Commerce Maturity Model

Survey Results

• Business Strategy

• 1. We have a strong understanding of our competitors and the competitive landscape

  You Scored 1/2

  Your Digital Marketing team and/or agency could take this a step further and create a bi-yearly rubric of your competitors features, functions, and value propositions. This will give you a clear understanding of where you outperform and underperform relative to your industry, and where you have opportunities within your sales channels.

• 2. We have a strong understanding of who our customers are

  You Scored 2/3

  You have done a great job of targeting your primary customers. There are always opportunities to look at other types of customers who are outliers within your audience and to understand how to serve them through marketing and messaging.

• 3. Our business channels have a cohesive strategy around customer messaging

  You Scored 1/3

  Consumers expect that you know who they are and how they shop regardless of channel. There is high likelihood that multiple departments are messaging your customers which in turn will drive attrition and churn. Creating a central customer repository to ensure messaging is aligned across channels is a smart next step.

• 4. Our company has a strategic roadmap

  You Scored 2/3

  A single company roadmap is great, but try to keep it more up to date. Consider moving to a bi-annual roadmap that is updated based on changes to the business and consumer expectations.

• 5. Our organization makes data-driven decisions

  You Scored 1/2

  Are there are any hurdles (depth, accuracy, etc.) that are keeping you from using this data more frequently? Address these concerns first. Then review the business questions that your brand faces most often, and map them to metrics that could help inform on their behavior (e.g. you want to assess the impact of merchandising elements - so items per order and overall revenue per sessions exposed to those merchandising elements would be helpful). Since your organization sometimes looks at this data, you'll likely need to leverage segments or tests to uncover new insights. These deeper findings are often the most impactful.

• 6. We have a yearly budgeting process

  You Scored 2/2

  You are ahead of most brands. This is considered best-in-class.

• 7. Our company budgets marketing expenses as a percentage of overall revenue

  You Scored 1/3

  It is good that you have allocated monies to marketing but to be the most effective you need to allocate dollars based on performance of channel. Decisions around digital, traditional and other should lay this out within the budgeting process.

• 8. Our organization structure prioritizes the overall customer experience through all business channels

  You Scored 1/2

  This is how most multi-channel retailers are organized. We see many retailers combining their marketing and merchandising teams for more cohesiveness within the marketing calendar and to bring optimal decision around assortment and inventory.

• 9. Our company has a customer repository

  You Scored 2/2

  You are ahead of most brands. This is considered best-in-class.

• 10. Our company creates a bottom-up forecast for inventory by business channel

  You Scored 3/3

  You are ahead of most brands. This is considered best-in-class.

• Customer Journey

• 11. Our content is tailored to various audience types

  You Scored 1/4

  Creating content based on insights gathered from web analytics, user traffic patterns, conversion metrics, and an understanding of your target personas is a solid first step.

• 12. We apply consumer research and usability testing to optimize navigation

  You Scored 2/4

  Great, how recently was this conducted and what were the findings? Have you tested your navigation for distinct consumer types and journeys?

• 13. We apply consumer research and usability testing to optimize key pages

  You Scored 1/4

  This is a good first step. What have you leanred from your existing data, and how could this data be improved?

• 14. We present enhanced content and creative experiences

  You Scored 4/4

  Is this content tailored to specific audiences? Do you have certain KPIs that you are trying to meet based on these rich content campaigns? Is this content managed directly in your CMS or by a third party?

• 15. We leverage dynamic content

  You Scored 1/2

  You have taken the first step in providing a more personalized email experience. Your next step is to vet and consider predictive solutions for content delivery - e.g. What category is your customer most likely to shop next? Is this customer likely to shop on-sale or full-priced merchandise? Many vendors are offering predictive solutions, so we recommend consulting a research publication like Forrestor to find out who the best players are right now. Also, ask your SI to recommend vendors that would work well with your eCommerce solutions.

