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The Ecommerce Launch Guide GUIDE The eCommerce Launch Guide 10-Step Guide to a Successful Grocery eCommerce Launch Tips, best practices and tangible recommendations to help you effectively promote and launch your new eCommerce offering TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 3 Step 1 Devise Your Launch Strategy 6 Step 2 Define Your Budget 9 Step 3 Create Your Hub 11 Step 4 Generate Pre-Launch Awareness 13 Step 5 Establish Channels and Touch Points 15 Step 6 Brand Your Launch 18 Step 7 Create Supporting Content 19 Step 8 Set Up a Help Desk 20 Step 9 Encourage Feedback 22 Step 10 Maintain Momentum 23 Questionnaire 24 Key Takeaways 26 INTRODUCTION Communicating Change to Your Customers Just a few years ago, products and services that we now take for granted—like the iPhone and Netflix—didn’t exist. It was advances in technology that made these innovations possible, but it was consumer understanding and readiness that made them so popular. Technology has revolutionized the way in which consumers purchase goods and services, and as they become more accustomed to these benefits in other digital settings, they’re beginning to expect them to be incorporated into the grocery experience as well. To meet this growing demand, many retailers are leveraging new technologies to meet consumers’ evolving needs. However, no matter how “ready” today’s consumers may be, getting them to embrace change, abandon previous behaviours and create completely new ones isn’t always easy. INTRODUCTION 3 Successfully communicating change is all about clarity—you need to ensure that your customers understand exactly what it is you’re trying to achieve. When done well, communication can help people feel positive about change and lessen the impact of resistance. However, the reverse can also be true—poorly-planned communication could heighten resistance. In order to accept change, people need to learn why it’s in their best interest to embrace the new and forget the old. You want to help them get great service out of your brand at every interaction, and that involves continuously innovating to create a better product and service, and then helping your customers understand how these changes are designed to make their lives better. Summary and Goals This guide offers tips, best practices and tangible recommendations to help you effectively promote and launch your new e-commerce offering. Its purpose is to provide direction in helping you prepare your customers for changes in your service in the near future. The two overarching goals of this guide are to help you: ONE Lay the Foundations of Your Launch Strategy An integral part of your e-commerce launch strategy should be about demonstrating the “why” behind the change. It’s important to make customers aware of why change is happening, and let them know how they will benefit from it. What new features does the new offering provide that will make their lives easier—what’s in it for them? TWO Craft Your Campaign Message The next piece of the puzzle should be establishing the goals and messaging you want to convey throughout the launch campaign. There will likely be several stakeholders involved, so it’s important for your team to be aligned and aware of how the change should be positioned throughout all your communications. To support you in achieving these goals, we’ve created this 10-step implementation plan to help you effectively communicate upcoming service changes to your customers, and guide them seamlessly through the transition phase. INTRODUCTION 5 STEP Devise Your Launch Strategy A launch strategy can be seen as an organized, purposeful effort to create change, and it should be guided by thoughtful planning. Before taking action, it’s important to learn as much as possible about the existing situation: who will be affected by the change—both positively and negatively? What initiatives could improve the situation? What resources, tactics and tools are available to implement a campaign that will address these issues? This knowledge can then be used to form the basis of your strategy, which guides you in planning, implementing, marketing, monitoring, improving and evaluating your e-commerce launch. Your launch strategy should answer the following questions: What is the problem you are confronting? Who are you trying to reach? What change(s) are required? Who will be affected by the change? What is your ultimate vision? Answering these key questions repeatedly, and at each and every stage of your campaign, will help develop your campaign strategy. Your strategy will then guide what you do going forward and should be updated regularly as the campaign is implemented and the situation changes. The underlying goal of your strategy is to communicate that change is coming, while also letting your customers know that they will be given enough time and the appropriate training to learn how to use your new service effectively. TIP Create a Communication Strategy Address the biggest changes that are relevant to your audience simply and clearly. Always reinforce the “why” and the benefits your users will enjoy as a result of the change. Stagger your messages—timing and repeated reminders are important. Early messages should be light, subtle and matter of fact, with an emphasis on the values and benefits. Tone is key. Begin with subtle notifications — don’t make your messages seem alarming or urgent. Building Your Campaign Strategy Begin building an effective campaign strategy by addressing the following questions: To answer this question, it takes: A purpose that drives the campaign strategy. 1 An analysis of the situation and the specific problem What needs the campaign will address. to change? A vision for the future the campaign is intended to contribute to. Your strategy needs: A theory of change that explains how the campaign will contribute to the desired outcome. 2 The solutions or pathways of change promoted by the How will the campaign campaign. In this instance, the goal of the campaign would be to promote a change in customer behavior. help bring the change? The approach or types of actions to be carried out by whom, how and when. Your strategy must define: The target audience (i.e. the people the campaign 3 needs to influence to attain its goal, and how these Who are the customers will be reached). stakeholders? Prospective parties likely to join the campaign, and their potential roles in the campaign. Your communications strategy should: Detail specific objectives and activities for the 4 communication of the specific change initiative. What are the campaign’s Outline what will be done to build commitment strategic elements? to the change, reduce resistance, and ensure implementation occurs. DEVISE YOUR LAUNCH STRATEGY 6 STEP Define the Budget How much of your budget should be put towards promoting your e-commerce launch? The short answer is that it depends on the size and scope of the campaign, and how much additional paid advertising you decide to build into it. The costs in any marketing budget are typically allocated according to the campaign and the media to be utilized. Because of this, some prior research will be necessary in order for your cost estimates to be as realistic as possible. Other information that can guide your spending plan can be found in your internal records—what advertising expenditures have proven successful for your company? For example, you can review internal records and determine the return on investment of your advertising dollars from previous initiatives. An assessment of previous campaign performance records may lead you to drop media that hasn’t been as fruitful. Your budget should outline the media you intend to use (e.g. email, social, print, telemarketing, trade shows, publicity, etc.) and the tools, technologies or resources you’ll be leveraging (e.g. new software or email service provider). DEFINE THE BUDGET 9 Which of your company’s channels are active and which do you see the most engagement from? Analyze the efficacy of your previous initiatives to determine which channels to invest in for your e-commerce launch campaign. Possible media channels to include in your budget: Web Advertising Development BUDGET Print Direct Collateral Marketing Public Relations Events Budgeting can be a challenging process, but if you’ve defined your needs and core campaign components, you’ll be in a position to create more accurate estimates. Now that you’ve finished your plan and budget, the fun part can begin: it’s time to start executing your launch strategy. DEFINE THE BUDGET 10 STEP Create Your Hub Your next step is to build a hub or landing page for your e-commerce launch. A hub is essential for many reasons. It will be home to everything related to your launch until your full e-commerce site goes live, and will give you the chance to tease your audience as to what’s to come. Most importantly, it’s a place to start building a list of people that are interested in what you have to say and want to learn more about your launch. You can start building a hub for your e-commerce launch using your Mercatus Commerce Solution. Key Messaging for Your Hub NEW Online Grocery Shopping Shop online and pick up your order at your store. Order using Brief Overview your shopping list and favorites so shopping is even easier! HOW DOES IT WORK? Trust Factor QUALITY SERVICE Product 1. SHOP Our friendly associates will choose Selection Choose from over 100,000 items, your items with care and carry your including fresh meat and produce order out to your car when you pull up at your reserved pickup time. Reserve Your 2. RESERVE Order Online Confirm your order and select a time and date for pick-up Payment Details 3.
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