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The word “recession” has suddenly (and unfortunately) become one of the most used words anywhere in the world. Economy is going down and, among the others, there is a very important downside: people slowered down their purchases, whether online or offline, because of a general fear about the future.

This is not certainly good for everyone and, on the contrary, in a period like this people should invest more in order to minimize the impact of this bad behavior to the whole economy. If people don’t buy, economy will suffer even more.

Another downside is that people are not certain about the future of the companies they are dealing with. For example, some people could think that buying something online now could lead to a huge risk because that companies could shut down tomorrow and the risk to loose their money is very high.

A couple of weeks ago my company released a white paper where we analyze how the “human touch” can help people during an online purchasing process. During a recession, people need to feel that there is someone behind any service, any shop they come across while in the process to buy something. A naked, cold website is not enough anymore, but they need someone who can help them to take the right decision and make the right choice, avoiding doubts, fear and making them trust their shop/company even more. That’s where our service Sitofono comes into play.

I’d like to share some paragraph of this white paper with my readers, in order to highlight some important points that maybe are not that evident for some companies selling products/services through the online channel.

The purchasing process (originally elaborated by Kotler)

The purchase is articulated in 5 phases, plus a sixth concerning post sales: 

1. Unawareness 

The potential customer is not aware of his role. He still does not know he has 
a need to satisfy. This behaviour can often be seen in the purchase of clothing 
and hi-tech products. To induce a purchase, someone or something has to suggest to the potential customer that he needs that product/service. The potential customer has to be made aware of his need.  

2. Awareness

The consumer becomes aware of his role. He realises that a specific product/service could be useful and starts to understand its utility, persuading himself that the purchase of that product/service could benefit him.In this phase, it is fundamental that the seller can be found, and that he can provide an image of the need and how it can be satisfied by his product/service.

3. Search 

Now, the “conscious” customer looks actively for the product and starts an information-gathering phase. As always, the first impression matters a lot. That’s why it is important to provide a strong and clear image of your product. The potential customer must be kept as close as possible to the “shop window” and must be put in a position to assess any information you want to transmit. This is where Sitofòno comes into play, offering “reassurance” and support to complete the information gathered about a product. 

4. Assessment 

The potential customer now has all the essential elements to decide what to buy, but you cannot expect him to purchase immediately. Product assessment will probably occur in different steps, because the acquiring of elements on which a choice is based is an on-going process.  A recent article in the New York Times underlined how “human” contribution during the sales process still has a fundamental importance in raising the success rate:   

“Any online selling company has been warned: get ready to invest in traditional “human” customer care, otherwise be prepared to  lose customers”   

5. Purchase 

The customer has decided: he wants to make the purchase. Making the purchase easier is the main objective in the selling process. It is here you risk more, but you can also finally achieve your goal.  In this phase Sitofòno comes into action as a “support element to conclude the transaction”. Placing Sitofòno inside the product data sheet and encouraging its usage when something is not clear or when the customer has problems and/or has to face a mistake (i.e. wrong credit card number), stops the customer from going to another site where the product information is more complete, so he can conclude the purchase.

6. Post-purchase assessment

Now you have a new customer, but it is not the end, on the contrary now it is possible to close the sales phases circle and unleash a chain reaction. Satisfied customers are inclined to speak well of their purchase: they are happy they have found a bargain and they will recommend you to their friends and relatives or they will simply speak about you and your product.

This is just a brief abstract, I definitely encourage you to download the white paper and try to figure out how to make your website’s online store even better by making the purchase process an easy game for your visitors. In times where everyone has doubts and needs reassurance, you can play a fundamental role and make your business grow safely.

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Technorati Tags: Business, Business and Economy, Company, Credit card, Customer service, luca filigheddu, Online shopping, recession, sales, sitofono

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According to Gartner, SaaS (Software as a Service) will be a key element for the ecommerce market by 2013.

According to Gartner, at least 90% of eCommerce sites will leverage SaaS (Software as a Service) by 2013.  As Gene Alvarez, research vice president for Gartner, says, “The trend toward SaaS applications has affected customer relationship management (CRM) and other applications, and e-commerce isn’t exempt from this trend.”

Sitofono, my company’s click to engage SaaS, empowers eCommerce by providing a quick and effective way to engage potential customers while they came across your website looking for something to buy.

Gartner is just confirming our view and strategy for Sitofono, but it’s important that this message could quickly reach the people in charge of making ecommerce websites more and more effective. Many marketing and sales directors got it already but many others haven’t got it yet.

Technorati Tags: Business, customer engagement, Customer service, Electronic commerce, Gartner, luca filigheddu, Marketing, sitofono, Software as a service