How Outdated Software Leads to Retail Opportunity Loss
Updated: Mar 14, 2023
Following Fortune, 12k US shops have gone bankrupt over the past year. We're used to explain it by the COVID-19 crisis. But, it only showed the level of business readiness for unforeseen changes and challenges. Survived companies did not miss a single opportunity to satisfy their customers and become better.
Just about the missed opportunities, we would like to talk. Have you ever wondered how many customers, revenue streams, and ideas you lose due to outdated software? If not yet - it's time to discover.
What Opportunities Legacy Software Steals From Your Business
Up-/Cross Sales
Every retailer works for high-quality turnover. It seems only direct sales can assure it. But the hidden, crucial factor here is the up-/ cross sales level.
Here, companies have to anticipate the need and offer a more profitable solution for buyers: whether it's a little more expensive but robust laptop or cream for coffee. By choosing outdated software, you lose the opportunity to increase revenue from upsales.
Agree it's curious when a non-grocery store offers an Apple evangelist to purchase Android-based products. It means the company has some troubles with the legacy CRM or contact center (CC). It limits scalability and does not cope with the customer data flow. Accordingly, the company receives outdated information about a customer experience and risks losing buyers.
Besides, did you know employee experience also affects the level of up-/cross sales? Just look at it. Let's say you have outdated contact center infrastructure with a challenging interface. Meanwhile, your enterprise intends to increase revenue through additional sales.
Unfortunately, you can't use communication through the CC to achieve this goal. Agents have to keep going the conversation switching between dozens of tabs simultaneously to decide any buyer's issue. They won't have time to figure out what marketing campaign or discount will interest the interlocutor. Consequently, an agent will not close deals effectively.
Legacy software migration is often the solution. First, it will help organize real-time campaign management. The new system allows you to segment marketing offers. In other words, iPhone lovers will receive recommendations to purchase a branded case for a just-bought device. Meanwhile, Android fans will find a Huawei laptop at an attractive price among their offers.
Moreover, software upgrades always affect its interface. One-stop-shop is becoming more popular now. Here, employees can find all the necessary data in one environment. The product collects information from back-office integrated systems in real-time and generates hints for employees. The latter enables agents to offer customers exactly what they need.
You may also like: Legacy Contact Center Migration: Does End Justify The Means?
Wide audience
Do you know why many retailers have not withstood the COVID-19 restrictions pressure? - Their software was designed exclusively for offline trading maintenance. As of 2021, over 2 billion people prefer online shopping. If your systems are not scalable or integrated enough to support e-commerce, you lose a massive layer of customers. Now it could leave your company at the end of the domain players list. Isn't there a significant reason to think about digital transformation?
Enterprises often adapt to e-commerce, overloading legacy systems with new functionality or implementing ready-made products without a digital base preparing. Yes, this approach saves time. Meanwhile, it wastes resources.
If your company finds itself in a similar situation, you need a change. But don't sacrifice quality for the sake of saving. It is better to start with the transformation of business processes and adapt them to new conditions. Your business should "require" application modernization and be ready for such a process simultaneously. Only in this case, investing in new software will be justified.
You may also like: Introduction To Legacy Systems Migration
Fruitful online shopping
What can make you, like 88% of online buyers, abandon a shopping cart? Most likely, the wrong terms and price of delivery. Unfortunately, clients often find out accurate information only after communicating with a contact center agent. It's also a drawback of an outdated delivery calculator, which can deprive the company of customers.
Just imagine how many types, lines, and units of goods you can find in one wide product catalog. - Several tens of thousands. And now, let's consider a target audience. A big retailer usually serves millions of customers worldwide.
To provide each potential customer with a time of any product delivery, the system has to:
identify buyers and track their geolocation
interact with a warehouse system and receive information on any desirable goods available in the nearest warehouses
calculate the cost and delivery time in real-time based on the received data
The above processes should be performed within a second you load a page with any product. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of shoppers are doing the same: choosing what to purchase.
A delivery calculator built with legacy technologies or poorly integrated with other systems cannot provide such results. Consequently, a company will suffer from software failures, abandoned online carts, and zero revenue.
Re-engineering of legacy systems can prevent such an outcome. But here, as well as in the previous case, the business should prepare a basis for a further efficient transition.
Conclusion
The benefits of legacy modernization are obvious. This way, retailers can engage an audience, become more attentive to clients, and remain versatile in service provision.
Meanwhile, migration is not always the answer. The action plan depends on your requirements and current business condition. Feel free to contact us to discover whether this option is a suitable solution for your company.