The Ideal Web Store – Can Owners and Users be Satisfied at the Same Time?

+ By Balázs Pőcze | Klára Pálossy

As a member of Mito Group, Mito Digital has been assisting international and domestic large corporations with their digital development through designing, redesigning, and developing their online trading platforms for fifteen years. But what is necessary for the success of such a strategically significant project today? And how can business goals and consumer expectations be harmonized on a single platform?

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As a member of Mito Group, Mito Digital has been assisting international and domestic large corporations with their digital development through designing, redesigning, and developing their online trading platforms for fifteen years.

But what is necessary for the success of such a strategically significant project today? And how can business goals and consumer expectations be harmonized on a single platform?

Let’s start immediately with the question: what makes a good webshop?

Szabolcs Bobor, CEO:

It depends on who we ask. While for the owner the goal is to maximize conversion, turning visits into results, the shopper simply wants to quickly and smoothly obtain the desired product. Over the past fifteen years, we have been entrusted with revenue-generating digital channels from many countries and industries, and we see that this basic formula holds true not only for our traditionally commercial clients, such as Auchan or Libri. It doesn’t matter whether the market is Hungarian, Canadian, or Ecuadorian, and whether the basket product is an Icelandic flight, online sports betting, lightning-fast mobile net, or the weekly big shopping, the end is always a checkout process. Stripped down, this logic operates behind most business-critical interfaces.

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Do these ownership and consumer interests exclude each other?

Daniel Farkas, Client Relations Manager:

Ideally, no. However, it is very important to hit the right notes, as the characteristics of the industry and the company determine how a given business goal can be achieved and what level of flexibility is allowed in one direction or another.

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How much room for maneuver can there be in each sector? Can it happen that user experience is completely overshadowed by business expectations?

D.F.:

There are fundamentals that must be met when designing the customer journey, but it is also true that users are often much more flexible than we think. If they are committed, for instance, to buying a low-cost airline ticket, they will struggle through a more complex process. On the ownership side, this also allows for more room to exploit sales from additional services, which is an important source of income for our discount airline clients, such as Wizz Air or Icelandic PLAY. Elsewhere, however, the user experience has a greater impact on conversion. In digital lottery and sports betting, we work with Szerencsejáték Zrt. and Scientific Games, one of the world’s leading gaming providers, and we see that the gaming experience is also a determining factor. In retail, fierce competition for consumers due to the numerous online actors means poorly chosen or excessively cross-selling offers can quickly scare them away. Solutions that support the entire customer experience, whether it’s a loyalty card application, a smooth payment interface, or digital support for offline shopping, can be more efficient. In the case of telecommunications clients, such as Deutsche Telekom, we have encountered different characteristics again. Since these services are almost as basic to us as water flowing from the tap, it’s important that we can easily and quickly access them. If this is met, we also overlook cross-selling efforts, if only because of the inconvenience associated with potential switching.

What should someone pay attention to who wants to set up or optimize their e-commerce platform?

B. Sz.:

This is a very complex challenge. It is no coincidence that in the case of such special segments as aviation or gambling, we have dedicated professional teams with decades of experience behind them to assist our clients. In addition to the aspects mentioned, it is a crucial question what organizational and technological conditions allow – or not. We experience every day how a background system inherited twenty or thirty years ago can lead to limitations. All of this requires a holistic approach, which is not an easy task when several departments of a large corporation work together with several different suppliers.

What do you see as the biggest challenge from the corporate side today?

B. Sz.:

Prioritizing digital channels is no longer just worth considering, but is a fundamental business expectation. However, due to organizational characteristics, the various functions often operate in silos; the IT, marketing, commerce, CRM, or design departments usually bring their suppliers themselves. When results have to be demonstrated in the middle of a digital transformation project, it can consume a lot of energy, time, and money if such fragmentation hinders progress. It is not surprising that partnerships have been revalued, which begin with identifying strategic problems and challenges and end with tracking the implemented solution. At Mito Group, we also believe in this, whether it is about service design, frontend design and development, performance optimization, or brand communication.

D. F.:

When daily sales of one million dollars are the goal for one of our international clients, the primary need is not for a website or application, but for problem-solving. Needless to say, more than one or two competencies are needed to achieve this.

How can effective collaboration be realized in this role?

D. F.:

At the group level, our services cover the entire spectrum of client needs, and at the digital process design level, our designers think in strategy. They understand the challenges of the partners, and see how the interface fits into the business narrative according to what goals. When a project receives attention from the boardroom even in the initial phase, it can greatly support this, and such a level of trust is also an incredibly good feeling for us. Then we can work together to develop a solution that satisfies everyone at the end of the day, and even during the day.

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