Scaling an eCommerce business can be hard work, but having an agile mindset can make it easier to grow the business. A recent global survey reveals that most executives believe being agile plays a crucial role in delivering the right products and services, accelerating decision-making and speed to market, improving the customer experience, and staying ahead of the competition.
We are surrounded by new technologies all around us, which in turn help us to develop even more modern technologies. The Agile methodology is one of such developments specially created for eCommerce websites, apps, and software.
The agile methodology involves uncovering challenges and developing solutions through collaborative, self-organized, and cross-functional teams in an eCommerce business. It is concerned with the flow and performance of the entire eCommerce system and involves creating a feedback loop to increase production efficiency while encouraging continuous improvement through testing.
Let's look at the top benefits of agile methodology for eCommerce businesses.
ECommerce businesses need to battle everyone from disruptive startups to Amazonian giants in today's competitive marketplace. This makes the prospect of a fast-moving, adaptive organization highly appealing. Agile methodologies streamline production from the initial conception of an idea to the final deployment stages, keeping eCommerce business highly flexible and adaptive. It also helps them meet the ever-changing needs of modern consumers by allowing for quick product changes based upon user feedback.
What do customers want? And what might they want that they don't yet even know they need? Many eCommerce businesses need to consistently introduce new products and features to generate interest and revenue. By meeting consumer needs and introducing new products or features proactively to determine whether there's any interest, companies can stay on the cutting edge and serve customers in the best possible way.
With the agile methodology, everything goes through regular and rigorous QA checks to ensure customers receive the highest quality products. Of course, it doesn't stop there; QA is continuous, and ways to improve deliverables are always in development (whether it's a new or complementary product or simply adding on a new feature).
The agile methodology provides transparency or visibility into all aspects of the business to all departments, from marketing to design to logistics. When all the players are on the same page, working together to achieve the same goal, the risks of failure are reduced considerably.
Quality assurance checks are critical for product launches and maintaining consistency over time. Following the agile methodology, products are tested in various ways as soon as they are developed, and any defect can be identified and ironed out. During testing, opportunities may also be discovered that can be implemented to improve the final product.
By following an agile methodology, eCommerce businesses can develop a higher-quality product, quickly make improvements, add new features, and meet and exceed customer expectations. The result? Happier customers will make more purchases and act as brand advocates, telling others about their positive experiences. Read more about developing a customer experience strategy.
