Predicting the Value of eCommerce for Your Business

When it comes to budgeting for eCommerce, many businesses don’t even know where to start.

It may feel like a lot of guesswork and a big risk.

You know there is value in it, but how much? And what is the right amount to invest?

There is a way to take the guesswork out of it!

We help companies develop a “Business Case” for eCommerce. It’s a process that analyzes your current business and predicts the value you could realize through eCommerce - whether you are just starting out with eCommerce or you are upgrading an online store you have had for years.

A Business Case allows you to:

  • See the monetary value eCommerce represents for your company over the next 5 years
  • Determine what eCommerce solution is the right fit for your business
  • Provide clear information to decision makers in your organization for budgeting purposes
  • Create a benchmark against which to measure the results of your eCommerce project

How to develop a business case

In order to develop a business case and predict the value of eCommerce for your business, you have to look at three key areas: Revenue, Cost Optimization, and Productivity.

First, we look at how much revenue you could be generating online. What are you generating with your current eCommerce solution, if any, and how can we improve that? Set some realistic goals and crunch the numbers to see what kind of a return they will generate. What if your current online sales could be improved by 10%? Or, if you aren’t selling anything online today, what if you had a goal of generating 3% of your overall business online?

In addition to revenue, there are other ways eCommerce brings value to your company. The next thing we look at are Cost Optimizations. Where is there money that can be saved by things working better? Could some of your existing technology systems be integrated or even eliminated? How could increasing conversion rates impact the efficiency of your advertising budget? Identify and quantify the waste that could be eliminated by an effective eCommerce solution.

The third area we look at is Productivity. How much value can be generated through your developers and sales team by being more efficient internally? Is your sales team spending time taking small orders or processing paperwork which could be done another way? By enabling your eCommerce site to automate smaller dollar sales, you can allow your sales team to focus on high revenue generating activities.

Predicting the value of eCommerce for your company

Predicting the Value of eCommerce for Your BusinessKnowing the values for Revenue, Cost Optimization, and Productivity, we can determine which eCommerce solution makes the most sense for your company. It’s about identifying the platform that is the right size and scope to fit your needs.

Not every business can make a case for a solution with all the bells and whistles. While others can justify and reap the benefits of a more robust solution, rather than wasting resources on something that won’t fill all their needs.

Taking into account the cost of the proposed solution, we calculate the return you can expect from your eCommerce investment. We also look at how long it will take to reach the break-even point.

Brilliance Business Case Process

We engineered our Business Case Development process based on data and actual results from our customers. We are able to walk you through a set of questions and generate a business case for your specific situation.

It’s an incredibly useful tool for decision makers who are looking at where to invest resources to grow your company.

Developing a Business Case is a complimentary service we provide because we believe in the power of online solutions to improve businesses when they are done right. Request your free Business Case here.

Lori McDonald

President & CEO

About

Lori McDonald 

Lori graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer-Electrical Engineering and leads Brilliance Business Solutions with over 20 years of computer engineering and software development experience.  She is an Episerver EMVP, a Microsoft Certified Professional and a regular contributor on Practical eCommerce. Her status as a recognized industry expert has resulted in regular speaking engagements at business conferences.

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