• 16. We use loyalty segments to target content on-site, as well as through multiple marketing programs

  You Scored 1/2

  Many brands leverage a "Crawl, Walk, Run" approach to using Loyalty data to personalize their site experience. If you are already using your loyalty data in this way, you are on the right path. To move forward without having a heavy investment in asset production for each segment, consider adding areas of dynamic messaging that update based upon loyalty status. For example, customized shipping messages based upon a customer's tier, reminders that a customer qualifies for certain benefits, or threshold messaging when a customer is X points away from next loyalty tier.

• 17. We segment our loyalty customers based upon tier of engagement

  You Scored 2/2

  This is considered best-in-class. You are targeting loyalty customers based upon not only spend tiers, but a customer's engagement with your brand. To continue to move the needle, you will need to focus on fine-tuneing your program. This means prioritizing testing within messaging and offers. A testing plan should be built out internally, or you can leverage a vendor to build a blueprint on your behalf.

• 18. We create and manage content such as product descriptions, blog posts, category descriptions, or ‘how to’ articles

  You Scored 1/2

  A content gap analysis can be a smart way to identify opportunities for adding highly relevant content on-site and capture additional relevant traffic in phases of the customer journey that are less established. A search presence audit can give you a high-level understanding of how content performs against competitors and search trends, and how enhancements to SEO elements on-page have impacted page performance. Good content comes from smart planning: creating an actionable plan for consistent content creation will allow you to capitalize on these opportunities. This means that you should regularly monitor page performance after publishing optimizations or new content, using insights to drive additional activities or shifts in strategy.

• 19. Our customer experience is optimized for mobile users

  You Scored 3/4

  How have these enhanced features been performing relative to your expectations? Have you seen increases in conversion since implementing these changes?

• 20. We apply a tiered optimization strategy for mobile page load

  You Scored 3/4

  Can you give more detail around your approach? What third party are you using to deliver the images? Who manages the images and how often are new ones added? Is this employed throughout the site or only on key pages? If so, which pages?

• 21. We leverage endless aisle / mobile Point-of-Sale solutions

  You Scored 2/4

  Excellent! Focus on tracking and reporting this program, and align incentives for store associates to drive them to offer this option to your customers

• 22. We offer Buy Online, Pickup In Store (BOPIS) functionality to shoppers

  You Scored 0/5

  Consumers increasingly expect a Store Pickup option when shopping online. If technology and organizational hurdles are getting in the way of implementing BOPIS, consider starting with a Ship-To-Store approach.

• 23. Our customers can return online purchases to a retail store

  You Scored 1/5

  What are the major obstacles keeping you from processing these returns? Consider quick-win solutions that don't require cross-channel integration to facilitate returns in the short-term. At the very least, proceesing these returns with a refund via in-store credit should be implemented.

• 24. We fulfill online Ship From Store orders

  You Scored 1/4

  A robust order routing/orchestration engine is a must-have in order to achieve Ship-From-Store success. A best-of-breed Distributed Order Management System (DOM) will enable you to optimize order fulfillment across multiple variables - cost, speed, relieving distressed stock, minimizing split shipments, etc.

• 25. We provide customers with full visibility into both online and in-store inventory

  You Scored 2/4

  This is a solid foundation from which to build additional inventory capabilities. Leverage the site's access to enterprise-wide inventory data to allow shoppers to shop by their preferred store (e.g. filter browse/search pages for products available at their store), and to enable store pickup as a delivery option

• 26. We offer standard pricing and promotions across stores and channels

  You Scored 1/5

  Unifying pricing across all touchpoints is an essential component of delivering a consistent brand experience. Can you elaborate on the factors contributing to this discrepancy?

• Digital Marketing

• 27. We track the success of our SEO program

  You Scored 1/2

  Continue tracking keyword rankings and traffic, as these are two important KPIs for an SEO Program. To better understand SEO program performance, expand KPIs to other areas that will provide insights into additional the quality of a visit. Tools like Google Analytics and Search Console are great for tracking trends in conversion, revenue, new users, engagement, impressions, and more. Monitor trends in share of market voice across other channels to determine impact other programs have on SEO. Utilize insights from these other KPIs to drive additional strategy and activities in the SEO program.

