The recent surge in prioritizing customer experience has significantly impacted the evolution of eCommerce. Therefore, choosing the right CRM among various CRM software solutions to effectively manage customer relationships is crucial. 

Following Part 1, here are 5 other CRM software options for large enterprises worth considering.

Dynamic 365 Sales

Dynamics 365 Sales is a comprehensive Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution developed by Microsoft. The software is designed to assist businesses in managing and streamlining customer interactions, enhancing the sales process’s efficiency.

Its notable capability for scalability and flexible customization has made Dynamics 365 Sales one of the most suitable choices for the complex deployment needs of large enterprises.

Core features:

• Communication Management: Harness the power of Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Teams to enhance team collaboration effectiveness and interact more efficiently with customers.
• Revenue Acceleration: Optimize the sales process and revenue with suggested next actions proposed by Microsoft, helping businesses prioritize their sales activities.
• Predict & Manage Pipeline: Analyze individual and team sales processes to provide automatic in-depth insights and deliver the most accurate forecasts.
• Real-time Insight: Provide real-time insights from sales calls, including customer emotions, market competition, and more, enabling businesses to assess and guide their sales teams effectively.

Costs:

Pros:

• Seamless integration with other Microsoft products.
• Intuitive interface, easy to set up, and shares similarities with other Microsoft solutions.
• Collects customer data from multiple sources and stores it centrally in a single platform.
• High flexibility and scalability for customization.

Cons:

• Rigorous configuration, challenging to change after setup.
• For users unfamiliar with Microsoft products, the interface may be cluttered and challenging to navigate.
• Requires a high technical proficiency and a specific understanding of Microsoft products for deployment and customization.
• Some advanced features may necessitate additional module purchases

Oracle CRM On Demand

Oracle CRM On Demand is a cloud-based CRM designed to assist businesses in managing sales activities, marketing, and customer interactions, and providing in-depth analytical reporting. It is the SaaS version of Oracle’s renowned on-premise software, Siebel CRM. Businesses can use both of these software applications and link them through the ‘Oracle Application Integration Architecture’ and ‘Oracle Fusion Middleware’ software.

Core features:

• Browser & Cloud Support: The software is accessible on mobile browsers and various web browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and Bing, enabling businesses to access customer data and manage all sales activities remotely.
• Workflow Automation: Create and automate sales, marketing, approval processes, and daily tasks for the team to enhance the overall efficiency of business operations.
• Analytics & Reporting: Additional factors are incorporated into reports, such as personalized content, and enhanced custom sales history, to provide in-depth insights that assist businesses in making better business decisions.

Costs: Oracle CRM On Demand doesn’t publicly disclose its pricing on the website. Therefore, businesses are advised to contact the provider directly for consultation and a price quote.

Pros:

• Intuitive interface with step-by-step setup and usage guidance.
• Flexible and highly customizable with extensive scalability.
• Seamless integration with other Oracle products and third-party applications.
• Provides in-depth reporting and analysis.

Cons:

• Requires internet access for use.
• The pricing for using Oracle CRM On Demand is not disclosed, making it challenging for businesses to calculate deployment budgets.
• While Oracle provides setup instructions, businesses still need technical expertise and a certain level of understanding of Oracle products for deployment and customization.

Related Reading: On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences

Infor CRM

Infor CRM is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software designed to assist large businesses in developing and maintaining customer relationships.

Infor CRM is known for its flexibility, scalability, and high configurability, offering a range of features to help businesses better understand their customers, personalize customer experiences, and enhance the effectiveness of sales operations.

Core features:

• Customers 360º views: Provides businesses with a comprehensive overview of customer transaction history, preferences, and behavior.
• Reporting and Analytics: Infor CRM’s in-depth reporting and analytics offer crucial insights for making informed decisions.
• Email Integration: Seamlessly integrates with email platforms such as Outlook and Gmail to retrieve information directly from Infor CRM and send emails to customers at any time.

Costs: Infor CRM doesn’t publicly disclose its pricing on the website. Therefore, businesses are advised to contact the provider directly for consultation and a price quote.

Pros:

• Intuitive interface, easy to set up and use
• Seamless integration with other Infor solutions
• Smooth integration with third-party applications and services
• High flexibility and scalability for customization.

Cons:

• Requires internet connectivity
• The usage cost of Infor CRM is not publicly disclosed, making it challenging for businesses to estimate deployment budgets.
• Technical expertise and a certain level of understanding of Infor CRM are necessary for deployment and customization.

LeadSquared Sales + Mobile CRM

LeadSquared Sales + Mobile CRM is a cloud-based CRM solution that enables businesses to enhance sales productivity and manage relationships with customers and potential customers.

This CRM solution integrates the features of Sales CRM and Mobile CRM, allowing businesses to access customer data and perform essential sales tasks from anywhere, at any time.

Core features:

• Lead Distribution: Evaluate transaction scale, customers, language preferences, and various other critical factors to distribute suitable potential customers to each sales team member.
• Sales Smartviews: Eliminate clutter and boost the productivity of the sales team by displaying tasks in order of priority.
• Mobility: Track and manage the remote activities of the sales team, including automatic check-in/check-out, automatic detection of incorrect check-in locations, automatic reminders for the next meeting, and expedited document sharing and uploading processes.

Costs:

Pros:

• Automates sales and marketing processes.
• Enables the search for potential customers from multiple channels, minimizing the risk of losing potential customers.
• Manages and nurtures potential customers for conversion with AI-built functionalities.

Cons:

• No free trial version is available.
• Requires technical expertise and understanding of LeadSquared for implementation.
• Occasionally encounters server-related issues or problems with internet connectivity.
• Compared to other CRM software, LeadSquared is somewhat limited in providing in-depth reports.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a popular CRM software solution used by businesses of all sizes and industries. In recent times, large enterprises have shown particular favor for Pipedrive CRM due to its advanced features that assist in managing sales opportunities and swiftly converting potential customers into clients.

Core features:

• Customizable Sales Pipeline: Set up a customizable sales process with multiple stages to align with the existing sales cycle.
• Segment Leads: Filter, sort, and segment potential customers to create target customer lists for personalized interaction activities.
• Contact History: Track and manage the entire history of all calls, emails, meetings, and notes related to every transaction and contact.
• Revenue Forecasting: Predict transaction volume and revenue within the CRM system. Track and automatically calculate revenue as transactions are updated.
• Reporting & Dashboards: Receive detailed reports on sales activities and sales figures. Monitor progress and achievements in the dashboard.

Costs:

Pros:

• Intuitive and user-friendly interface.
• 14-day free trial available.
• Automation of sales and marketing processes in most service packages.
• Unlimited customization of sales processes through API.
• Multilingual and multicurrency support.

Cons:

• Phone customer support is only available with premium packages.
• Pipedrive is somewhat limited in providing in-depth reports compared to other CRM software.
• Occasionally, emails sent from the Pipedrive system may encounter errors.
• Limited seamless integration with third-party apps and services.

Choose the best CRM software!

So, the article about the 10 CRM software systems part 1 + part 2 has come to a close with the hope that businesses will choose a platform suitable for their development needs. 

By implementing a CRM solution, businesses can quickly build and develop relationships with customers while enhancing collaboration among internal departments.

Contact or call SECOMM’s Hotline directly at (02871089908) for advice and CRM implementation.

The options for CRM solutions are expanding and becoming more diverse. In reality, some currently popular CRM software may lack the flexibility to meet the complex deployment requirements of large businesses.

Nevertheless, there are CRM software designed to offer a digital infrastructure, in-depth technical support, and exceptional features, granting significant customization freedom for large enterprises.

The article below focuses on providing important considerations when choosing CRM solutions and lists the 5 best enterprise CRM software.

5 Things to consider when choosing CRM software

Determine your need

The first important step before selecting CRM software is to clarify the needs and deployment expectations. You can review and assess the pros and cons of the current tools and management programs in use. Following this, the focus should be on the aspects requiring modification or enhancement, all while estimating the customization needs.

Select types of CRM software: On-premise CRM vs On-cloud CRM

Next, you need to the type of software to deploy, which may be either On-premise or On-cloud CRM software. These two software types come with key differences.

For On-cloud CRM, the entire data and software system are stored and managed by a third-party service provider, allowing you to access it through a web browser or mobile application.

Some advantages of On-cloud CRM include:

• Cost-effective usage
• Easy to use and accessible anytime, anywhere
• No need to perform maintenance, security, and software update processes

On the other hand, On-premise CRM stores and manages the entire data and software system locally on the company’s servers and infrastructure.

Some advantages of On-premise CRM include:

• Internal storage ensures security for vital information.
• You have complete control over the software, enabling you to customize the software updates.
• Not dependent on the internet to access and maintain the CRM system’s operations.

Related Reading: On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences

Check the accessibility

A user-friendly CRM software accessible to users of all skill levels contributes to expediting the deployment process effectively. Specifically, the software interface should be intuitive, easy to install, and allow for seamless import and export of any data type without requiring excessive assistance.

Moreover, businesses should opt for CRM software that is flexible enough to synchronize with their existing operational processes. Typically, the majority of CRM solutions nowadays offer a free trial period of three or four weeks. This timeframe is sufficient for businesses to understand the software’s functionality and assess whether it is the optimal choice for their deployment needs.

Evaluate the ability to customize

Customization is a vital feature of CRM software. Because each business has different models and scales, it’s essential to select CRM software that offers customization capabilities to match your business requirements and smoothly manage your sales processes.

Most CRM software designed for large-scale businesses offers customization capabilities. Nevertheless, while CRM solutions with extensive customization features can facilitate flexible deployment to meet specific needs, they often come with a higher price point.

Pay attention to security issues

The most crucial information stored in CRM software is customer data. Therefore, when selecting a CRM solution, you need to prioritize security.

Currently,  many CRM solutions are cloud-based, meaning customer data is encrypted and regularly backed up to enhance safety and security. However, you should thoroughly research the provider and understand how their data will be stored and secured in the database. This information is typically available on the CRM provider’s website.

5 best enterprise CRM software

According to G2‘s and rankings based on user satisfaction, here are the top 10 CRM software solutions best suited for large-scale enterprises.

Salesforce Sales Cloud

Salesforce Sales Cloud is a part of the renowned Salesforce CRM platform, developed to assist large enterprises in optimizing business operations and maintaining better customer relationships.

Core features:

• Opportunity Management:  Provides details about transactions, including product information, deal stages, pricing, and competitors Allows sales personnel to access real-time information for each transaction.
• Marketing Automation: Automatically creates, deploys, and manages effective online marketing campaigns. Enables collaboration between sales and marketing teams to search, evaluate potential customers, and streamline the sales process.
• Lightning Voice: Allows making calls to customers directly within Salesforce with just a click. Sales representatives can view all contact information updated in real-time to be prepared for any customer conversation.
• Workflows and Approvals: Saves time and simplifies the approval of business requests by designing and automating sales processes with simple drag-and-drop actions. Approval requests include deal discounts, expense reports, purchase orders, etc.
• File Sync and Share: This enables the sales team to quickly search and share up-to-date and accurate content such as presentations, proposals, and contracts from anywhere, helping the business close more deals in less time.
• Reports and Dashboards: Easily create and customize dashboards and real-time data reports to support the decision-making process for the next business steps.
• Sales Forecasting: This enables viewing sales forecasts and specific adjustments suggested for each sales team.

Costs: 

Pros: 

• Enables a 360-degree view of the customer interaction journey
• Offers tools for automating business processes
• Includes a demo for every deployed feature
• High level of customization and scalability
• Superior data security system

Cons:

• Internet access is required to use the software.
• While Salesforce Sales Cloud offers extensive customization, you will face additional charges for adding features or utilities, leading to increased software usage costs.
• The platform provides advanced features, but for new users, navigating through all the features and options available on the dashboard may not be intuitive. You will need to invest significant time in training their teams to effectively utilize the software.
• Migrating data from existing systems to Salesforce Sales Cloud can be time-consuming and may require technical expertise. Businesses can contact the Salesforce consulting team for assistance in addressing this issue.

SAP Sales Cloud

Recognized as a top on-cloud CRM software for large enterprises, SAP Sales Cloud assists businesses in creating an internal collaborative environment, optimizing business processes, and fostering efficient interactions with customers.

Core features:

• Omnichannel Engagement: Provides omnichannel interaction features to enhance customer engagement, streamline the sales process, and complete transactions. 
• Email & Calendar Integration: Integrates with productivity tools like Microsoft Outlook and Google Gmail to automatically synchronize customer data and important information from the current system.
• Predictive Analytics & Machine Learning: Real-time scoring and prediction features help businesses identify potential customers, guide them through the sales process, and offer personalized recommendations for products, sales representatives, and pricing to optimize contract opportunities.
• Sales Performance: Offers detailed sales guidance to help businesses actualize their sales strategy while tracking progress and results with comprehensive information on each salesperson’s actions. Additionally, businesses can integrate with the SAP CX solution suite to boost business goals.
• Productivity & Personalization: Provides features that enhance the efficiency of the sales process, such as tagging, flagging, scheduling, and personalizing fields, reports, and custom fields for easy access and use by sales representatives.
• Back-office Integration & Connection: Integrates with SAP ERP and SAP CX solutions to leverage real-time, valuable information and details to understand sales cycles and seize transaction-closing opportunities.

Cost: SAP Sales Cloud doesn’t publicly disclose its pricing on the website. Therefore, businesses are advised to contact the provider directly for consultation and a price quote.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface that is easy to use.
• Seamless integration with other services in the SAP system, facilitating the sharing of information and data across departments within the business.
• Provide demos for each deployed feature.
• Offers advanced analytics capabilities for customer information and market trends to optimize sales strategies.
• High customization and scalability.
• Ensures the security, regular updates, and accuracy of customer-related information and data.
• Automates business processes.

Cons:

• The usage cost is not publicly disclosed, making it challenging for businesses to accurately estimate deployment expenses
• The seamless integration capability with other SAP services, while advantageous, can be a drawback as businesses become heavily dependent on the SAP system, leading to limitations if a few services from a different provider are used.
• Integrating SAP Sales Cloud with external services is not straightforward and requires significant expertise and resources.
• The high customization capability of SAP Sales Cloud demands technical proficiency and a certain level of understanding of SAP, making it time-consuming for new users to familiarize themselves with the platform.

