This year has gone by faster than most of us imagined and we are already in Q4. This is a very important time of the year for brands and businesses alike. Not only is the holiday season approaching but also it's time to start planning your eCommerce budget. While you may already have an idea of the key numbers that you want to hit and the profit you want to make next year the key question is - how are you going to achieve it?
The first step is to reflect on your performance in the previous year as well as the impact that external factors have had on your business. The pandemic has and continues to impact businesses of all types. Many used this as an opportunity to pivot and quickly adopt a digital-first approach. Numerous brands have rushed to ramp up their eCommerce strategy and offerings while those that already had an online presence have looked to widen their reach across multiple countries.
Below are some tips on how to budget for your eCommerce business
Think about the external factors that impacted your business this year. Also consider how they might continue to impact it next year also. How did your brand adapt and pivot? These factors are essential for you to assess the effectiveness and success of your strategy this year and next. Consider what channels were key to achieving your goals this year - was it your online DTC store marketplace (and which ones?) key retailers or your offline store that drove the highest number of sales for your brand? Once you identify your key channels you can make a robust strategy for 2022 and optimize the allocation of your budgets to drive the highest ROI on your investment.
Reflecting on your analytics and data is important to build an optimized strategy and eCommerce budget for your business. Need the right tools to do this? We're here to help you better understand your existing data maximize sales and provide a clear frictionless path to purchase. Our Where-to-Buy technology provides instant access to the visibility of marketing contributions to sales through direct and indirect channels which can justify the value of marketing activity and influence on sales. With our Where to Buy solution you can drive more online sales by connecting your online consumers through a tracked button that is placed on the brand's website or digital asset directly to online retailers such as Amazon Tesco or Target to complete their purchase. Further you can get meaningful analytics across the entire path to purchase. There are multiple variations of reporting intelligence that can be derived from these analytics:
Once you identify the main channels that have driven growth for your business think about how you will double down on those channels to achieve your goals for the next year. One important factor that brands need to account for in their eCommerce budget is growth. How will your brand maintain the growth that you experienced this year? There is no doubt that eCommerce will continue to grow. A large number of consumers have switched to shopping online during the pandemic and will likely continue to do so beyond the pandemic as well. However so will the competition and consumers will be bombarded with even more options than ever before. As you forecast the growth for next year it's important to consider the increase in competition and how your brand will stand out.
When you are planning your eCommerce budget for 2023 take into account the target you have set for next year in terms of revenue as well as the profit. Budgeting and investing smartly will be key to ensuring that you have the right tools in place to help you achieve your goals. As this year has proved eCommerce is vital for brands to grow and stay relevant. But how can you improve your eCommerce strategy make data-driven decisions understand consumer behavior's and drive more conversions? Invest in an eCommerce solution that can give you visibility on attainable sales targets but also provide you with the tool to quickly react to consumer behavior's and trends in real-time maximizing conversion.
Our Where to Buy solution helps move consumers more swiftly down the funnel. The solution provides a frictionless path to purchase for anyone that is in the consideration phase of the funnel to the point of conversion at the retailer site bypassing competitor distractions. Using a Where to Buy solution allows a brand to utilize deep analytics achieved through consumer activity. So think about investing in the right solutions for your brand today as that will be the key to achieving your goals in 2023.
To achieve the forecasted or desired growth through eCommerce you will invest valuable time and money into your eCommerce platform. In marketing you might invest in campaigns to bring consumers through the sales funnel. However the key challenge for brands is knowing exactly which content is influencing sales. You will also need to measure and compare channel performance across numerous retailers. That's where our solutions come in. It enables you to make data-driven decisions get returns on your marketing spend along with valuable consumer and market insights to drive your marketing strategy. We've worked with global brands to help them build a robust eCommerce strategy grow their online sales and improve their knowledge of their consumer needs and wants.
Preparing your eCommerce budget is an important step in ensuring success in the upcoming year. While preparing your budget ensure you are reflecting on your performance in the previous year and putting a focus on ROI. With these two steps at the start of your planning you can ensure you are laying the foundation for success in the coming year and beyond.
