May4,2012 ForbesInsightsQ&AwitheGain'sAnandSubramaniamoneCommerceandthe CustomerExperience BruceRogers ForbesInsightsbeginsaseriesofQ&Asessionswithindustryinnovators.Todays postiswitheGainsAnandSubramaniamoneCommerceandthecustomer experience: FI:Webcommercecontinuestogrowbutyousaythatbusinesswebsitesdont makeiteasyforcustomerstobuy.Canyouelaborate? Anand:eCommerceiswhitehotwithonlinesalesexpectedtohitclosetoatrillion dollarsby2013,accordingtoanalystestimates.Yet,websitesdontalwaysmakeit easyforconsumerstobuy,whetheritsinonlineretail,financialservices,insurance, telco,consumergoodsorotherindustries.

ries.Somewebsitesarebetterthanothersbut onaverage,shoppingcartabandonmentratesareupwardsof80%intheretail sectorandwebformabandonmentratesareupwardsof75%inthefinancial servicesandinsuranceindustries.Andcartorformabandonmentisjustthetipof theiceberg,whenyoulookatthelargerphenomenonofshoppingabandonment. FI:Canyouexplainwhatyoumeanbyshoppingabandonment? Anand:Shoppingabandonmentorpurchaseabandonmentismorethanshopping cartabandonment.WhenconsumersgotoeCommercewebsitesoraretailstoreto buysomething,theygothroughthreedistinctstepsintheirpurchaseprocessfind, decideandbuy.Businesscustomersfollowasimilarprocess,althoughtheir purchasecyclemightbelongerandmoredeliberate.Shoppingcartabandonment tendstohappeninthebuystagebutconsumersoftenquitthepurchaseinthe findordecidestage,waybeforetheyevenputanythingontheshoppingcartor startfillingthedreadedenrollmentform.Soshoppingabandonmentincludes abandonmentatanystageofthepurchaseprocess,andinthismodel,shoppingcart abandonmentisabandonmentinthebuystageofthepurchaseprocess. FI:Whataresomeoftheissuesthatcauseshoppingabandonment? Anand:ThankstotheexplodingSKUclutterandallinonesuperstores,finding thingsinaretailstorecanbeachallenge,andinthisdayandage,instorecustomer servicehelpispooratbestandoftennonexistent.Withnobrickandmortarspace

constraints,thisproblemcanbeexponentiallyworseonwebsitesshoppersget lostinahurry.Whileshoppingabandonmentrateinabrickandmortarretailstore mightbelowerduetotheshoppersescalationofcommitmentafterall,the shopperlikelyspentasizeableamountoftime(andgasoline!)drivingtothemall theresnosuchcommitmenttowebsites.Shopperscansimplyboltwiththeclickof amouseortheswipeofatablet! Manyecommercesitesoffersimplekeywordsearchorsomekindofonlinecatalog tofindthingsbutkeywordsearchisnotveryintelligentandcatalogsarenoteasyto use.Wouldaskincreambeinthepersonalcare,healthorthepharmacy section?Recently,whenIsearchedforglowinthedarkanalogwatchonaleading onlinestore,IgotmultiplepagesofTshirtswithglowinthedarklogosonthem beforetherewasanythingrelatedtowatches.Insomecases,Iranintothedreaded noresultsfoundmessage! Oncetheconsumerfindssomeoptions,theydliketodecidewhattheywanttobuy. Inordertodomakeadecision,theyneedproductinformationincludingfeatures andindependentreviews,aswellashowtheycomparetoalternatives.Manyweb sitesdontofferthisandconsumershavetogoelsewheretofindsuchinformation, abandoningthepurchaseintheprocess.Moreover,websitesoftenmakeonesize fitsallunintelligentoffersthatdontmovethepurchaseforward. Finally,whenthecustomerisreadytobuy,theyputthingsontheshoppingcartand startthecheckoutprocess.Shoppersoftenquitatthisstageforvariousreasons thecheckoutprocessbeingconvoluted,shippingorsalestaxstickershock,inyour facesurveys,inabilitytofindthatonelastbutimportantitem,etc.Inthecaseof industrieslikefinancialservicesandinsurance,customersoftenneedtofillout onerousonlineformstobuy.Theseformsareoftencomplex,andtheresnoreal time,inpurchasehelp.Thecustomersimplygivesupfillingtheformsandgoes elsewhere. FI:WhataresomethingsthateCommercesitescandotoreduceshopping abandonment? Anand:eCommercesitesneedtomakeiteasierforthecustomertobuybymaking iteasierforconsumerstofind,decideandcompletetheirpurchasetransactions.Ill discusssomeexamples,basedonwhatourclientsaredoing. Wouldntitbegreatifthewebsitehadavirtualgreeterorconcierge(alsocalled chatbots,avatarsandvirtualassistants)thathelpedcustomersfindthings?Whatif theconciergewelcomedthevisitorinanengagingmanner,answeredcommon questionsinanaturallanguagedialog,pushedrelevantwebpagestotheshopper, gavewebsitetoursandeventransitionedtheconversationwithallthecontexttoa humanexpert,ifitsnotabletoanswerthequestion?AleadingEuropeanonline retailerisdoingjustthat.Thesechatbotsnevertaketimeoff,theywork247and