HubSpot Sales Hub

When it comes to leading CRM providers, HubSpot is a very familiar name for most businesses. The HubSpot Sales Hub solution offers businesses outstanding features to build relationships with customers, manage the sales funnel effectively, and close more deals.

Core features:

• Sales Automation: Set up a series of automated and personalized tasks and emails to streamline the sales process and close deals.
• Conversation Intelligence: Utilize AI tools to record calls with customers to understand how each sales representative interacts with customers and provide timely evaluations and improvement guidance.
• Document Tracking: Support the sales team in creating and sharing sales content, while tracking which type of content customers open, view, or forward, and which content leads to deal closures
• Email Tracking: Use tools like Gmail, Outlook, and HubSpot to send tracked emails and receive notifications for any potential customer interaction with tracked emails.
• Call Tracking: Prioritize daily sales calls based on the HubSpot database. Automatically record call details for contacts in the CRM system.
• Pipeline Management: Create, customize, and control the sales process visually with the “Deal Pipeline Management” feature. On the “Sales Dashboard” page, you can view detailed sales activities, track customer movement through the funnel, and identify and address issues for each customer case to quickly close deals.
• Sales Analytics & Reporting: Choose from available reports or customize individual reports to monitor the progress and performance of the sales team with in-depth and accurate analytical data.

Costs:

Pros:

• Provides 24/7 customer support via live chat, email, and hotline.
• Intuitive platform interface and user-friendly CRM features.
• Offers a demo for each deployed feature.
• Provides tools for automating business processes.
• The ‘tracking’ features are well-designed and systematically meet the requirements for monitoring and controlling the entire sales process.

Cons:

• Although HubSpot Sales Hub is designed to be user-friendly, the initial setup, customization, and management of the CRM system may require a significant amount of time.
• Internet access is required to access and use the software.
• The free trial version limits features and permissions, making it challenging for businesses to accurately assess the capabilities of this CRM system.
• Migrating data from existing systems to HubSpot Sales Hub can be time-consuming and may require technical expertise.

Zoho CRM

Zoho is a renowned CRM solution with a variety of features designed to suit businesses of all sizes, enabling them to build and manage customer relationships and optimize sales processes.

Core features:

• Sales Force Automation: Automates sales tasks such as scheduling sales appointments, sending follow-up emails, tracking leads, and updating sales opportunities.
• Marketing Automation: Provides tools to efficiently run marketing campaigns and deliver high-quality leads to the sales department.
• Performance Management: Streamlines business processes, and enhances sales capabilities with insights relevant to changing market trends.
• Product Customization: Use custom fields, buttons, layouts, link data, localize language and currency, and test before deployment.
• Omnichannel Management: Enables businesses to connect with customers across various channels while collecting essential data to support sales calls.

Costs: 

Pros: 

• User interface is intuitive and easy to use.
• Allows integration with multiple applications and services to create a unified CRM system.
• Utilizes artificial intelligence to predict customer behavior and suggest relevant actions.
• High-level security features.
• Offers a 15-day free trial version.

Cons:

• Customer support service is not yet fully optimized.
• Customization process requires technical expertise and significant resources.
• The trial version limits many features, making it challenging to evaluate the platform’s capabilities.

NetSuite CRM

Another prominent CRM software for large enterprises is NetSuite CRM. This is a cloud-based CRM platform designed to help businesses manage interactions with current and potential customers, partners, and suppliers.

Core features:

• Sales Force Automation: Provides businesses with an integrated sales process, covering lead management, upselling, cross-selling, and quoting to sales forecasting, order management, order fulfillment, and commissions.
• Marketing Automation: Builds, deploys, and measures the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Tracks potential customers and identifies the moment they are ready to make a purchase, transferring potential customer information to the sales department.
• Customer Service Management: Creates and automates the management process of customer cases, ensuring that customer inquiries are quickly addressed with the answers they need.
• Partner Relationship Management: Controls all aspects of the sales and marketing process between the business and its partners with real-time updated information.

Costs: NetSuite CRM doesn’t publicly disclose its pricing on the website. Therefore, businesses are advised to contact the provider directly for consultation and a price quote.

Pros:

• An all-in-one solution for various aspects of eCommerce such as sales, marketing, and customer service.
• Exceptional customization capabilities to meet the specific deployment needs of each business

Cons:

• The usage cost is not publicly disclosed, making it challenging for businesses to accurately estimate deployment costs.
• Businesses are required to pay the entire deployment cost upfront for the initial setups.
• Users must subscribe to an annual license, incurring additional fees before using this tool.

Related Reading: Explore the 10 best CRM software for large enterprises Pt2

The Bottom Line

Leveraging years of valuable experience supporting various businesses in the deployment of CRM solutions, SECOMM offers valuable insights to help businesses swiftly identify appropriate software and expedite the implementation process.

Contact or call directly to SECOMM’s hotline at 02871089908 for free consultation.

According to Fortune Business Insight, the projected value of the global Customer Relationship Management (CRM) market for 2023 stands at $71.06 billion, with expectations to surge to around $157.53 billion by 2030, exhibiting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12%. 

CRM, a software solution, delivers numerous advantages for both sellers and buyers. This tool empowers businesses to forge enduring, meaningful relationships, yielding substantial profits. Meanwhile, customers can enjoy personalized and high-quality experiences.

The following article delves into the detailed definition of CRM, common types of CRM software, core features, and the benefits when businesses use CRM solutions.

What is CRM (Customer Relationship Management)?

CRM or Customer Relationship Management is a software solution crafted to help businesses efficiently manage their relationships with both current customers and potential leads.

The CRM system is designed to carry out specific tasks, including:

• Gathering customer data from diverse sources and storing it in a centralized database.
• Automating repetitive processes in sales, marketing, and customer service.
• Guiding the management of customers and prospects throughout their purchasing journey.
• Identifying opportunities for up-selling and cross-selling.
• Improving collaboration efficiency within the internal operations of the business.

By utilizing CRM software, businesses can eliminate the need for using scattered spreadsheets and apps. This helps overcome limitations, offering robust features for performance analysis and gaining insights into customer interactions.

Types of CRM Software

Deployment Classified

• On-premise CRM: This is typically employed to store essential internal data. Under the On-premise CRM model, businesses take responsibility for securing, maintaining, and updating the system.
• On-cloud CRM: It enables businesses to access the system remotely from any device with an internet connection. In this case, the CRM service provider takes on the responsibility for ensuring security, maintenance, and system updates.

Related Reading: On-premise CRM vs On-cloud CRM: Key Differences

Function Classified

• Operational CRM

These CRM systems are crafted to help businesses manage sales, marketing, and customer service activities. The main goal of CRM software is to generate a pool of new potential customers, nurture these leads, convert them into loyal customers, and retain them through effective marketing strategies and top-notch customer service.

• Analytical CRM

While the Operational CRM system helps businesses enhance customer attraction and retention, the Analytical CRM system allows businesses to understand how potential customers move through the sales funnel. These CRM solutions gather, store, and analyze customer data, delivering detailed insights into customer interactions with the business.

This facilitates businesses in assessing the effectiveness of marketing, sales, and customer care initiatives, allowing them to make necessary adjustments.

• Collaborative CRM

The main goal of Collaborative CRM software is to improve customer experience and streamline business processes by enabling communication and data sharing among internal departments and external stakeholders (suppliers, partners).

While operational and analytical CRM systems also allow for data sharing, collaborative CRM places a greater emphasis on enhancing the customer experience.

It is especially favored by businesses with extensive customer databases that necessitate tight collaboration between departments (sales, marketing, customer care) to ensure the optimal customer experience.

Top 6 Core CRM features

Contact Management

The first important feature to mention in CRM software is Contact Management. This feature allows businesses to store information related to customers and potential customers on the platform, ranging from their names, phone numbers, email addresses, and job details to more in-depth data such as interaction history and how each customer interacts with the business.

Lead Management

Lead Management is one of the core CRM features. This feature supports marketing and sales efforts by:

• Attracting potential customers from various sources.
• Organizing data related to potential customers.
• Segmenting potential customers based on criteria.
• Creating a scoring framework to assess conversion potential.
• Automating personalized interactions to foster relationships.

Pipeline Management

The Pipeline Management feature provides businesses with a visual overview of potential customers and existing transactions. Deals are separated into different stages of the pipeline. This helps sales representatives understand the status of each potential customer and aids them in deciding which leads to pursue.

Email Management

Utilizing the Email Management feature, businesses can seamlessly integrate their email functionality with CRM software, facilitating the sending and receiving of emails directly within the CRM system interface. 

This streamlined approach saves time, eliminating the need to navigate between various tabs for email communication and ensuring no missed opportunities to engage with potential customers.

Workflow Automation

The next crucial feature in CRM solutions is Workflow Automation, which comprises three fundamental aspects: Marketing Automation, Sales Automation, and Customer Service Automation.

Marketing Automation

The ‘Marketing Automation’ feature helps businesses simplify the marketing process by designing trigger elements for specific actions of customers and potential customers, such as:

• Sending a welcome email to potential customers when they sign up for an account.
• Sending a survey email after they have used a product for a certain period (e.g., 90 days).
• Providing customers with information about related products to what they have purchased or sending discount codes for products left in their shopping carts.

In summary, the automated marketing process in the CRM system utilizes the “if-then” logic to automatically trigger interactive activities after customers or potential leads perform specific actions.

Sales Automation

Similar to ‘Marketing Automation,’ the ‘Sales Automation’ feature also uses trigger elements to help sales representatives automatically provide purposeful interactions with customers at specific points in the sales process.

Additionally, Sales Automation assists sales representatives in scoring and managing potential customers, while automatically generating sales forecast reports, enabling businesses to make informed decisions.

Examples of sales automation process:

• Invite potential customers to subscribe to the newsletter when they first visit the website.
• Automatically send a follow-up email if they go silent (for example, 36 hours) after receiving a product quote.
• Automatically assign potential customers to different sales representatives.

Customer Service Automation 

‘Customer service automation’ in CRM solutions refers to the use of automation technologies to enhance and optimize the customer service experience.

This may include using chatbots for online support, sending automatic notifications and updates to customers, automating the handling of basic customer requests and inquiries, and various other activities to save time and streamline workflows.

Analytics and Reporting

The ‘Analytics & Reporting’ feature in CRM solutions plays a crucial role in analyzing data and generating reports to help businesses gain a deeper understanding of their business performance, customer interactions, and market trends.

This is an important tool that enables businesses to make decisions based on accurate data, improve customer interactions, and optimize business strategies.

Top 5 CRM Software Benefits

Improve Customer Relationship Management

CRM software plays a pivotal role in enabling businesses to gather and store comprehensive information about customers, including interaction history and personal details. This helps understand customers and creates a personalized interaction experience, from providing better services to developing appropriate outreach strategies.

Streamline Business Processes

CRM systems help automate many aspects of the business process, such as sales management, marketing, and customer interaction tracking. This results in increased work efficiency, minimizes errors and enhances the ability to interact effectively with customers.

Enhance Customer Service

CRM platforms provide tools such as automated chatbots and customer support systems, facilitating the swift resolution of customer requests and inquiries. This enhances the customer experience, builds trust, and increases the chances of establishing long-term relationships

Facilitate Informed Decision-Making

The CRM software’s data analysis features contribute to a more profound comprehension of customer behavior, business performance, and emerging market trends. This empowers businesses to make informed decisions and anticipate future developments.

Enhance Internal Collaboration

CRM software facilitates tight collaboration among different departments within a business, working together on the platform. This encourages the exchange of information and internal interactions, ultimately enhancing data consistency, feedback capabilities, and accurate responsiveness to customer needs.

Boost Your Customer Engagement through CRM Solutions!

There’s no doubt that CRM software offers incredible benefits to businesses. From efficiently managing customer relationships to optimizing business processes and providing the best customer experience. CRM is not just a tool but a viable strategy that helps businesses build and maintain relationships with their customers.

Over the years, SECOMM has been accompanying many clients in developing CRM solutions. We have observed that in a competitive business landscape, choosing the appropriate CRM software is as crucial as understanding customers and implementing CRM strategies. 

Contact SECOMM or call the hotline at (+84)28 7108 9908 for a free consultation.

CS-Cart is a versatile eCommerce platform, available in both open-source and SaaS models. Established in 2005 under Simbirsk Technologies Ltd., it has garnered trust from medium-sized and large businesses. Its reputation is built on robust customization options, numerous features, and supplementary utilities within its ecosystem.

Listed below are brands that have built their CS-Cart eCommerce websites.

House of CB

House of CB is a leading women’s fashion brand in London, United Kingdom. Renowned for its meticulously crafted collections tailored for significant events, the brand was established by Conna Walker at the age of 17, backed by a £3,000 loan from her father. 

Faced with initial capital constraints, House of CB strategically leverages eCommerce to engage with its potential customers. Over time, the brand has graced the wardrobes of numerous Hollywood luminaries, including Beyonce, Gigi Hadid, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, and the Kardashians.

• Website: https://www.houseofcb.com/ 
• Industry: Fashion
• Traffic: 1.8M/month (7/2023)
• Ranking: #28,116 (Worldwide), #12,982 (UK)

Maxbhi

Maxbhi is an eCommerce venture operated by Elcotek India Private Limited in India. The CS-Cart website is dedicated to offering a wide range of accessories for electronic devices, including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and more, specifically within the Indian market. 

Launched in 2004 in Ghaziabad, India, this CS-Cart eCommerce website has grown to become one of the largest and most enduring online stores for phone accessories in the country.

• Website: http://maxbhi.com/ 
• Industry: Consumer electronics
• Traffic: 1.7M/month (7/2023)
• Ranking: #32,992 (Worldwide), #2,410 (India)

Harvey Norman

Harvey Norman is a leading retailer in New Zealand, offering a diverse range of products including computers, electronics, furniture, bedding, and household appliances from renowned global brands. 

This initiative is part of the franchise system operated by Harvey Norman Holdings Limited, a publicly listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange Limited. The company’s main activities encompass retail, franchise operations, real estate, and digital enterprises.

