Shopping for furniture and other home goods has evolved significantly, raising the bar regarding consumer experience. Let’s introduce the “chofa,” a sofa with a chaise on one end, to discuss my personal shopping journey and its implications for e-commerce in both B2C and B2B sectors. The shopping process involves gathering information to make informed decisions, much like how businesses use platforms and tools such as Microsoft Power BI and Vena to make business decisions. While personal shopping might not involve formal data aggregation, it involves a mental data compilation. Creating an Excel workbook to store information and using intelligence tools to determine purchasing details and track vendor performance are common practices for organizational purchasing. In this blog, we show how data-driven insights are used to enhance every stage of the consumer journey, from the initial consideration phase to long-term product loyalty. Discover how the expertise of Citrin Cooperman Digital Services Practice helps businesses deliver exceptional customer experiences and achieve significant sales growth.
Whether formal buyers or consumers, customers expect a personalized process that is quick, easy, and rich in information. The decision to purchase a “sofa” was influenced by an experience with my puppy’s preference for chewing leather and involved visiting numerous websites and physical stores, experiencing varying levels of technological sophistication from tear sheets to virtual and augmented reality showrooms, not unlike retailer’s shopping experience at the Las Vegas Market. The process often includes upsells and a virtual experience, which commonly collects enough data to make relevant suggestions during website visits.
Considering backend system requirements has become crucial as customers demand more information quickly. Organizations relying on traditional tools like Excel must provide a comprehensive experience to avoid losing sales. A virtual showroom should allow customers to design their space, price it, and understand the full cost. It requires integration with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like NetSuite or Microsoft Business Central for pricing and inventory availability and shipping solutions for cost calculations.
The upsell engine tracks viewed items and makes suggestions based on current trends, necessitating a customer relationship management (CRM) system to capture customer activities, aggregate data, and track communications to maintain competitiveness. These tools’ sophistication and interconnectivity vary, and middleware like Celigo is often necessary to streamline the experience.
Automation driven by artificial intelligence (AI) provides data swiftly, automatically generating notifications like shipping dates and tracking numbers. If these notifications fail, as seen when a receipt was not received via email after an order, it highlights issues that could delay the delivery process. Customer service teams need instant access to order details, shipments, FAQs, and service issues. A unified system enables customer service agents to resolve issues promptly and coordinate service efficiently.
The consumer journey begins well before buying intent and continues throughout the lifespan of the product or service. Data is the foundation for building insights that create remarkable customer experiences and can drive sales to new heights.
HFA has teamed with Citrin Cooperman and it’s Digitial Services Practice to help your business leverage powerful, effective digital solutions. To learn more about this robust partnership contact Jason Nicolaou at jnicolaou@citrincooperman.com or info@citrincooperman.com.
“Citrin Cooperman” is the brand under which Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP, a licensed independent CPA firm, and Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC serve clients’ business needs. The two firms operate as separate legal entities in an alternative practice structure. Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP and Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC are independent member firms of the Moore North America, Inc. (MNA) Association, which is a regional member of Moore Global Network Limited (MGNL). All the firms associated with MNA are independently owned and managed entities. Their membership in, or association with, MNA should not be construed as constituting or implying any partnership between them.