areevenmultilingual!Moreover,theyaredesignedtoalignwiththebrand,thereby reinforcingthebrandthroughshoppersdigitalexperiences. Whatifthewebsitesearchunderstoodthetrueintentoftheshopperandhelped themfindbyguidingthemtowhattheyneedtobuythroughanaturallanguage dialogorstepbystepguidedhelpjustlikeacompetentsalespersoninaretail storeoranautomobileGPSwould?Intentdrivensearchtechnologyandguidedhelp basedonAI(ArtificialIntelligence)technologieslikeCaseBasedReasoning(CBR) candothis.Oneofourtelcoclientshasimplementedthisapproachtheirwebsite proposesthemostappropriatesetofmobilephonemodelsandsubscriberplans, basedonaselfserviceconversationwiththecustomer,mimickingwhatanexpert salespersonwoulddoinawalkinretailstore. Someclientsaggregatesearchresultsfromnotonlyfromtheirownwebsitesbut alsofromindependentproductreviewandcustomersupportforumsallinone placemakingiteasyforthecustomertodecide,withouteverhavingtoleavethe website.Thesesitesmakeintelligentandrelevantofferssuchasinformation, coupons,realtimechatorcobrowseoffers,etc.tohelptheconsumerdecidewhatto buy.Instead,whatyoustillseeinmanywebsitesareirrelevantonesizefitsall salesoffersorattackchat,wherethecommercesiterelentlesslypursuesthe shopperwithanoffertochat,quicklychasingtheconsumeroutofthewebsite.Who wantsaggressive,inyourfacesalespeopletailingyou,whenyouareshopping?! AleadingUSinsuranceclienthastheirsalesagentscobrowsewithcustomers,while talkingtothemonthephoneatthesametime.Theagentsshowconsumersaround onthewebsite,collaborativelyfillonlineforms,etc.whentheyareinthebuy phaseorwhentheygetonboardedafterthepurchase.Theinsurerhasbeenableto increaseonlineconversionratefrom25%to75%withthisapproach.Therearealso otherbestpracticestoreducecartorformabandonmentinthebuyphasesuchas showingshippingcostsandtaxesupfront,makingiteasytopay,customerfriendly returnpolicies,etc. FI:WhatsNext? Anand:Theresnoquestionthatbusinesseswillcontinuetogodigital.Pureplay eBusinessesaswellaseCommercedivisionsofclickandmortarcompanieshavea greatopportunitytowinintheirmarketsbydeliveringextraordinarycustomer experiencesthroughinnovationintechnology,process,peopleandpracticesandby makingiteasyforthecustomertofind,decideandbuy. AnandSubramaniamistheVicePresidentofWorldwideMarketingforeGain,a providerofmultichannelsalesandservicesoftware.Anandhasbeeninthetech industryforovertwodecades,servinginexecutive,managerial,andtacticalrolesin marketing,salessupport,insidesales,channeldevelopment,softwaredevelopment andproductmanagementatcompaniessuchasOracle,Lotus,IntelandAutodesk,as wellasstartups.