• Website: https://www.harveynorman.co.nz/ 
• Industry: Retail
• Traffic: 1.4M/month (7/2023)
• Ranking: #40,692 (Worldwide), #115 (New Zealand)

Enter

Enter stands out as one of Moldova’s major retailers in the consumer electronics sector. Boasting a network of 25 traditional stores across the country, Enter focuses on delivering a wide range of electronic devices, including mobile phones, tech accessories, home appliances, and more.

Moreover, Enter has established itself as a trusted authorized dealer for renowned brands such as Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Dyson, Lenovo, LG, and others. With future plans in mind, the company aims to further expand its brick-and-mortar stores and enhance its eCommerce website for an even more convenient shopping experience for customers

• Website: https://enter.online/ 
• Industry: Retail
• Traffic: 705.9K/month (7/2023)
• Ranking: #76,885 (Worldwide), #73 (Moldova)

Mobilier1

Mobilier1 is a Romanian CS-Cart eCommerce website specializing in the furniture industry.  With over a decade of experience, the company remains focused on manufacturing and selling furniture within the eCommerce market. Mobilier1 consistently earns praise for the high quality of its products and services, providing competitive pricing compared to other market players.

Furthermore, Mobilier1 offers additional services such as nationwide free delivery and a 365-day return policy, ensuring a seamless experience for its customers.

• Website: http://mobilier1.ro/ 
• Industry: Furniture
• Traffic: 365.5K/month (7/2023)
• Ranking: #142,635 (Worldwide), #726 (Romania)

Butor1

Butor1 is a Hungarian business specializing in the distribution of furniture and interior accessories. Over the past decade, the company has formed direct partnerships with renowned furniture manufacturers to offer customers products at reasonable prices.

Recently, Butor1 has taken a step further by combining CS-Cart eCommerce website operations with sustainable practices, pledging to plant a tree for each successfully placed order, demonstrating its commitment to environmental responsibility.

• Website: https://www.butor1.hu/ 
• Industry: Furniture
• Traffic: 340.0K/month (7/2023)
• Ranking: #140,320 (Worldwide), #733 (Hungary)

Siriust

Siriust is a CS-Cart eCommerce website under the umbrella of Profi, a leading retail chain in Russia. Specializing in tech accessories like smartphones, laptops, wireless devices, and repair tools, Siriust boasts a catalog of over 16,000 products.

With 50 physical stores in major Russian cities, the company has strategically introduced a CS-Cart website, enabling customers to conveniently make online purchases and pick up their orders from the nearest store.

• Website: http://siriust.ru/ 
• Industry: Consumer electronics
• Traffic: 318.4K/month (7/2023)
• Ranking: #151,245 (Worldwide), #7,774 (Russia)

Topsto

Topsto is an online store serving customers in both B2B and B2C sectors in the Crimea region, Ukraine. With an expansive product catalog comprising over 280,000 items, Topsto’s CS-Cart website gained favor among customers for its varied product range, affordable pricing, and swift delivery services across the Crimea region.

• Website: https://topsto-crimea.ru/ 
• Industry: Retail
• Traffic: 220.8K/month (7/2023)
• Ranking: #167,337 (Worldwide), #4,166 (Ukraine)

Ucuzkitapal

UcuzKitapal is a Turkish online book retail business with a loyal customer base of over 85,000. The store offers a vast collection of books covering diverse genres, including education, literature, economics, self-development, and more.

Through the early adoption of a CS-Cart eCommerce website, the business consistently satisfies book-buying needs with highly competitive prices, swift delivery, and attractive offers.

• Website: https://www.ucuzkitapal.com/ 
• Industry: Online book retail
• Traffic: 146.8K/month (7/2023)
• Ranking: #227,028 (Worldwide), #5,881 (Turkey)

Riviera Couleurs

Riviera Vaudoise is a paint and coating business established 40 years ago in the “Riviera Vaudoise” region in western Switzerland. Renowned for its picturesque landscapes, traditional villages, rose gardens, and idyllic lakeside views, the region provides an exquisite backdrop.

Over the years, Riviera Vaudoise has evolved into the premier destination for oil-based paints in the area, catering to diverse needs such as automotive, residential, and wood applications.

Currently, the company has built its CS-Cart website to extend its business footprint into the realm of eCommerce, aiming to connect with a broader audience of potential customers throughout Switzerland.

• Website: https://www.magasindepeinture.ch/ 
• Industry: paint and coating
• Traffic: 41.1K/month (7/2023)
• Ranking: #1,367,213 (Worldwide), #272,883 (Switzerland)

Here are 10 CS-Cart eCommerce websites that have not only successfully developed their online presence but have also achieved notable success in their respective industries. This triumph serves as inspiration for other businesses looking for effective solutions to elevate their operations and enhance competitiveness in the market.

Drawing on substantial experience in implementing eCommerce solutions for clients across diverse countries, SECOMM comprehends the challenges and hurdles businesses encounter during the deployment process.

Contact SECOMM today or call the hotline at 02871089908 for a free consultation.

The Juniper Research report titled “Buy Now Pay Later: Regulatory Framework, Competitive Landscape & Market Forecasts 2022-2027” predicts that the global user base for Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) will exceed 900 million by 2027. In Vietnam, the BNPL payment method is expected to experience an annual growth of 126.4%, reaching 1,123.9 million USD in 2022.

What is Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)?

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is a short-term financial arrangement that allows consumers to make immediate purchases and defer the payment to a future date, typically without accruing interest.

How it works

In BNPL, the financial technology (Fintech) organization facilitating the service directly pays the purchase amount to the seller on behalf of the customer. The customer then repays this amount gradually to these organizations over a period, often extending from one to several months.

When using BNPL, customers can make payments through bank transfers or have the amount automatically deducted from their debit card, bank account, or credit card. While the specific terms and conditions may vary between companies offering BNPL services, the general operational mechanism is similar to credit card instalment plans. However, BNPL is often considered much simpler, and additionally, it typically does not involve interest charges; instead, late payment fees are calculated as a percentage of the product or service value.

Pros and Cons

For customers

With the BNPL model, consumers can make immediate purchases even if they don’t have the financial capacity to pay the entire shopping cost upfront. This payment is divided into shorter instalment periods, corresponding to smaller amounts, reducing financial pressure on consumers. Additionally, BNPL typically does not entail annual fees or hidden charges, and the registration process is simple and quick, averaging less than 15 minutes. In general, BNPL companies usually only require customers to be at least 18 years old and own a bank card, without specifying a minimum personal income.

However, BNPL often comes with a relatively low consumer spending limit, typically ranging from 20 to 30 million VND, to meet the needs of purchasing items such as fashion, cosmetics, phones, laptops, electronic components, etc. If consumers do not know how to control their spending, they may easily engage in excessive shopping as there is no immediate need to pay the full amount at the time of purchase. This can lead to late payments for the instalment periods and additional penalty fees.

For businesses

Collaborating with BNPL organizations to launch BNPL programs with 0% interest can help businesses attract more customers without incurring excessive marketing costs. With this approach, businesses can encourage customers to make purchasing decisions more quickly without extensive financial consideration, thereby significantly boosting revenue. Moreover, instead of offering discounts or freebies, the ability to pay gradually without urgency and without incurring interest aligns with customer psychology and needs.

However, many businesses still hesitate to implement BNPL models due to concerns about not being able to control the debt of individual customers. Additionally, this potential model is relatively new to the Vietnamese market, so there are not many payment service providers offering BNPL services, and there is a scarcity of experienced eCommerce website development units capable of efficiently integrating this functionality.

Compare Buy Now Pay Later with Credit Cards

The BNPL model is revolutionizing the global consumer credit sector, but many people still confuse BNPL with credit card instalment plans offered by banks. 

So, what are the differences between Buy Now Pay Later and credit cards?

Comparison table of Buy Now Pay Later with Credit Card

Despite trailing behind the global trend, the BNPL model in Vietnam is forecasted to explode due to the market falling into a favourable timeframe. This is influenced by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has significantly propelled the development of online shopping and eCommerce. Additionally, the BNPL model aligns more with the preferences of Generation Z than traditional credit cards.

Case studies

Tiki and Sendo – Two of the four kings of eCommerce participating in BNPL

Two out of the four largest eCommerce platforms in Vietnam have begun implementing BNPL, affirming the tremendous potential of this model in the online shopping market.

In 2020, Sendo was a pioneer in eCommerce by early adoption of BNPL through collaboration with financial solution provider Atome, offering Buy Now Pay Later services. With BNPL, Sendo aims to make shopping more convenient for customers, removing concerns about financial issues often associated with credit cards, such as increasing interest rates for late payments over an extended period.

Since the beginning of 2022, Tiki has collaborated with two financial service providers, Home Credit and Lotte Finance, to launch the ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ project, enhancing smart payment solutions directly within the Tiki app. This initiative not only supplements intelligent payment options for Tiki users but also empowers customers to manage their personal finances better when engaging in online shopping, thereby further enriching the overall eCommerce experience for consumers.

Laybyland – The leading brand in the Buy Now Pay Later model in Australia

Laybyland was established in 2012 in Australia with two key eCommerce business models: Layby (Pay Later) and Shop Now Pay Later (Shopzero). Over its 10 years of eCommerce operations in the Australian market, the business has witnessed remarkable growth. Starting with +10,000 products across two initial websites, it has expanded to offer over +400,000 products daily across five online stores, including Laybyland, Shopzero, Mylayby, and Layawayland.

Shopzero, a part of Laybyland, provides BNPL services through seven main partners: Afterpay, Zip, Openpay, Humm, Latitude, Klarna, and Wizpay. Notably, Shopzero maintains complete control and operation over all BNPL activities and payment processes within its system. Pioneering the BNPL market has brought Shopzero significant success, especially in the electronics, office supplies, fashion, cosmetics, furniture, gardening tools, children’s toys, and travel sectors.

It is evident that BNPL is contributing to a significant revolution in consumer payment habits, shifting from a payment method choice to a crucial factor in customer purchasing decisions.

With extensive experience in implementing eCommerce solutions in various countries, especially in the Buy Now Pay Later market, SECOMM understands the challenges businesses face when exploring how to establish Buy Now Pay Later systems.

Contact SECOMM now or call us via hotline (+84)28 7108 9908 for a free consultation on detailed eCommerce system development solutions!

The eCommerce landscape in SEA is experiencing robust growth, with a CAGR of 11.43%. The anticipated total revenue for 2023 is projected to reach USD 109 billion, as reported by Statista. Moreover, there are over 2000 eCommerce websites built on the Magento platform within this market. 

For most Magento deployment projects, collaboration with experienced developers on this platform is crucial. This partnership ensures joint planning, design, and development of customized websites tailored to the specific requirements of each business. 

This article will delve into why Magento remains the preferred platform for eCommerce website development and spotlight the top 5 Magento developers in the SEA region, including Kemana (Indonesia), Lime Commerce (Indonesia), SECOMM (Vietnam), Sweetmag (Malaysia), and 1902 Software (Philippines).

What is Magento?

Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform built using the PHP programming language and the Zend Framework. In 2018, Adobe officially acquired Magento and rebranded it as Adobe Commerce, aiming to integrate this platform into Adobe’s suite of digital solutions.

This merger has enhanced Magento’s capabilities and provided businesses with a more comprehensive eCommerce solution powered by Adobe. 

Magento has two main versions: Magento Open Source – a free version (formerly known as Magento Community Edition) and the paid version called Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento Commerce).

The paid version offers users two options: on-premise and on-cloud, with numerous upgraded features and enhancements to meet higher demands for customization and scalability.

Why do brands choose Magento?

Customization & Scalability

Being an open-source platform, Magento provides businesses with the flexibility to access and modify source code, functionalities, themes, and extensions. Moreover, Magento can efficiently handle up to 500,000 daily visits and imposes no restrictions on annual sales volumes.

According to BuiltWith, there are currently over 144,000 active Magento websites including several global brands experiencing significant traffic, such as:

• Samsung – 1 billion/month (USA)
• Walmart – 394 million/month (USA)
• Nike – 141 million/month (USA)
• Adidas – 29.2 million/month (USA)
• Levi’s – 10.6 million/month (USA)

Notably, some high-traffic eCommerce websites in the Southeast Asian market are also using Magento, such as:

• Didongviet – 4.4 million/month (Vietnam)
• Abenson – 1 million/month (Philippines)
• Klik Indomaret – 3.8 million/month (Indonesia)

These leading brands leverage the Magento platform to execute complex customizations for their eCommerce systems, enhancing their capabilities in handling high traffic, extensive product catalogs, and substantial sales volumes. Therefore, for any business seeking a highly customizable and scalable eCommerce platform, Magento is likely the first name that comes to mind.

Headless Commerce

Headless Commerce is an eCommerce trend with 80% of businesses planning to adopt this approach within the next two years, according to Salesforce’s “State of Commerce” report. 

For the demands of Headless architecture, the open-source Magento platform stands out as an optimal choice. Unlike traditional Magento architecture, Headless Magento utilizes GraphQL API to support various frontend designs for different devices and screens. This setup is optimized and integrated into the existing backend system to deliver a seamless omnichannel experience. 

Moreover, Adobe offers enterprises an advanced suite to enhance the efficiency of Headless Commerce operations. This suite includes Adobe Experience Manager (Content Management), Adobe Analytics (In-depth analytics reporting), and Adobe Marketo Engage (Marketing automation).

PWA Studio

According to Emergen Research, the global Progressive Web App (PWA) market is expected to reach 10.44 billion USD by 2027. Therefore, it’s not surprising that many businesses are turning to Magento’s PWA Studio features. This toolkit facilitates the rapid development, launch, and maintenance of PWAs.

Moreover, businesses adopting Headless Commerce can seamlessly integrate with PWA Studio to customize frontend designs. PWAs are often combined with Headless architecture to create Headless PWAs, replacing conventional frontends with PWA storefronts to enhance website performance.

Moreover, Magento PWA utilizes Service Worker technology for device caching, significantly boosting page load speeds by 2 to 3 times.

Magento Global Community

Magento boasts a thriving and engaged community comprising developers, designers, and users. This community consistently generates modules, themes, plugins, and integrated add-ons for the Magento platform.

Moreover, there are many Magento developers in the market, making it easy for businesses to find a suitable partner. 

In addition, prominent forums like Reddit, Quora, Substack, Slack Groups, and online conferences provide platforms for Magento users to exchange knowledge and experiences.

Hence, beyond direct support from collaborative partners, these forums serve as invaluable resources whenever businesses face challenges or require assistance throughout the Magento deployment journey.