• 28. When we do sample keyword searches in Google …

  You Scored 2/2

  There are still some tactics you might want to consider. Try expanding your search presence for keywords related to these high-performing pages. Include references to keyword variations and more long-tail terms in the SEO elements of the page. Conduct a content gap analysis, and build new landing pages to expand search presence for related targeted keywords in different phases of the customer journey. Lastly, be sure to always stay on top of the latest and greatest SEO trends to ensure your results stay positive.

• 29. We feel comfortable and up-to-date on Google’s most recent algorithm changes and the impact they have on our website

  You Scored 1/2

  Follow SEO trends from experts for ideas on ways to further optimize for organic search, and to keep up with updates from Google about new releases, algorithm updates, and more. Make updates to site as needed.

• 30. We have an active paid media program

  You Scored 1/2

  A robust media program is vital for brands looking to acquire new customers and retain existing customers. Paid channels should be driving significant percentages of traffic and revenue. If they are not, prioritize areas for potential expansion, and track results to determine what to do next.

• 31. Our paid media channels are meeting ROI goals

  You Scored 0/2

  Work to establish goals around traffic, revenue, and ROI for each active program. KPIs for low-funnel programs should be seperate from mid- and top-of-funnel programs, though all programs should work towards top-line revenue and traffic goals.

• 32. We are currently prospecting (targeting new customers) through display or non-brand search

  You Scored 1/2

  Generic search terms can be extermely expensive, so focusing on long-tail and product-level queries, following best practices, and identifiying top segments within acquisition targets can help improve ROI and reduce cost. Tracking new users and attributing value to these aquisition programs is also critical to expanding beyond brand traffic.

• 33. We are using an attribution model to properly credit all media channels

  You Scored 1/2

  With any program addition or budget reallocation, it is important to reassess your attribution modeling to ensure you are giving programs their due credit for driving value. At minimum, the attribution model should be revisited yearly as performance is analyzed and budgets are discussed.

• 34. We utilize Remarketing, including CRM or email data, to target users through media channels

  You Scored 1/2

  Using lists is a good first step, but there is more work to be done. Segment users by visit frequency and on-site behavior. Users who abandoned a cart or viewed multiple products in the last week should be of higher focus than those who visited your home page, say, 30 days ago. Working with a dynamic ad partner to serve highly relevant ads to each user is another great step to take.

• 35. We currently have an affiliate program

  You Scored 3/3

  Your affiliate program is mature and in an excellent place, although it takes constant unkeep and communication with affiliates to continually drive growth. Be sure to continue investing time and resources into this channel!

• 36. Our email platform is integrated into mulitple systems

  You Scored 1/2

  You have a view of your customer consolidated in your ESP, and likely have a good fountation of attributes to segment upon. As a next step, you should focus on behavioral or predictive data to round out your customer profiles. There are a wide selection of vendors now in market that specialize in building out customer data profiles. If you leverage SFMC, collect tags should be implemented to gather on site behavioral data.

• 37. We email to defined segments

  You Scored 1/2

  Behavior or engagement-based segmentation provides you with a strong foundation. Congradulations on moving beyond blanked blasting your list. Your next step for segmentation is to really focus on building a more robust data profile for your subscribers - particularly taking into consideration past purchase behavior and on-site engagement (e.g. last category browsed). This will enable the brand to configure a broader scope of targeted trigger campaigns, which are typically top converters.

• 38. We clean/manage our customer records

  You Scored 1/2

  You are on the right path to improving inbox placement and deliverability metrics. However, if you only run this program occasionally, you may still have many un-engaged records in your lists that will drive down your performance metrics. Make sure that your hygiene program takes into consideration both duplicates and aged, unegaged files in addition to just looking at invalid addresses.

