the way. It will help you focus on questions like:
- What do my customers want or need?
- Will they like this feature?
- How can I make it more fun for them?
- Will they recommend this to someone else?
- Can I easily change something that needs improvement?
- Do I want this experience to represent my brand?
If you are looking to set your retail strategy straight, an MLE and an app is the best combination. An MLE can be easily developed side by side with an app, even better if it is a mobile app, to help you gain insights on what your customers want. That way you can start with a certain budget and increase it once you see results. This will allow you to make decisions based on data that will help create a better online shopping experience and consequently a successful business.
Through an MLE approach, retailers can make sure that they know beforehand what app users want. Figuring this out involves performing tests with users to find out what works and what doesn’t. This way, designers and developers can easily make changes based on feedback from customers.
With an MLE, you can be sure that your app will deliver value, strengthen your brand, and that the online customer journey will reduce friction at key customer touch points. This, plus the aforementioned MLE benefits, will help you get your digital strategy right from the start. However, a key consideration here is your retail app’s development. Make sure to find the right development partner that can understand your business needs and what your customers want. Only by doing so will your business be able to implement the technologies it needs to deliver its customer experience.
Final Thoughts
At Koombea we have more than 12 years of experience building world-class retail apps. We understand the importance of integrating your strategy with your online sales experience through an MLE. Using our Agile methodology, we are able to integrate every aspect of your business into something your users will love. Contact us for a free consultation and find out how we can help you find and implement your online retail strategy.