Top 5 Magento Developers in SEA

Magento is designed to meet almost every need when it comes to creating professional and custom eCommerce websites.

However, not all businesses have the technical expertise and understanding of Magento to start and successfully implement this platform. This is why many businesses seek to collaborate with Magento developers to bring their ideas and business goals to life. 

Below are 5 Magento agencies in South East Asia, boasting exceptional experience and expertise.

SECOMM (Vietnam)

SECOMM is known as a provider of comprehensive and specialized eCommerce solutions tailored to each business model and requirement.

Established in 2014, SECOMM has successfully collaborated on and developed Magento eCommerce websites for numerous major clients spanning from Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong to Vietnam, including LaybyLand, Changi Airport Group, My Market, Annam Group, and Vinamilk.

Going beyond Magento website development collaborations, SECOMM and its clients strategically outline sustainable short and long-term development plans, ensuring continued leadership in the targeted markets. 

With vast experience in executing over 300 custom Magento website development projects for clients worldwide, SECOMM has firmly established itself as a premier professional Magento developer in Vietnam.

Kemana Technology (Indonesia)

Established in 2011, Kemana Technology is a private company consisting of a team of experts with over a decade of experience in the eCommerce industry. Recognized as an official Silver partner of Adobe, Kemana stands out as a leading Magento developer in the broader APAC region and specifically in Indonesia. 

When it comes to eCommerce website development services, Magento is the core technology solution that the company suggests to its clients.

Moreover, Kemana leverages Magento’s exceptional customization capabilities to deliver Omnichannel deployment solutions for retailers, offering two primary services: Click & Collect (Pick Up In-store) and Ship From Store.

Lime Commerce (Indonesia)

Similar to Kemana Technology, Lime Commerce is also among the top Magento developers in Indonesia. Established in 2014, the company holds the Bronze partnership status in the Adobe Solution Partner Program. Lime Commerce provides personalized solutions tailored to meet the deployment needs of each customer segment. 

As a dedicated eCommerce development company focusing on Magento, Lime Commerce offers a range of comprehensive services and solutions related to the Magento platform.

This includes custom design and development of Magento eCommerce websites, system maintenance and updates, optimization of website performance and security, and implementation of various crucial integrations.

Sweetmag Solutions (Malaysia)

Established in 2008, Sweetmag Solutions has distinguished itself as a premier provider of Magento website development solutions in Malaysia, offering a range of associated web services. Over the years, Sweetmag has achieved Bronze-level partnership status in the Adobe Solution Partner program.

Sweetmag provides a seasoned team to build Magento eCommerce websites to meet specific requirements and objectives related to customer experience and conversion.

Through collaborations with prominent brands like Padini, Innisfree Malaysia, Parkson Online, and Caring Pharmacy, the company has firmly established its position in the Malaysian eCommerce market.  

1902 Software (Philippines)

Founded and operated since 1998 by Danish programmer Peter, 1902 Software has evolved into a prominent software development and eCommerce solutions company in the Philippines. Their key services include AI development, eCommerce solutions, custom software development, and innovative design, all of which contribute to their notable reputation. 

In the realm of eCommerce development, the company excels in delivering solutions for creating powerful, flexible, and scalable Magento websites. With a track record of successful projects, 1902 Software has earned positive reviews from satisfied clients.

Start Your eCommerce Journey with Magento Today!

The effectiveness and popularity of Magento are demonstrated by the numerous businesses, spanning from medium-sized enterprises to large corporations, that have successfully implemented and operated their eCommerce websites on this platform. Moreover, the global Magento developer community is extensive, and the Southeast Asian region is no exception, featuring top-notch specialists with high technical expertise and extensive experience in Magento, as mentioned in the article.

Contact or call SECOMM’s hotline at (+84)28 7108 9908 to build your Magento eCommerce website today!

As per Statista’s data, Social Commerce worldwide generated 992 billion USD in revenue in 2022, with projections indicating a potential surge to 2.9 trillion USD by 2026. This positions Social Commerce as a highly valued and potential trend in the future of eCommerce.

What is Social Commerce?

Social Commerce is a term that combines two key concepts: “Social” and “Commerce”.

It represents a business model that seamlessly integrates social media and eCommerce, aiming to create a shopping experience that is more interactive and connected for customers.

Social Commerce enables users to view and purchase products directly through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.

This approach allows customers to delve into product details, read reviews, engage with comments from other users, and even make direct purchases through business posts, advertisements, or social platform storefronts.

The Social Commerce model often comes with interactive features, product-sharing capabilities, and personalized product recommendations.

Social Commerce takes advantage of the widespread popularity and extensive user base on social media platforms to naturally amplify the reach and influence of products and brands.

How does Social Commerce work?

Social Commerce vs eCommerce

Social Commerce and eCommerce are two distinct online business models, yet they share the common goal of online commerce. Here are the differences between these two models:

Types of Social Commerce

There are various popular types of social commerce, and the choice depends entirely on the scope and objectives of each business. Here are some common types of social commerce:

• Influencer Marketing: This marketing form leverages the influence of users with large social media followings. Businesses collaborate with celebrities or influential individuals to promote their products and brands.
• Affiliate Marketing: In this strategy, businesses empower influential individuals to promote or review their products/services in social media posts by embedding links, and incentivizing sales. In return, these affiliate partners earn a percentage of the revenue generated from those links.
• Social Media Advertising: This type of social commerce centers around using social media platforms as advertising spaces. Businesses can run ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, etc., to reach their target audience.
• User-Generated Content (UGC): By encouraging customers to share their experiences using products or services on social media platforms, businesses aim to build trust among both current and potential buyers. 
• Live Streaming: Hosting live streaming sessions on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, or Twitch allows viewers to interact directly with the business. This involves introducing products/services, fielding questions, and receiving user feedback during the broadcast, ultimately boosting online interaction and sales.

Benefits of Social Commerce

Enhance brand identity

Social Commerce facilitates businesses in reaching millions of users across various social media platforms, particularly globally popular ones like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

This approach not only boosts brand awareness but also promotes businesses’ products and services to the extensive user base on these platforms, creating organic traction through user sharing and interaction.

The renowned sportswear brand Nike has successfully implemented Social Commerce by leveraging engaging posts, videos, and advertisements on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The brand consistently runs advertising campaigns encouraging users to share their product experiences. Through user-generated posts and the strategic use of specific hashtags, Nike has sparked natural virality, resulting in an increased level of brand recognition.

Optimize the shopping experience

A key feature of social commerce is its focus on creating a seamless online shopping experience for users, simplifying the transition from product browsing to actual purchases. Customers can buy directly from posts, advertisements, or online stores on social media platforms.

This not only streamlines the shopping process but also enables businesses to optimize customer experiences, save time, and boost the eCommerce sales volume for the brands.

The cosmetics brand L’Oréal has created various TikTok channels for each target market in its beauty chain, such as lorealparis (global), lorealparisusa (U.S. market), lorealparis_vn (Vietnamese market), lorealparisid_shop (Indonesian market), lorealparisth_store (Thai market), and so on.

This approach not only allows the brand to reach the right target audience but also takes advantage of TikTok Shop, enabling customers to purchase products directly through L’Oréal’s TikTok channel.

Monitor & measure performance

Presently, social media platforms offer comprehensive analytics and data measurement tools for businesses. For instance, Instagram Insights provides demographic information such as gender, age groups, and geographic locations.

Facebook Audience Insights goes a step further in collecting detailed data about a business’s target audience, while TikTok Pixel allows tracking vital metrics like clicks, views, and conversion rates, and assessing the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

Leveraging these data sources assists businesses in creating more efficient social commerce campaigns compared to traditional retail operations. A noteworthy example of the successful implementation of Social Commerce with optimized tracking and measurement is Fashion Nova.

This prominent American fashion brand specializes in offering women’s clothing and accessories. Fashion Nova’s Instagram posts often incorporate sharing and user tracking features, enhancing the dissemination of information about products and the brand.

Furthermore, Fashion Nova utilizes Instagram’s measurement features and analytical tools to evaluate the effectiveness of the brand’s marketing and advertising campaigns.

Boost engagement & customer service

Embracing social commerce enables businesses to seamlessly engage in direct interactions with customers and gather their feedback regarding the brand or product through posts, direct conversations, comment responses, and messages.

This facilitates quick customer support, addresses inquiries promptly, fosters satisfaction and fortifies customer relationships. Moreover, based on this valuable customer feedback, businesses can refine their products/services to align with customer expectations.

Tarte Cosmetics, a renowned cosmetics brand specializing in makeup and skincare products, has effectively utilized social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to implement social commerce. The brand consistently engages with customers across social media channels.

The administrative team promptly responds to user comments and messages, addressing inquiries and offering technical support. This approach builds trust and satisfaction among customers, actively strengthening positive customer relationships.

The Bottom Line

Here are insights, advantages, and examples of businesses effectively embracing Social Commerce. Depending on each business’s strategy, administrators can blend social media and eCommerce to engage customers and establish a brand in the current digital era.

Related Reading: eCommerce: Inbound Marketing vs Outbound Marketing

Contact SECOMM or directly call the hotline at 02871089908 today for complimentary guidance on implementing eCommerce Marketing overall and Social Commerce specifically.

The eCommerce trend has quickly extended to various sectors of the economy. The explosion of online pharmacies, both domestically and internationally, demonstrates the significant impact this trend is having on the pharmaceutical industry. 

Typically, the first step in the online presence strategy of these pharmacies is the professional establishment of an eCommerce website. 

Here are 10 pharmaceutical brands in Vietnam and on the global stage that have effectively launched eCommerce websites and swiftly captured a significant share of this market.

CVS Health (USA)

CVS Health is a major player in the U.S. healthcare sector and stands as the largest retail pharmacy chain in the country, boasting over 9,900 physical stores. CVS also offers an array of healthcare services, encompassing general health check-ups, diagnostics, and dental care.

The CVS pharmacy eCommerce website is built upon the Oracle Commerce platform, equipped with numerous features to ensure an optimal user experience and scalability for the future. Notably, it includes a prescription management feature that empowers customers to oversee their prescriptions through their CVS accounts, request prescription refills, and receive medication deliveries at their doorstep. Furthermore, the online drugstore allows customers to schedule appointments with two options: in-person clinic visits or remote telehealth consultations via video calls.

• Website: https://www.cvs.com/
• Platform: Oracle Commerce
• Traffic: 72.2M/month
• Ranking: 112 (USA) & 494 (Worldwide)

Droga Raia (Brazil)

Established in 1890, Droga Raia has continually grown and, over the years, has become one of the foremost pharmacy chains in Brazil. Despite its long-standing legacy, Droga Raia hasn’t lagged in the eCommerce trend.

With an average monthly website traffic of 19.8 million, Droga Raia opted for Magento to facilitate its pharmacy eCommerce website. This choice was well-founded, given the platform’s superior flexibility for customization and scalability, ensuring the capability to manage high traffic volumes and cater to future system expansion needs.

• Website:  https://www.drogaraia.com.br/
• Platform: Magento
• Traffic: 19.8M/month 
• Ranking: 138 (Brazil) & 3,304 (Worldwide)

Apollo Pharmacy (India)

Apollo Pharmacy, a well-known retail pharmacy chain in India, operates as a subsidiary of Apollo Hospital. Over the years, Apollo has expanded its chain of stores to thousands, serving cities and towns across India. 

Apollo built its online pharmacy on the Magento platform, equipped to manage a vast product portfolio. In addition to offering both prescription and non-prescription medications, as well as healthcare products, Apollo provides various related services. These services encompass online consultations, health check-up appointment scheduling, vaccination bookings, and insurance sales. Currently, the website garners 12.7 million monthly visits.

• Website: https://www.apollopharmacy.in/
• Platform: Magento 
• Traffic: 12.7M/month
• Ranking: 434 (India) & 5,736 (Worldwide)

Netmeds (India)

Another well-known online drugstore in India is Netmeds. In addition to prescription and non-prescription drugs, this brand offers a diverse range of healthcare products, including items for maternity and baby care, medical equipment, and dietary supplements for fitness enthusiasts, vegetarians, and those with diabetes. Netmeds also relies on Magento to develop its pharmacy eCommerce website, featuring various capabilities to enhance the user experience. These include product categorization with accompanying images, non-prescription product search recommendations, real-time product availability checks at specific stores, prescription upload options, and home delivery requests. At present, Netmeds’ website averages around 10.4 million monthly visits.

• Website: https://www.netmeds.com/
• Platform: Magento
• Traffic: 10.4M/month
• Ranking: 462 (India) & 5,864 (Worldwide)

Nahdi Online (Arab Saudi)

Nahdi Online is the leading pharmacy eCommerce website in Saudi Arabia and ranks among the region’s largest retail pharmacy chains. This marks the fourth pharmacy on the list utilizing the Magento platform to craft a user-friendly website enriched with advanced features, facilitating product-specific searches, in-depth product descriptions, and price comparisons for customers. Moreover, through Nahdi’s online pharmacy, users can access various online consultation and healthcare services or book appointments at the clinic.

• Website: https://www.nahdionline.com/en/
• Platform: Magento
• Traffic: 9.8M/month
• Ranking: 30 (Arab Saudi) & 5,818 (Worldwide)

An Khang Pharmacy (Vietnam)

An Khang Pharmacy, one of the most trusted pharmacy chains in Vietnam, was established in 2012 and has since expanded to over 500 pharmacies nationwide. Additionally, the brand has introduced a pharmacy eCommerce website and a mobile app to cater to consumers’ online pharmaceutical needs, complete with a variety of enticing offers. 

An Khang provides a wide array of products, including medications, dietary supplements, medical equipment, personal care items, and cosmetics. Moreover, the An Khang website features a dedicated section for disease lookup, allowing customers not only to make purchases but also to access information on various common diseases, including their causes, symptoms, treatment methods, and prevention.

• Website: https://www.nhathuocankhang.com/
• Platform: PHP Language
• Traffic: 5.8M/month
• Ranking: 213 (Vietnam) & 12,917 (Worldwide)

FPT Long Chau (Vietnam)

FPT Long Chau, established in 2015, has a presence in over 1,000 stores across all 63 provinces in Vietnam and is a pioneer in the modern online pharmacy model. Both its pharmacy eCommerce website and app have gained strong favor from consumers for their rich and seamless shopping experience.

