IBM has a legacy of being an innovator in the eCommerce industry as well having a commitment to excellence. In recent years, IBM has instituted their Smarter Commerce initiative that is focused on customer experience and inspired the name of their annual conference. This year’s Smarter Commerce Conference theme was “Moments Matter,” a rather sentimental concept for a tech company, but one that highlights their dedication to the entire customer experience. Because of their customer-centric approach to eCommerce, IBM continues to innovate their software to meet the customer’s needs, particularly WebSphere Commerce.
Similarly, we at Briteskies pride ourselves on exceeding our customers’ expectations and inspiring trust in our customers. The Briteskies team has achieved countless IBM certifications and has achieved Premier Business Partner status, ensuring not only that our customers have access to all of WebSphere’s capabilities, but that our team has the skills and expertise to deliver. The IBM Partner Network provides well-executed solutions and enhancements for WebSphere Commerce sites, and is just one of the many benefits IBM has to offer.
While IBM has a more detailed WebSphere tutorial, here are some reasons why we at Briteskies love WebSphere Commerce.
With so much of the competition online, a user-centric experience can differentiate your store from the rest. Features such as targeted marketing can help pick up on your customer’s preferences, online behaviors and purchase histories, providing a more personal shopping experience. IBM’s Precision Marketing component leverages customer information to improve sales using cross-sells, up-sells and abandoned cart reminders, among others things, as well as recording data to measure effectiveness. Additionally, WCS is integrated with social media such as Facebook, which helps you get to know your customer’s taste and shopping habits better. Each of these aspects helps to improve customer loyalty and increase purchase totals.
One of the out-of-the-box features on WCS is the ability to keep your brand consistent across all channels, including mobile stores. This feature is also supported across platforms and is particularly easy to manage using the Web 2.0 Starter Stores for both B2B and B2C. These sites have a straightforward set up and customization options, and work across mobile platforms. Using a responsive design means less individual stores to manage (and pay for!).
Besides offering many options for how to reach your customer, WCS gives you more control over aspects of your store. The included WCS search capabilities include integrated search, giving you the power to improve customer search results. Additionally, WCS features the IBM Management Center, which virtually eliminates the need for IT support when it comes to managing merchandising and marketing. The Management Center gives you control over catalogs, search engine optimization, promotions, store profiles, and more. Once your site is optimized to your standards, WebSphere also provides options for deployment based on size and the changing needs of your company.
All of these features leverage the IBM middleware platform, which is powerful enough to support large volumes of traffic and supply chain hosting while providing the performance and scalability IBM customers have come to expect. Additionally, the software includes services such as data load tools, content workspaces, and integration with IBM Digital Analytics software, IBM Configurator, and IBM Order Management. As our own Managing Director, Bill Onion, has said, “IBM WebSphere just works.”
Using IBM WebSphere Commerce allows you to set up a store with features that span the sales lifecycle. From reliable software to increased control of merchandising, WCS offers the options you need to connect with your customer and convert the sale. By utilizing that power and partnering with a certified development team, you can build the eCommerce site you have imagined.
Are you ready to talk WCS? Contact us.
No Comments Yet
Let us know what you think