Ecommerce Development

It’s interesting to listen to the many stories that clients often share with us. They talk of how easy it was to set up their ecommerce operation and how exciting it was the day they “went live” to began selling on the Internet. Unfortunately, the next parts of these stories usually share disappointments of not being able to attract buyers and an impending lack of sales. These stories are heartbreakers and Rhythm Interactive does everything it can do to make these stories into happy endings.

Our foremost concern in developing an ecommerce operation is not the technology, but the research, strategy formulation and execution of the overall marketing plan. This is the most overlooked aspect of ecommerce yet the most important. It begins with a process which we call the RI-5 Framework for Success.

It’s broken down into five (5) major sections: Insight, Innovate, Immerse, Implement, and Impact. Each of these steps is critical to developing a successful ecommerce solution and none of them should be skipped. The process can be summarized as follows:

First, we set out to learn everything there is to know about the market that you will be competing in. This involves a great deal of research looking at product offerings, price points, competitor websites, costs of marketing and which strategies are being used by competitors. We then summarize all of our findings in a detailed discovery report that becomes the foundation for all of the next steps.

Using the discovery report, we develop a comprehensive strategy that includes marketing tactics, suggested budgets, and realistic time frames to manage expectations. We also look at product offerings, price points, brand development and the best ways to differentiate in the desired competitive space. Once the strategic plan is in place we work to architect the solution.

Architecting the solution, or “Immerse” as it’s known in the RI-5 process, involves planning on paper. We develop content outlines, detailed sets of wireframes, design the brand and create the web page compositions that will become the site’s look and feel. This step provides the blueprints that are carefully followed to develop the physical website and the marketing system that will be employed to attract, engage, convert and retain customers.

With a complete plan in place, we then build the ecommerce system. Whether the system is a complete customized solution from scratch or it leverages an off the shelf system, we develop it based on the outcomes of the first three steps of the RI-5 Process. At this point, we build and deploy the solution and work to effect all the decided upon marketing tactics to drive traffic and sales.

The final step in the process is called “Impact”. This is where we review the results of the initial efforts, and using detailed analytics, work to understand what is working and how to make it work better. This serves a two-fold process. First we want to improve; the nature of the Internet allows for immediate adjustments followed by immediate results, making this process achievable and lucrative. The second and very important concern we have is retaining existing customers – basically keeping them coming back for future purchases. This involves establishing some sort of loyalty, growing it and maintaining it. Our goal in impact is to leverage success by increasing sales, constantly attracting new customers and retaining the ones that we have earned!

If you are a company that is looking to get your ecommerce operation off of the ground, it’s important that you hire an agency that can guide you through the challenges that lay ahead. Rhythm Interactive’s RI-5 Process was developed to address and overcome these challenges, so that our clients have a much greater success rate than the average company.

Please contact us today to learn more about ecommerce, online marketing and our interactive strategy services.