Notably, Long Chau leads the way in offering a Buy Now, Pay Later service with 0% interest, helping to ease the financial burden on patients. Furthermore, customers can access guidance from Long Chau’s experienced pharmacists through a hotline or chat service. Currently, the Long Chau website attracts approximately 5.2 million monthly visitors.

• Website: https://nhathuoclongchau.com.vn/
• Platform: PHP Language
• Traffic: 5.2M/month
• Ranking: 279 (Vietnam) & 15,056 (Worldwide)

Pharmacity (Vietnam)

In the pharmaceutical market of Vietnam, Pharmacity is the third name mentioned in the fierce “three-horse race” taking place in both the online and offline channels. This company was founded in 2011 and currently has over 1,000 stores nationwide. Similar to An Khang and Long Chau, Pharmacity has also launched an eCommerce website and app with various promotional programs to provide customers and patients with a convenient and quick shopping experience, along with online consultation services from a team of highly professional pharmacists. Currently, the Pharmacity website attracts an average of 2.7 million monthly visitors. 

• Website: https://www.pharmacity.vn/
• Platform: WooCommerce
• Traffic: 2.7M/month
• Ranking: 511 (Vietnam) & 26,035 (Worldwide)

Central Pharmacy (Vietnam)

This is one of the most reputable and high-quality online pharmacy systems in Vietnam. The pharmacy offers a wide range of genuine pharmaceutical products, dietary supplements, health, and beauty care items from major global brands. Central Pharmacy’s drugstore provides various features to enhance the shopping experience for customers, such as search suggestions, search filters, and integration of messaging applications (FB Messenger and Zalo) on the website for customer support, prescription uploads, and home delivery requests. To date, the website has attracted more than 587,000 monthly visitors.

• Website: https://trungtamthuoc.com/
• Platform: Ngôn ngữ PHP
• Traffic: 587.1K/month
• Ranking: 2,484 (Vietnam) & 118,022 (Worldwide)

Nha Thuoc Than Thien (Vietnam)

Nha Thuoc Than Thien is a retail chain that meets GPP standards in Vietnam. Specializing in prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as various healthcare products, this establishment has embraced a hybrid model, combining both offline and online pharmacy services. The primary sales channel is its user-friendly eCommerce website, developed using WooCommerce. The website is intuitively designed, incorporating essential features to facilitate customer product searches, seamless transactions, and order tracking. With around 410 thousand monthly visits, the website continues to serve a significant audience.

• Website: https://nhathuocthanthien.com.vn/
• Platform: WooCommerce 
• Traffic: 410K/month
• Ranking: 3,391 (Vietnam) & 155,687 (Worldwide)

Here are the top 10 eCommerce websites, including leading online pharmacies, in both the Vietnamese and international markets. These brands demonstrate their adaptability to consumer trends and their efforts in developing technological infrastructure to compete in the multibillion-dollar market.

With a wealth of experience in successfully implementing eCommerce solutions for numerous clients across various countries in recent years, SECOMM specializes in providing consulting services with professional eCommerce deployment solutions tailored to the specific needs of each industry.

Feel free to contact or call SECOMM’s hotline directly at (02871089908) for a free consultation.

Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing are two widely used marketing approaches that businesses often mix. Although they are common, many businesses still need to distinguish between these two types of marketing. Which is the most suitable strategy for businesses to implement Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing in the eCommerce world?

What is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound Marketing is a marketing approach that focuses on engaging customers by offering valuable content and delivering a meaningful customer experience. 

Key strategies employed in Inbound Marketing include:

• Blogging: Creating informative content to provide valuable insights to potential customers.
• Social Media Marketing: Using popular social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, etc., for customer engagement through the sharing of valuable content.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing websites and content to achieve higher rankings in search engine results, such as Google, Cốc Cốc, Safari, Firefox, and others, facilitating the discovery of the business by potential customers on the Internet. 
• Email Marketing: Building email sequences tailored to customer needs and personalized to enhance customer care.
• YouTube Marketing: Developing marketing strategies on the YouTube platform to provide useful knowledge alongside marketing messages to specific potential customers.
• Audio Marketing (Podcast): Creating and broadcasting podcast programs related to the business or its products, allowing the brand to share information, stories, and other valuable content with potential customers through audio.
• Lead Generation: Offering valuable content like ebooks, guidelines, webinars, etc., to gather contact information and build a database of potential customers.

What is Outbound Marketing?

Outbound Marketing is a conventional marketing approach where businesses proactively reach out to customers by sending marketing messages to a broad targeted audience.

Here are some primary methods employed in Outbound Marketing:

• Cold calling: Making phone calls to various phone numbers collected from diverse sources, without any prior relationship, such as potential customer lists, or business databases, to introduce products/services.
• Cold email outreach: Sending direct mail or parcels to customer lists, much like cold calling, to announce products, services, or upcoming promotional programs.
• Events and exhibitions: Participating in and organizing events and exhibitions to have direct contact with potential customers and promote the business’s products/services.
• Traditional advertising: Using traditional advertising channels such as television, radio, print media, magazines, and outdoor advertising (billboards) to convey marketing messages to a large number of customers.
• PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising: Utilizing paid online advertising forms like Google Ads, social media advertising (Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, TikTok Ads, etc.), or various display advertising techniques to reach a diverse consumer audience.
• Telemarketing: Making direct phone calls to potential customers to advertise products or services and generate sales.

Inbound Marketing vs Outbound Marketing: Basic Comparison

Approach 

Inbound Marketing centers around the customer, prioritizing the attraction of potential customers through valuable content and experiences. In the realm of eCommerce, Inbound Marketing primarily revolves around establishing relationships and engaging with customers through the business’s website or eCommerce app.

Conversely, Outbound Marketing takes a product-centric approach, aiming to send marketing messages to a wider audience. Outbound Marketing involves reaching potential customers through diverse channels like advertising, direct mail, or telemarketing.

Targeting

Inbound Marketing focuses on attracting and connecting with specific, targeted audiences through the creation of relevant and valuable content. Its goal is to draw in potential customers actively seeking information or solutions related to the business’s products or services. 

On the other hand, Outbound Marketing establishes a broader network and targets a wider audience, typically relying on demographics or general interests. The goal of Outbound Marketing is to reach a large number of people with the hope of grabbing the attention of potential customers. 

Communication Style

Inbound Marketing promotes two-way communication, where businesses actively participate in conversations with potential customers, giving priority to listening, understanding customer needs, and offering valuable information or solutions.

Outbound Marketing typically involves one-way communication, with businesses delivering marketing messages to the audience without immediate interaction. The primary objective is to raise awareness and generate interest in the business’s products or services.

Timing

Inbound Marketing tends to have a long-term orientation as it revolves around building trust and credibility over time, nurturing potential customers until they are ready to make a purchase. However, it may require some time to see results. 

On the other hand, Outbound Marketing is typically linked to immediate outcomes or short-term goals. Its primary focus is on generating potential customers or immediate sales by actively promoting products and services through channels such as paid advertising or telemarketing.

Costs

Inbound Marketing can offer long-term cost savings as this strategy relies on creating valuable content, optimizing online presence, and leveraging channels that the business controls, such as optimizing the eCommerce website/app, SEO, and managing social media pages. While it may require an initial investment of resources and time, the returns on this investment can be significant over time. 

Conversely, Outbound Marketing often entails upfront expenses, such as advertising costs. The expenses can vary depending on the selected channels and the scale of the target audience.

Inbound Marketing vs Outbound Marketing: eCommerce Tactics

Inbound Marketing Tactics 

In the world of eCommerce, Inbound Marketing employs the principles and strategies of Inbound Marketing to attract and engage potential customers. Here are several common Inbound Marketing methods applied in eCommerce:

• Crafting valuable content: Generating useful content relevant to the business’s products or services, such as blogs, user guides, instructional videos, infographics, and other content formats.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing the website and content to improve search engine rankings.
• Building an online community: Using social media, blogs, forums, or other platforms to interact with potential customers and foster an online community centered around the brand and its products.
• Email Marketing: Building an email list from potential customers and executing email marketing campaigns to deliver information, updates, promotions, and customer-specific content.
• Creating landing pages: Creating landing pages to establish a potential customer database and engage with them through marketing campaigns.
• Leveraging social media: Using social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and more to share content, interact with potential customers, and enhance brand recognition.

Outbound Marketing Tactics

In the eCommerce world, Outbound Marketing employs the methods and strategies of Outbound Marketing to build brand recognition among a broad customer base with the objective of boosting online sales. Here are some common Outbound Marketing techniques typically utilized in eCommerce:

• PPC Advertising: Using paid online advertising channels such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or other online advertising formats to deliver marketing messages to potential customers.
• Email Marketing: Sending direct advertising emails to potential customers or existing customers to announce products, promotional programs, or relevant news.
• Direct Messaging (SMS Marketing): Sending direct messages to potential customers’ mobile phones to inform them about products, offers, or promotional programs.
• Traditional Advertising: Using traditional advertising forms like television, radio, print media, magazines, and billboards to drive a large customer base to the eCommerce website/app for purchasing.
• Telemarketing: Making direct phone calls to potential customers to introduce products or services, provide advice, or make sales. 

In essence, Outbound Marketing in eCommerce can rapidly establish brand recognition and reach a large online audience, but it also necessitates consideration of effectiveness and the response of potential customers, with the ultimate goal of increasing online sales.

Here is a summary of the basic information about Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing in eCommerce. Depending on their individual needs, businesses will allocate time and budget for Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing accordingly. 

Contact or call the SECOMM hotline at 02871089908 today for a free consultation on the implementation of eCommerce Marketing. 

The first step in the strategy for building and developing an eCommerce website, a crucial consideration for business owners in various sectors, is selecting an eCommerce platform that aligns with their business requirements.

The Baby eCommerce industry is no exception to this rule. So, what is the ideal choice? The following article outlines and clarifies the pros and cons of the top five eCommerce platforms for the development of Baby eCommerce websites.

Magento

Magento (now owned by Adobe), is an open-source eCommerce platform that grants businesses full authority to develop and manage their online store

For large enterprises in the Baby eCommerce industry with complex requirements for building and developing eCommerce websites, Magento’s high degree of customization and scalability, along with its wealth of outstanding features and extensions, can effectively cater to their needs. However, to fully leverage Magento’s capabilities, businesses should invest in both a specific budget and a requisite level of technical expertise.

Currently, Magento offers two primary versions:

• Magento Open Source: a free version
• Adobe Commerce: a paid version with two options, on-premise and on-cloud.

Key Features:

• Multi-brand solution: Supports multiple languages, currencies, and stores for various business models (B2B, B2C, B2B2C, D2C).
• MSI – Multi-source inventory: Enables the shipment of a single order with multiple products from different warehouses while ensuring delivery times.
• Headless eCommerce: Utilizes the separation between Frontend and Backend for easy customization and website development.
• B2B feature: Provides support for B2B customers, including category sharing, creating business accounts, quick ordering, and customer group creation.
• PWA – Progressive Web App: A mobile application built on web technology, easily discoverable and downloadable from a web browser.

Pros:

• Feature-rich system from basic to advanced, tailored to specific industry needs.
• High customization and scalability compared to SaaS platforms.
• No limits on sales volume.
• Wide range of extensions.
• High security.

Cons: 

• High implementation costs.
• Lengthy implementation time, ranging from 6 months to 1 year.
• Requires a certain level of technical expertise and understanding of Magento.

Pricing:

Brands built their Baby eCommerce websites on Magento including Kids Plaza VN, Bibo Mart, Children Salon, Mothercare VN, Aden+Anais, Hornby, v.v 

Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC)

Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC) is a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that helps businesses build their eCommerce websites. This platform enables businesses to integrate all their sales channels, delivering a seamless shopping experience for customers.

SFCC offers two key solutions:

• Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud: A solution for building websites and enhancing the overall shopping experience for retail customers.
• Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud: A solution for building websites and providing a shopping experience for customers engaging in large-volume transactions.

Key Features:

• AI Einstein: Offers personalized search and product recommendations with Einstein Product/Search Recommendations. Provides personalized experiences across all channels with Einstein Recommendations API. Gathers customer insights to boost revenue with Einstein Commerce Insights.
• Headless Commerce: Build headless e-commerce websites and enhance user experiences using SFCC’s Open Commerce API or any developer’s preferred APIs.
• Marketing & Merchandising: Supports design, scheduling, and automated marketing campaigns, optimize SEO to increase traffic, and manages multi-store, multi-language, and multi-currency capabilities from a centralized dashboard.
• Omnichannel: Enables multi-channel sales and provides a consistent customer experience.
• Localization: Allows businesses to create multiple separate websites with different languages, currencies, and strategies for specific target markets.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface.
• Strong support from AI tools during implementation.
• Diverse tools and features.
• Automation of order processing and promotional campaigns.
• Exceptional analytics and reporting capabilities to capture customer insights.
• High security.
• 24/7 customer support service.

Cons:

• The license fee is not publicly disclosed, making it challenging to estimate exact expenses.
• Limited seamless integration with third parties.
• Limited customization and scalability. For high customization needs, businesses may incur additional costs.
• Being a SaaS platform, it carries inherent risks from the provider, and data access limitations cannot be entirely avoided.

Pricing

For Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud, businesses are offered three solution packages: Starter, Growth, and Plus, and they need to contact Salesforce for specific consultations and pricing.

For Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud, businesses should get in touch with Salesforce for specific price levels and implementation details.

The cost of developing an eCommerce website using the SFCC platform can range from $2,000 to $500,000, depending on each business’s requirements.

Some Baby brands that have developed eCommerce websites on the Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform include Carter’s, Hanna Andersson, OshKosh B’gosh, Chicco, Crayola, Toys “R” Us, Melissa & Doug, and more.

Shopify

Shopify is a SaaS platform known for its diverse features and themes that cater to businesses of various industries and scales, facilitating the rapid and effective development of eCommerce websites.

Shopify offers three standard solution packages (Basic, Shopify, Advanced), tailored for small and medium-sized businesses. Meanwhile, the Shopify Plus solution is aimed at medium to large businesses with elevated development and customization requirements.