• Technology

• 39. We are utilizing the latest version of our eCommerce platform and its associated functionality

  You Scored 1/2

  To improve the user experience, you may want to institute some A/B testing to qualify your statements that the user experience is good, and analyze your data to verify how users are reacting to the user experience

• 40. We currently have an eCommerce website post-launch support model

  You Scored 1/3

  There are pros and cons to outsourcing all of your Support work. A conversation would be helpful to help balance out utilizing this model versus insourcing your work.

• 41. We use a management workflow tool to help manage how our online business is operated

  You Scored 1/2

  To drive further efficiencies, you may want to look at switching to a commercial tool like a JIRA verus utilizing a home grown solution. JIRA is supported, scalable, and integrates with many third party solutions to further expand on its rich feature footprint. Licensing costs are also manageable.

• 42. We have an agile and repeatable release management process used for site code maintenance

  You Scored 1/2

  This approach is used with very small-commitment clients, and deployments go out as needed, when needed. What are some of the obstacles keeping you from moving beyond this ad-hoc approach? A more predictable release cadence process can help insure success.

• 43. We perform quality assurance testing of all of our site code before we release it to Production

  You Scored 1/4

  Outsourcing testing is a utilized option in the space. However, it can drive up overhead costs when you are exchanging code between three parties (implementer, client, and testers).

• 44. Our site is ADA compliant

  You Scored 1/2

  ADA compliance can consist of a vast universe of compliance measures. Insuring that the identified remediations are in alignment with ADA standards that pertain to you to avoid fines is a must.

• 45. We have PCI-based security processes in place

  You Scored 1/5

  You should continue to do this on a routine basis, to make sure you identify any stop-gap measures or additional measures that may need to be taken to ensure compliance.

• 46. We have a dedicated analytics platform with customized tracking specific to our online goals

  You Scored 0/2

  Analytics data can have a huge impact on your business, but first, you need to be confident in that data. Have you performed a tracking audit to assess your tracking accuracy? This includes debugging analytics tags and comparing the resulting data to other sources. After performing an audit, resolve any errors, or, if the data still appears to be wrong and the problem is not identified, consider starting anew with another tagging method (i.e. if hardcoded, try a tag manager).

• 47. Our analytics program is integrated completely with our customer and marketing data

  You Scored 1/2

  Transitioning from a moderete to mature understanding of attribution across marketing, device, and offline behavior can be difficult. Depending on your business, this could require an attribution platform or specifc attribution study. Before exploring these initiatives, determine how attribution insights will shape your business. This ensures that the attribution technology is worth the cost, delivering value and helping to shape the requirements of your analysis approach.

• 48. Our optimization testing program enables us to trial and validate both simple and robust user experience changes

  You Scored 1/2

  Since you run basic A/B tests, you likely have enough evidence to justify more robust testing initiatives. Have past tests revealed ways to strengthen your digital experience or have otherwise helped your business? If not, ensure that you are running a enough tests, and then evalute future tests' focus against known friction points or pathing arteries to ensure you're capitalizing on high value areas of the customer journey.

• 49. We have and use browser/platform/device matrices tied to our user base indicators to test our site

  You Scored 0/1

  A testing matrix is a good idea that includes tests against tour prominent user base and insures that many test scenarios are accounted for. The matrix can also be tailored o match your user base via analytical data.

• 50. We utilize a tag manager to deploy tags, and our team is comfortable deploying or editing these tags

  You Scored 1/2

  If only a few of your companies tags are hardcoded, it's likely okay to leave them as they are until those tags require some kind of update. At this point, it makes sense to move them to the tag manager: just make sure to document that these tags exist in case a page is updated and a developer assumes that only the tag manager needs to be supported to transition all tags. Centralize all tagging requests through a single party so they can ensure that all tags are supported through a clean and consistent process, that any dataLayer requests are not redundant, and that tags are properly QAed.