Two Different Strategies for Continuous Development of Your E-commerce

Jakob Twedmark

CEO

A great deal of focus in our industry is placed on how an e-commerce project is best driven from start to finish. Far less focus, in my view, is placed on what will actually be the normal state of affairs for a number of years — namely, how e-commerce should be continuously improved and adapted to new conditions.

In this article, we go through two different strategies and the advantages and disadvantages they entail.

Option 1: Consistent Scope and Budget

Many of our clients have defined the goals they want to achieve during the year and have also set a budget to reach them. This can involve a time bank ranging from a few hundred hours per year to thousands, depending on how much needs to be accomplished.

In practice, this means we allocate one or more consultants to handle the majority of this work, with contributions within the team varying depending on the competencies required.

Ideas are discussed and evaluated together, which fills the backlog with items that are estimated and prioritised on an ongoing basis. The work flows in a constant stream and the focus is on extracting as much value as possible from the agreed budget.

Advantages 👍

• Speed -> new ideas become reality in a shorter time
• Continuity in development
• Cost control

Disadvantages 👎

• Requires organisational acceptance that e-commerce is something that demands ongoing investment

Option 2: Variable Pace with Efforts as Needed

An alternative to the above is to not set a budget or scope in advance, but instead handle new ideas and improvements at various points throughout the year. New items are estimated and typically go through an internal approval round with our client before being scheduled and realised. Some periods see no improvements, while others see considerably more.

Advantages 👍

• Flexibility - the organisation can accelerate and decelerate throughout the year depending on changing conditions

Disadvantages 👎

• Longer decision-making paths lead to more time from idea to reality
• Lower rate of innovation, as each item needs to be justified internally
• Reduced continuity with the supplier, who may need to involve new consultants depending on availability

Which is best?

The summary above may suggest that I advocate for option 1, and in most cases I do — but not always.

There may, for example, be periods where it is not possible to work on constant improvements to e-commerce, especially if it is currently performing well and there are other projects demanding the organisation's focus. There may also be uncertainty around the long-term plan for the technical solution currently in use.

However, I believe that all businesses with growth ambitions for their e-commerce should be willing to view ongoing improvements as an investment in increased sales and, not least, increased customer satisfaction. Because regardless of how well an e-commerce performs today, we need to acknowledge the fact that much else is constantly changing: competitors' offerings, current trends and technology shifts (hello AI!), and not least — customer expectations.

For that reason, I believe the normal state after the launch of a new solution should be to have the ability to continue developing it further — so as not to lose the head start that a newly developed solution has hopefully created.

A few tips along the way 💡

• Work towards clear goals for your e-commerce, whether you are B2B- or B2C-focused.
  The goals should describe the purpose of an e-commerce and what measurable results should be generated over the coming months and years.
• Based on the goals: set a budget that feels reasonable.
  "How much is it worth to us for e-commerce to continue performing well? What are the financial consequences if it does not?"
• Dare to experiment!
  There are no guarantees that a single improvement will have the effect we believe and hope for, but we can be fairly confident that if we make 10 improvements, some of them will turn out well. Make sure to measure what is relevant so you can track the effects — and ensure the organisation does not penalise "mistakes".

Good luck with your improvement work! 🙌