Key Features:

• Shopify POS: This feature is available in all solution packages and allows seamless integration of point-of-sale from online to offline, supporting order and inventory management across retail locations, online stores, and other active sales channels.
• eCommerce automation: Automates marketing processes and order execution. Available in the Shopify and Advanced packages, while Shopify Plus businesses have Shopify Flow and LaunchPad.
• Shopify Hydrogen: Allows Shopify Plus and standard Shopify businesses to build custom storefronts using the React-based Hydrogen framework, which can then be directly integrated with the Oxygen in-house hosting. This is Shopify’s new solution for businesses building and developing Headless websites.
• Abandoned cart recovery: Automatically sends email with discount codes to customers in cases of cart abandonment during the checkout process, leaving the website with products in the cart but unpaid, or viewing products without adding them to the cart.
• International commerce: Supports multiple languages, multiple stores, and multiple currencies. However, tax calculation at checkout is only available for the Advanced and Shopify Plus packages.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface.
• Reasonable initial costs.
• Diverse integrated apps and themes.
• 24/7 customer support service.
• Support both online and offline sales.
• High security.
• Ideal platform for opening dropshipping stores. Some Baby dropship stores using Shopify include Posh Peanut, Baby Boxco, Happiest Baby, and more.

Cons:

• Costs increase over time.
• Limited customization and scalability when compared to open-source platforms.
• Limited blogging features and content management capabilities.
• Restrictions on free themes.
• Risks associated with the provider and data access limitations.

Pricing

Shopify serves as the choice not only for Baby dropshipping stores but also for numerous well-known Baby brands that have used this platform to build their online store, including HATCH Collection, Motherhood Maternity, 4moms, Maclaren, Manhattan Toy, Tegu, and many others.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is another platform worth considering for Baby eCommerce businesses due to its ease of use and its ability to cater to the eCommerce website-building requirements of businesses across various scales and industries.

Furthermore, BigCommerce is recognized as a SaaS platform that includes a wide array of features within its solution packages (Standard, Plus, Pro, Enterprise) aimed at fostering eCommerce growth.

Key Features:

• Built-in blog: Enhances SEO rankings and provides an engaging content experience through a blog.
• Professional reporting tool: Offers professional analytics and reporting tools that help businesses evaluate operational performance for informed adjustments.
• Real-time shipping quotes: Provides real-time, accurate shipping cost estimates from various carriers.
• Google customer reviews: Allows businesses to collect and display customer reviews on Google from those who have purchased their products.
• BigCommerce mobile app: Monitor performance, track and update orders, and manage customer journeys with the BigCommerce mobile app. The app is available for direct download from the App Store or Google Play.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface.
• Richly integrated features.
• Diverse solution packages with reasonable usage costs.
• Offers 65 popular worldwide payment solutions with integrated transactions fee-free.
• A variety of themes and extensions tailored for the Baby industry.
• High security.

Cons:

• Sales volume limits.
• Increasing implementation costs over time.
• Limited customization capabilities.
• Provider risks and data access limitations.

Pricing

Brands built their eCommerce websites with BigCommerce: Le Petit Kids, Scentos, Nature’s One, Kids Furniture Warehouse, See Kai Run, Feltman Brothers, v.v

Shift4Shop

Shift4Shop is a SaaS eCommerce platform that equips businesses with the essential tools and features to build and customize eCommerce websites. It presents a range of free and premium themes suitable for marketing Maternity and baby products.

Shift4Shop provides three paid plans (Basic, Plus, Pro) and one free plan, subject to a minimum monthly revenue of $500, designed for U.S. sellers under the End-to-End category.

Key Features:

• Built-in tools: Integrated tools for blogging, SEO optimization, social media integration, etc., aid businesses in enhancing the effectiveness of their marketing strategies.
• RMA system: This feature simplifies the product return and refund process.
• Shopping cart: Allows customers to quickly view and customize their shopping carts. Customers can also choose one-page or three-page checkout options.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface
• Various integrated features
• Reasonable initial cost
• No transaction fees
• 24/7 technical support service

Cons:

• Limited customization and expansion capabilities
• Increasing deployment costs over time, even for the End-to-End package
• Volume limits for paid plans
• Limited and basic selection of free themes
• Vendor risks and data access concerns

Pricing

Brands built their Baby website with Shift4Shop: eLeMeNO-Pee, Sugar Babies, Nicki’s Diapers, Enfant Style, Ideal Baby & Kids, v.v

The above are the top 5 platforms that have been preferred by the majority of Baby businesses for establishing their eCommerce websites. 

After years of eCommerce implementation across various countries, SECOMM has accumulated invaluable insights to expedite the process of website development and growth for Baby businesses.

Get in touch or directly call SECOMM‘s hotline at (02871089908) for immediate guidance on platform selection and eCommerce implementation today

The surge in demand for online shopping via eCommerce marketplaces over recent years has been remarkable. So, it comes as no surprise that numerous businesses are looking for ways to build their own marketplaces to diversify their product offerings and engage with a wide range of customer segments.

Operating an eCommerce marketplace differs significantly from managing an eCommerce website. The key is to ensure that the experience is user-friendly and efficient for all involved parties, including administrators, sellers, and buyers, during both the operational and transactional phases. 

Depending on the strategy, scale, budget, market, and target audience, businesses will make suitable adjustments. However, the following online marketplace features continue to be crucial when implementing the majority of eCommerce marketplaces today.

Operator Features

The operator, also known as an administrator or owner of the online marketplace, holds a pivotal role in managing and running the platform. They possess the authority to access and govern all data and carry the responsibility for the platform’s overall performance and growth.

As a result, essential features for operators include:

Seller Management

The operator’s role involves helping sellers register on the platform, gather their information, and grant access to tools that aid their business operations. Additionally, other aspects of ‘Managing Sellers’ that businesses should consider include:

• Communication and Support Channels: This entails providing customer service and addressing seller accounts and technical issues through channels like email or a hotline.
• Content Management:  Ensuring that products, content, images, and videos uploaded by sellers comply with the eCommerce platform’s established standards and regulations.
• Monitoring Seller: Tracking and evaluating data related to seller activities, such as sales volumes, customer feedback, response times, and adherence to platform policies.
• Transaction Management: This covers policies regarding commissions, transaction fees, and payments. Businesses must ensure they furnish comprehensive documentation, accurately and promptly process payments, and offer support in resolving related concerns.

Marketing Management

To expand the pool of registered sellers and draw more customers to shop on the online marketplace, operators continually rely on marketing efforts. Some methods include optimizing SEO, leveraging influencer marketing, running targeted advertisements, devising in-platform promotional initiatives, and more.

However,  it’s crucial for businesses to possess a set of features and tools to proficiently craft and manage marketing campaigns across multiple channels. This aids in the effective promotion of their marketplaces, the attraction of additional sellers and customers, and the establishment of a distinctive presence within the competitive eCommerce landscape.

Supply Chain Management

Given the substantial order volume, operators need features that offer them full control of order fulfillment. This includes inventory management, overseeing multiple warehouses, configuring automated workflows for handling and transporting orders between warehouses, and delivering them to end-users.

Plus, to optimize the delivery process, businesses can partner with third-party shipping providers to provide customers with various choices, such as standard, express, or expedited shipping methods.

Analysis & Reporting 

Through comprehensive data analysis and detailed reporting, businesses can gain insights into their overall operations and make informed adjustments. Key data points include:

• eCommerce Performance: This encompasses metrics related to sales, revenue, user engagement, and satisfaction levels to assess the current state of the platform and make strategic decisions.
• User Behavior: This includes data on new account registrations, conversion rates, browsing habits, and search trends on the platform. It helps identify lingering issues for improvement and provides a better user experience.
• Marketing Reports: Operators need in-depth marketing reports to assess the ROI of marketing campaigns, analyze customer acquisition channels, and evaluate the impact of various promotional programs and incentives.

Seller Features

Sellers, also known as suppliers or merchants, are individuals or businesses that offer products or services on the online marketplace. Their responsibility is to manage their operations and optimize sales performance.

Therefore, eCommerce marketplace features for sellers to conduct efficient business operations include:

Easy Onboarding

Sellers have many choices in the midst of multiple online marketplaces. So, offering a swift and uncomplicated registration and store setup process is an effective way to attract a wide pool of new sellers to open their stores.

Businesses can offer detailed step-by-step guidance to sellers, from creating an account and verifying their seller identity to decorating their store and listing products. Furthermore, businesses can provide instructional videos, FAQs, and blogs to guide them on optimizing their store, promoting products on the platform, as well as understanding the fees associated with the eCommerce marketplace’s sales policies.

Product Management

Beyond listing products, helping sellers manage their product catalog effectively on the marketplace is equally important.

This includes tasks like adding and removing products, maintaining high-quality product descriptions, images, and videos, handling product variations and attributes, updating inventory, setting product prices, applying discounts, prompting product reviews, and moderating and verifying reviews based on the platform’s standard.

Marketing Management

Sellers need tools and features for setting up marketing campaigns to promote their stores and products, driving increased sales. These commonly used marketing tools on online marketplaces include in-site and off-site advertising, promotional messaging, flash sales, bundled deals, shipping discounts or free shipping promotions, creating discount vouchers, live-streaming sales events, and participating in platform-wide promotional activities.

Order Management

Providing sellers with effective order management capabilities also impacts the customer experience on the eCommerce marketplaces. This means offering sellers features to manage their order lists, track the status of orders, fulfill orders, handle returns, and efficiently address any issues that may arise.

Analysis & Reporting

Sellers rely on data analysis and reports to track and manage their business performance on the online marketplace effectively. These reports provide valuable insights for making data-driven decisions and optimizing their operations.

• Sales Performance: Sellers have access to data including total sales, revenue, order volume, and average order value to evaluate the success of their products or services and make informed decisions.
• Inventory Reports: Data related to inventory levels, inventory turnover, best-selling products, and less popular products help optimize inventory by adding popular items or reducing/limiting the sale of low-demand products.
• User Behavior: This includes data on purchasing behavior, feedback, customer reviews, and ratings for products and services, allowing sellers to enhance the customer experience and service.
• Expense Reports: This covers financial aspects such as transaction fees, commissions, invoices, payment receipts, and taxes. Clear financial reporting helps sellers manage cash flow efficiently while adhering to the marketplace’s policies.

Buyer Features

Buyers, also known as customers, refer to individuals or businesses that purchase goods or services from sellers on the eCommerce marketplace. Customers play a crucial role in driving the success of the marketplace. Therefore, feature development is focused on enriching the shopping experience.

Advanced Search

When accessing an eCommerce marketplace, the first thing most users do is use the search bar to find the information and products they desire. However, the product catalog on marketplaces is extensive and can be overwhelming for buyers. 

Therefore, beyond maintaining well-structured and organized product categories, businesses should offer advanced search capabilities to simplify and enhance the customer’s product discovery experience process. Common advanced search options include filtering, image-based, or voice-based search (optimized for mobile devices).

Personalization

Features like product recommendations, push notifications, personalized content, and customer service tailored to individual shopping behavior and preferences are crucial for enhancing the eCommerce experience. Studies have revealed that 74% of customers feel frustrated when encountering non-personalized shopping experiences on websites. 

By integrating advanced search capabilities with personalization, companies can offer a more enriching user experience, leading to greater satisfaction, higher levels of engagement, and increased customer retention. This transforms their marketplace into an ideal shopping destination for buyers.

Simple Checkout

Out of the various reasons for cart abandonment, issues related to long and complicated checkout procedures make up 17%, according to Baymard. it is essential for businesses to streamline the payment experience for customers, removing unnecessary steps, offering a transparent payment process, or implementing a one-page checkout. 

Moreover, businesses can diversify their payment methods to suit their target markets, including options such as Cash on Delivery (COD), credit card payments, eWallets, and buy now, pay later options.

Order Tracking

To boost the trust of buyers and sellers in the eCommerce platform, it is crucial for businesses to offer real-time order tracking and status-checking capabilities. 

Buyers can track their orders through the marketplace’s mobile app or website by using their unique order IDs. This way, both the seller and the buyer can communicate promptly if any issues arise with the order.

Review & Rating

With a diverse range of product choices offered by different sellers, customers may find it challenging to make purchasing decisions when they lack trust in either the product or the seller. Hence, the review and rating feature is essential for building trust and expediting decisions.

The review feature allows buyers who have made purchases to leave comments, reviews, and ratings for a product, customer support, and product packaging, regardless of the seller. 

Whether these reviews and ratings are positive or negative, they have a significant impact on a buyer’s decision-making process. Therefore, this serves as a motivation for sellers to enhance the quality of their products and services and for the eCommerce marketplace owner to provide an improved user experience.

Above are the 14 essential features for operators, sellers, and buyers that businesses should keep in mind when building an online marketplace. With many years of eCommerce implementation experience for numerous clients in various countries worldwide, SECOMM has gathered valuable insights to boost the development and operation of your business’s marketplace swiftly and effectively.

Contact or call SECOMM’s hotline (02871089908) today for a free consultation.

As reported by Digital Commerce 360, global consumers have collectively expended more than $3.25 trillion on famous eCommerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Ebay, and Alibaba. This indicates the increasing significance of online marketplaces in customer shopping experiences. 

Therefore, many businesses have promptly devised strategies to enter the race for market share in eCommerce landscape. To achieve this goal, businesses must first develop their own marketplaces. The initial but crucial step in this process is selecting the ideal platform.

The following article focuses on introducing this platform as a recommendation for large businesses among countless optimal choices out there. 

What is Marketplacer?

Marketplacer is a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform hosted on AWS, providing businesses with essential tools and features for building professional and highly adaptable eCommerce marketplaces capable of rapid scalability and swift page loading.

This platform streamlines the management and administration of eCommerce marketplaces. It simplifies tasks like order fulfillment, product category adjustments, third-party extension integration, cross-marketplace operational synchronization, and the implementation of strategies for revenue optimization.

To date, this platform has successfully established and expanded over 100 eCommerce marketplaces, forging connections with more than 13,000 sellers spanning the globe.

How Marketplacer works?

The Operator portal

This platform offers businesses a Marketplace-wide API based on GraphQL API, allowing them to:

• Build a headless frontend or seamless integration with existing eCommerce systems.
• Access and manage all data on the online marketplace via the Operator Portal, which includes:
  • Manage Sellers
  • Manage Seller payouts and billings
  • Product category management
  • Order management
  • Delivery management
  • Content management
  • Custom reporting

Furthermore, Marketplacer provides businesses with access to Webhooks, enabling them to receive notifications from the Marketplacer platform for any changes or updates during their operations.

The Seller portal

This platform provides sellers on the marketplace with Seller API based on V2 (REST) API to

• Automate their sales processes on the marketplace
• Access and manage various aspects of their seller data through the Seller Portal, including:
  • Product management
  • Sales & Marketing management 
  • Order management
  • Inventory management
  • Analysis & reporting

Similar to how businesses operate their business on the marketplace, sellers also have access to webhooks for receiving notifications regarding changes throughout their selling journey.

Marketplacer implementation models

This platform offers two implementation models, allowing businesses to tailor the development of their online marketplace to align with their specific goals.

Headless

The Headless model empowers businesses to utilize their tailor-made frontend, commonly known as the “head,” which represents the user interface. This frontend is integrated with Marketplacer’s fundamental backend through APIs to execute the marketplace. 

Therefore, opting for the Headless model is ideal for businesses seeking extensive control over the user experience while leveraging Marketplacer’s core technology to foster eCommerce growth.

Connected

In the Connected model, businesses can efficiently integrate a pre-built eCommerce system into Marketplacer’s backend, avoiding the need for an extensive time and financial resources to build from scratch. This integration allows businesses to maintain the full functionality of the pre-existing system while benefiting from this platform’s advanced infrastructure for seamless marketplace deployment.

It’s worth noting that Marketplacer currently offers pre-built connectors exclusively for three prominent platforms: Adobe Commerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and commercetools. As a result, the Connected model is best suited for businesses utilizing one of these three platforms to facilitate their eCommerce.

Pros of Marketplacer

Ease of use

This platform offers a user-friendly interface and intuitive tools, making it simple for businesses to build and manage their online marketplace. 

Flexibility & Scalability

This platform is tailored to suit online marketplaces of diverse sizes. The platform boasts excellent scalability and remarkable flexibility, empowering businesses to manage an ever-increasing volume of sellers, customers, and listing products. This facilitates seamless expansion of operations as needed.

Integrations

Businesses can easily discover well-known applications and extensions within Marketplacer’s growing collection of available integrations. Some noteworthy integrations include popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, as well as payment gateways such as PayPal, Zooz, Yotpo, and advertising management tools like Fuze, Firstpage, and Citrus Ad.

Marketplacer Connected Integration

Marketplacer’s success is attributed to its ‘Connected’ technology, enabling businesses to deploy their marketplaces with two versatile options: crafting a tailored frontend or integrating seamlessly with existing systems.

Also, businesses can effortlessly blend third-party products into their current inventory, broadening their product range and portfolio with minimal investment and mitigating product lifecycle management tasks. This model is known as the Hybrid Marketplace and has been successfully adopted by enterprises like Amazon, Walmart, and others.

Cons of Marketplacer

Costs

The license fee isn’t publicly available and businesses are required to reach out to the Marketplacer team for a personalized consultation and cost estimates. Furthermore, the platform doesn’t offer a trial version, which may pose challenges for businesses when planning their implementation budget.

Require technical skills

While this platform offers a user-friendly interface, it may pose challenges for users who are not familiar with building and operating an eCommerce marketplace. Therefore, the implementation process will require businesses to have technical expertise, or they can seek specialized assistance to efficiently build and optimize the platform.

Limited customization

Despite its flexibility and high degree of customization, Marketplacer’s ability to meet the highly complex deployment needs of large-scale eCommerce systems may pose challenges.

Support 

This platform provides 24/7 support services and offers learning resources, but there is room for improvement in the quality and responsiveness of their support. Plus, as an Australian-based company primarily serving the Australian market, some of their terminology might be less clear to international customers.

To successfully build and operate a thriving eCommerce marketplace, the first thing businesses need to do is choose a platform. This platform is one of the standout platforms that businesses should consider.

Feel free to contact or call SECOMM’s hotline at (028) 7108 9908 for free consultations.

The global business landscape has faced significant challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In response to this, many businesses across various sectors, particularly in the Baby industry, have prioritized the implementation of eCommerce strategies to connect with online customers and drive sales. Furthermore, to align with the broader economic trends, these retailers have transitioned from traditional business models to robust eCommerce operations to ensure growth and market expansion.

The following list showcases 15 successful Baby brands in Vietnam and around the world that have effectively adopted eCommerce websites, thus facilitating the swift participation of numerous other businesses.

Ava Kids 

Ava Kids is the Baby eCommerce website of The Gioi Di Dong Corporation, offering a range of enticing online shopping benefits to customers. These include a 1-month return policy, complimentary shipping, special discounts for new customers, a rewards program, and informative guides for maternal and child health care.
Having been in operation for over a year, Ava Kids’ eCommerce website now enjoys over 2.1 million monthly visitors and has expanded its offline store network from 5 to 66 outlets.

• Website: https://www.avakids.com/
• Platform: PHP language
• Traffic: 2.1M/month
• Ranking: 560 (Vietnam) & 30,546 (Worldwide)

Con Cưng 

Established in 2011, Con Cung has grown to become Vietnam’s leading retail chain specializing in products for expectant mothers and babies, boasting over 700 stores across the country.

In recent years, Con Cung has made significant strides in developing its eCommerce website, catering to the online shopping demands of its customers. This expansion has enabled them to provide a rich shopping experience with a wide range of enticing offers, flexible payment methods, and 1-hour delivery services.

• Website: https://concung.com/
• Platform: PHP language
• Traffic: 1.3M/month
• Ranking: 891 (Vietnam) & 48,776 (Worldwide)

Kids Plaza

Founded in 2009, Kids Plaza is a major player in the eCommerce competition for the Baby industry. Kids Plaza has built an eCommerce website on the Magento platform to efficiently manage a vast and diverse product catalog. The brand consistently runs enticing promotional campaigns, offering gift-with-purchase deals, flash sales, buy-5-get-1-free offers, and a loyalty points system for redeemable rewards. These efforts have significantly driven up website traffic during promotional events, making Magento’s customization and scalability features indispensable for handling sudden surges in visitor numbers. On average, the website garners approximately 1 million visits per month.

• Website: https://www.kidsplaza.vn/
• Platform: Magento
• Traffic: 1M/month
• Ranking: 1,316 (Vietnam) & 67,544 (Worldwide)

Bibo Mart 

Founded in 2006, Bibo Mart, a retail chain dedicated to serving expectant mothers and babies, offers a diverse range of products, including maternity clothing, diapers, formula, and strollers. Just like its competitors, Bibo Mart is a strong contender in the eCommerce race.

To enhance the customer shopping experience, Bibo Mart opted for Magento Enterprise Edition (aka Adobe Commerce) to develop a custom eCommerce website. This platform enables the implementation of attractive promotions and a Loyalty Program. Presently, the website enjoys more than 500,000 monthly visitors.

• Website: https://bibomart.com.vn/
• Platform: Magento Enterprise Edition (Adobe Commerce)
• Traffic: 518K/month
• Ranking: 2,216 (Vietnam) & 109,496 (Worldwide)

Shop Trẻ Thơ 

Shop Trẻ Thơ stands as a well-known brand in the Maternity & Baby sector. The company is dedicated to establishing and advancing its eCommerce website alongside its network of 22 physical stores. This strategic move is aimed at staying in sync with the online shopping trend and securing a competitive edge in the realm of eCommerce.

Beyond a diverse product catalog, Shop Trẻ Thơ offers various enticing incentives to encourage online shopping, such as Buy 1 Get 1, cost-saving combos, gifts with purchase, discounts for new customers, and more. Currently, the website maintains a stable traffic of over 100,000 visitors per month.

• Website: https://shoptretho.com.vn/
• Platform: PHP language
• Traffic: 133K/month
• Ranking: 9,242 (Vietnam) & 431,259 (Worldwide)

Tuticare  

Tuticare is considered a prominent brand in the Maternity & Baby industry with a chain of 55 stores across Vietnam. Tuticare’s products undergo stringent checks, from their origins to their quality, providing a sense of assurance to mothers during their shopping experience. 

The company has started an eCommerce website to provide customers with an optimized online shopping experience, along with various attractive programs and offers like a Tuti Gift Card, a subscription for diapers and milk, and more. Additionally, Tuticare offers diverse payment options, including eWallets and buy now pay later.

• Website: https://www.tuticare.com/
• Platform: PHP language
• Traffic: 113.7K/month
• Ranking: 9,304 (Vietnam) & 435,124 (Worldwide)

Mothercare 

Mothercare, a brand focused on Baby products from the United Kingdom, offers a diverse range of fashion and essential items for expectant mothers and children of various age groups. Despite its recent inception, Mothercare has rapidly garnered attention, primarily due to its commitment to providing high-quality products at affordable prices.

The Mothercare website is strategically developed using the Magento platform, effectively catering to the online shopping preferences of their customers. Beyond attractive promotional programs, the Mothercare website also provides valuable insights on caring for newborns and young children through its dedicated blog section.

• Website: https://www.mothercare.com.vn/
• Platform: Magento
• Traffic: 28.8K/month
• Ranking: 14,558 (Vietnam) & 669,019 (Worldwide)

Soc & Brothers

Soc & Brothers is a rising name in the Baby eCommerce market, offering a diverse range of products for expectant mothers and children, including clothing, formula, diapers, strollers, and toys. The company has built an eCommerce website using Haravan and receives approximately 28,000 monthly visitors. Moreover, Soc & Brothers has implemented a Loyalty Program with three tiers: Silver, Gold, and Diamond, which can be utilized for purchases and point accumulation both at their offline retail stores and various online channels.

• Website: https://www.snbshop.vn/
• Platform: Haravan
• Traffic: 28.1K/month
• Ranking: 46,426 (Vietnam) & 1,950,408 (Worldwide)

Carter’s

Carter’s is a well-known children’s clothing brand in the North American region. Carter’s offers a wide range of products suitable for children of all ages, heights, and weights. Their website is built on Salesforce Commerce Cloud and features a primary color scheme of blue and white, emphasizing minimalism and cuteness. Currently, the website receives about 8.4 million monthly visits. Moreover, customers can purchase physical or eGift cards through the website, which can be customized in terms of design, value, and personal messages.

• Website: https://www.carters.com/
• Platform: Salesforce Commerce Cloud
• Traffic: 8.4M/month
• Ranking: 1,127 (USA) & 5,584 (Worldwide)

Hanna Andersson

Hanna Andersson is a well-known Swedish brand that specializes in children’s clothing, offering beautiful designs and a wide range of styles, sizes, and types of clothing, from everyday wear to sleepwear and swimwear. Hanna Andersson’s eCommerce website is built and developed using the Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform and garners more than 1.4 million monthly visitors. Hanna provides a personalized shopping experience by inviting its customers to participate in clothing selection consultations, parenting advice, and direct communication for new customers.

• Website: https://www.hannaandersson.com/
• Platform: Salesforce Commerce Cloud
• Traffic: 1.4M/month
• Ranking: 5,908 (USA) & 32,358 (Worldwide)

OshKosh B’gosh 

OshKosh, a globally beloved children’s clothing brand, has achieved significant success by utilizing Salesforce Commerce Cloud to create an eCommerce website that delivers an exceptional online shopping experience. Presently, the website receives more than 900,000 monthly visitors and provides numerous appealing shopping incentives to its customers, including a rewards program that offers unexpected gifts, birthday presents, and discount vouchers.

• Website: https://www.oshkosh.com/
• Platform: Salesforce Commerce Cloud
• Traffic: 919.4K/month
• Ranking: 11,805 (USA) & 56,197 (Worldwide)

Janie and Jack 

Janie and Jack, another children’s fashion brand, has built an eCommerce website using the Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform. The company provides a wide variety of products for boys, girls, infants, as well as items such as jewelry and home decor. Notably, Janie and Jack has entered into a collaboration with Disney to offer fashion items featuring beloved Disney characters for children.

Additionally, the brand offers a gift-wrapping service that allows customers to select their preferred products, gift boxes, wrapping paper, and greeting cards. Customers can choose to wrap gifts themselves or take advantage of Janie and Jack’s professional gift-wrapping service.

• Website: https://www.janieandjack.com/home?lang=en
• Platform: Salesforce Commerce Cloud
• Traffic: 764.8K/month
• Ranking: 9,339 (USA) & 51,103 (Worldwide)

Children Salon

Children Salon, established in 1952, is one of the leading brands in high-end fashion for children. They offer many products, including clothing, shoes, and hats for boys, girls, and teenagers. The company specializes in designing and producing children’s fashion collections for top global brands such as Versace, Givenchy, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein, and more. Additionally, customers who purchase these designer products on the Children Salon website can enjoy discounts of up to 60%.

Children Salon’s eCommerce website is built on the Magento platform, featuring advanced functions like filtering products by size and age, displaying available sizes, and currency conversion for product prices, among others. The website currently receives over 600,000 monthly visits.

• Website: https://www.childrensalon.com/
• Platform: Magento
• Traffic: 647.5K/month
• Ranking: 56,386 (USA) & 90,938 (Worldwide)

Motherhood Maternity

Motherhood Maternity’s eCommerce website is a well-known and trusted fashion shopping destination for expectant mothers. The website, built on the Shopify platform, garners around 400,000 monthly visits.

Beyond its wide array of clothing and supportive accessories, Motherhood offers an “Expert Guide” section dedicated to sharing valuable knowledge about prenatal healthcare. Furthermore, the “Preggie Perks” program allows customers who shop on the website to have the chance to receive discount vouchers or unique gifts, conveniently delivered with their products to their doorstep.

• Website: https://www.motherhood.com/
• Platform: Shopify
• Traffic: 426.8K/month
• Ranking: 17,468 (USA) & 98,316 (Worldwide)

HATCH Collection  

HATCH Collection, a renowned global brand, specializes in offering fashion and beauty products for expectant mothers. Despite its establishment in 2011, the brand has chosen to maintain only two physical stores in California and New York, as HATCH’s primary focus lies in online retail. 

Operating through its eCommerce website, HATCH has introduced several programs  for their customers. One notable initiative is “NIKKI’s List,” wherein customers respond to specific questions, enabling HATCH to generate personalized product recommendations. The HATCH website is constructed and managed using the Shopify platform and receives approximately 223,000 monthly visits.

• Website: https://www.hatchcollection.com/
• Platform: Shopify
• Traffic: 223.7K/month
• Ranking: 40,787 (USA) & 204,740 (Worldwide)

The surge of the Covid-19 pandemic has made a significant impact on consumer shopping habits, particularly in the Baby sector, where a profound shift from offline to online shopping has been witnessed.

Presented here are 15 eCommerce websites, showcasing leading brands in the Mother & Baby industry, both in Vietnam and internationally. These brands exemplify their adaptability in capturing consumer trends and their commitment to enhancing technological infrastructure to compete for a share in the billion-dollar market.

With a track record of successfully implementing eCommerce solutions for a diverse clientele across various countries in recent years, SECOMM specializes in offering expert consultation and tailored eCommerce deployment solutions, tailored to the specific requirements of each industry.

For a free consultation, contact us or call directly to the SECOMM hotline at (02871089908).

Unlike building eCommerce websites for simpler models like B2C or B2B, implementing an online marketplace requires a higher level of technical knowledge, programming skills, database management, system administration, and more.

In this article, SECOMM will share the essential steps for successfully developing an eCommerce marketplace, from market research and business planning to designing an appealing user interface, developing functional systems, and more.

Conduct market research and business planning

Market research and business planning are essential and indispensable initial steps in starting an eCommerce marketplace or any business operation.

Here are some considerations for businesses when undertaking these activities:

• Understanding customers and market needs: Market research helps businesses gain a better understanding of their target customers, competitors, and industry-influencing factors. By exploring customer needs, preferences, and shopping behaviors, businesses can make strategic decisions to create the best online shopping experience and seize effective business opportunities.
• Setting goals and business strategies: Business planning helps companies identify specific objectives and devise strategies to achieve them. Companies need to define their core and secondary products/services, market access strategies, customer engagement approaches, and competitive value creation methods. A business plan helps create a detailed roadmap for how the business will build, develop, and operate its eCommerce marketplace.
• Defining USP (Unique Selling Point): Market research allows businesses to comprehend the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors. This helps businesses identify distinctive features and competitive value that their brand can provide to attract customers. Determining the USP enables businesses to leverage these elements in branding, marketing, and operational strategies to gain a competitive advantage in the eCommerce marketplace.
• Risk and financial management: Creating a financial plan and managing risks before embarking on the online marketplace development process is crucial. Businesses need to evaluate the financial resources and requirements for project implementation and establish long-term financial plans to ensure the sustainability of the business.

Select eCommerce platform

The eCommerce platform is a crucial element in the process of building an online marketplace. If the right choice is not made from the beginning, businesses may find themselves entangled in the whirlpool of technology when implementing their marketplace.

Typically, there are two types of eCommerce platforms for businesses to choose from: SaaS and Open Source.

SaaS platform

SaaS (Software as a Service) eCommerce platforms are a software distribution model for building websites.

In this model, data is stored on the provider’s server, and the platform is responsible for handling technical aspects for businesses. Some popular SaaS platforms today include Haravan, Shopify, BigCommerce, and more.

• Pros: User-friendly, quick development time, high security, 24/7 customer support.
• Cons: Increasing development costs over time, limited customization, functionality, and scalability, and businesses may not own the source code and data.

Open-source platform

An Open Source platform, or open-source software, is software with publicly available source code that anyone can use for free. Open-source platforms are an optimal choice for businesses looking to develop complex eCommerce systems, especially tailored to the specific needs of an online marketplace.

Prominent examples of Open Source online marketplaces include Magento, WooCommerce (a plugin for WordPress), OpenCart, and more.

• Pros: These platforms offer high levels of customization and scalability, a wide range of additional features and utilities, and businesses have ownership of the source code and data.
• Cons: They are not very user-friendly, involve high development costs, and require extended deployment times.

Each platform type has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, businesses should either have an in-house team or collaborate with an experienced and highly skilled eCommerce marketplace development agency to effectively advise on the selection, development, and operation of the chosen platform.

Outsource or build an in-house team

The initial decision regarding resource allocation for starting an eCommerce marketplace system has a profound impact on a company’s early business direction. Companies can choose to either collaborate with specialised development firms or establish their own in-house teams.

Opting for an in-house team entails investing time and budget into the recruitment and training of staff. However, it provides effective resource management, enabling businesses to adapt and develop the online marketplace system in alignment with their original vision.

Alternatively, when companies decide to seek external partners, they need to collaborate with various firms to identify the most reputable one. However, upon finding a partner with extensive practical experience in marketplaces across multiple platforms, businesses benefit from consultations and a multitude of solutions from diverse perspectives even before system development begins.

Moreover, these firms possess a wealth of experience in promptly addressing emerging issues during system development and operation. This not only ensures that the requirements are met as anticipated but also facilitates valuable knowledge and experience exchange among all parties involved.

Design UI/UX

The User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) are often considered two inseparable aspects in the process of designing the interface for an eCommerce marketplace.

Here are the key steps in the UI/UX design process:

• User Research: Research and gain a deep understanding of the target user audience, including demographic information, behaviour, needs, and expectations. This helps the business identify important elements to focus on and design accordingly.
• Create Wireframes: Wireframes are simplified outlines of the website’s structure and layout, helping the business determine the placement of interface elements such as menus, buttons, images, and content containers. Wireframes provide an overview of the interface and assist in building the basic layout for the marketplace.
• Optimize User Experience (UX): Ensure the website is user-friendly, easy to navigate, and meets user needs, such as enhancing interactivity, mobile-friendliness, optimizing page loading speed, and more.
• User Interface (UI) Design: Create UI components such as buttons, menus, forms, images, and graphics that align with the brand. Make sure to use appropriate colors, fonts, and images to create a professional interface with a touch of the brand’s identity.
• Testing and Evaluation: After completing the UI/UX design, conduct testing with a user group or use testing tools to assess the effectiveness of the interface.

Design architecture and database

Starting from business requirements, the technical team will build the system architecture for the eCommerce marketplace based on the appropriate technology framework or platform. Various architectures can be used, such as three-tier architecture, microservices architecture, hybrid architecture, headless architecture, etc. Each type of architecture has its own advantages and limitations, so businesses need to carefully consider and work with experts on the team or partners to choose the most suitable system architecture for each stage.

Another equally important next step is to establish security and data management. Businesses need to define security measures to protect user data, payment information, and other critical data. Ensure that data is encrypted and transmitted securely via an SSL connection. Implement data protection measures such as access control, user authentication, data encryption, and data integrity checks.

Depending on the operating model of the marketplace, system and database design may need to be customized to be suitable and effective.

Develop functional system

After completing the essential functional systems, businesses should continue to develop specific features for their online marketplace, such as:

Operator Portal: Full control of platform information, including seller management, product categorization, customer segments, supply chain management, ad content control, and more.

• User Groups and Administrative Levels: Categorizing users into various groups and granting different permissions to different users.
• Supply Chain Management: Warehouse and inventory management, assisting sellers in order fulfilment by routing orders, and more. 
• Marketing Tools: A range of tools support marketing strategies, including search advertising, live streaming, gamification, and more.
• User Experience Personalization: The ability to display personalized products such as favorites, similar products, past purchases, and facilitate order communication with sellers.
• Analysis and Reporting: Analyzing and measuring the performance of the online marketplace to develop future business strategies.
• Integration with Other Systems: Seamless integration with external systems.

Seller Portal: Sellers self-manage their presence in the marketplace, including product listings, orders, and activities, etc

• Category and Product Management: Add, edit, delete product categories and products within categories; manage product attributes and variations (color, size, etc.); manage inventory quantities.
• Content Management: Create and optimize content, including text, images, videos, banners, widgets, templates, branding, messaging, and more.
• Order Management: View order lists and their statuses. Track shipments and deliveries. Update order status (processing, delivered, canceled, etc.).
• Advertising and Promotions: Display advertisements, banners, promotions on the website. Manage discount codes, promotional programs, and more.
• Payment Integration and Transaction Processing: Integrate payment gateways for online payment processing. Confirm and track payment transactions.

Customer Portal: Allow users to perform and manage basic information such as phone numbers, email addresses, delivery addresses, adjust payment options, request quotes, manage shopping lists, check order status, etc.

• Account Registration and Management: Register new user accounts (buyers and sellers), log in, and manage personal information, delivery addresses, payment methods, etc.
• Product Search and Viewing: Search for products by keywords, categories, brands, etc. View detailed product information, including images, descriptions, prices, ratings, and more.
• Cart and Checkout: Add products to the cart; edit product quantities, remove products from the cart, calculate and display the total amount in the cart; select payment methods; enter payment information and delivery address; confirm and place orders. 
• Reviews and Comments: Rate and write reviews about products; view reviews and comments from other users.
• Customer Support: Provide contact channels for customers to ask questions, request assistance; offer real-time support through direct chat, email, phone, and more.

Q/C Testing

Whether you’re building an in-house team or enlisting the services of external development agencies, the quality testing phase of a project holds immense significance. This critical stage is where businesses validate that the system functions as expected and complies with the initial requirements.

Step 1: Define Testing Objectives

Identify the objectives and scope of the testing process. Set specific criteria and requirements that the business wants to verify to ensure the platform operates accurately and meets the specified requirements.

Step 2: Test Planning

Determine a detailed test plan, including test cases, scenarios, and data. Identify the resources, timeline, and scope of the testing phases.

Step 3: Functional Testing

Verify all website functions to ensure they are working correctly as expected. If the business’s website supports multiple languages and regions, it should also verify compatibility and display of each feature in different geographical areas.

Step 4: User Interface (UI) Testing

Ensure the interface is designed beautifully and user-friendly. Evaluate information display, buttons, links, and user experience on various devices, including mobile and tablet.

Step 5: Browser Compatibility Testing

Test the website on popular browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge to ensure compatibility and correct display on all platforms.

Step 6: Performance Testing

Assess website performance, including page load speed, concurrent processing, and scalability. Ensure the website operates smoothly and can handle the expected traffic load.

Step 7: Security Testing

Examine the platform’s security by testing intrusion potential, data security, and user authentication. Verify security methods such as SSL, data encryption, and security certificates.

Step 8: Issue Resolution

Document and track any errors and issues that arise during testing. Identify the root causes, rectify the errors, and retest until the testing process is approved, and the entire system is ready for go-live and operation.

Golive

Go-live is the final stage in the process of starting an eCommerce marketplace when the system is officially launched and becomes operational.

To ensure a successful go-live process, businesses should prepare a checklist known as the Go-live checklist. This is a list of tasks that the deployment team needs to perform to prepare the system for go-live. The checklist includes task items, responsible individuals, status, and how they affect the system.

Pre-golive

• Prepare the Production environment and configure the domain.
• Ensure that the entire source code of the go-live preparation system is the final version of the quality testing process.
• Data migration: Execute the data migration process from the old system to the new system using the established method. Then, verify the data after migration to ensure the integrity and accuracy of data in the new system.
• Content update: Review website content, including text, images, videos, and other materials. Ensure that the content is displayed accurately without spelling or formatting error
• Backup all website data to ensure safety and data recovery capabilities when needed
• Identify and prepare customer guide and support materials

Finally Golive 

• Implement the transition process from the development environment to the actual production environment.
• Monitor website traffic and activities immediately after golive.
• Ensure system stability and performance throughout the go-live process.

Post-golive

• Monitor and analyze user feedback
• Address issues and problems that arise post-go-live
• Ensure the system’s stability and performance over an extended period after golive
• Ensure compatibility of integrations with external systems
• Train employees and managers to use and maintain the system effectively

Continuously update & develop features

Regularly updating the system is important for businesses to adapt to the ever-changing customer needs, improve customer experience, stay abreast of emerging technology trends, enhance competitiveness, and more. Moreover, continuous bug fixes and security patch updates enhance the brand’s credibility, safeguard users from internet threats, and so on. 

Moreover, the development of new features empowers businesses to capitalize on market opportunities and scale their operations more professionally. For example, after a period of operation and accumulating a specific customer base, businesses can introduce features tailored to loyal customers. 

Running a thriving marketplace involves a multitude of factors, such as the business model, financial capabilities, and building strategic partnerships with diverse brands. However, a well-functioning eCommerce platform with high performance plays a vital role in the path to success. The journey of marketplace development is anything but straightforward. It requires substantial investments of time and resources for thorough research and the seamless alignment of solutions with each development phase.

Recognizing the challenges and hurdles that businesses face during the process of starting their eCommerce marketplace, feel free to contact or call SECOMM directly at (02871089908) for a free consultation.

PIM is an essential management system that helps synchronize product information across various systems like ERP, POS, CRM, SCM, etc., and a brand’s global sales channels. It’s considered the powerful ‘right hand’ of large corporations for comprehensive information management. 

What is PIM?

PIM or Product Information Management is a system or platform used to collect, organize and manage detailed product information for businesses. PIM includes information such as product descriptions, images, prices, product attributes, customer ratings and reviews. 

PIM systems often integrate data from ERP, CRM, POS, and other business management systems related to a company’s products. Once integrated, shared data. 

Related article: What is POS? Why your eCommerce business need it?

Benefits of using PIM software 

Managing product information correctly

PIM software allows businesses to accurately and consistently collect, organize, and manage product information. This ensures that product information is updated correctly and comprehensively across all sales channels, from eCommerce websites, mobile apps, and social media to marketplaces like Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, Sendo, Amazon, and more. When accurate product information is provided to customers, businesses can enhance trust and reputation for their brand. 

Saving time and resources

A PIM system automates the processes of data entry, processing, and product information distribution. This saves time and effort for employees while reducing the risk of errors compared to manual data entry. With more efficient workflows in place, PIM allows employees to focus on other, more critical tasks. 

Enhancing analytical and measurement capabilities

PIM software enables efficient analysis and measurement of product information. By monitoring, evaluation, and data analysis of product details, businesses can gain insights into the performance of marketing campaigns, consumer trends, customer behaviors, and more. Therefore, this empowers them to make more informed and effective business decisions for the future. 

Top 5 PIM software for Vietnamese businesses 

Akeneo

Akeneo is a widely embraced PIM platform known for its broad range of services, including open-source PIM and cloud-based PIM systems, etc. 

Currently, Akeneo offers three primary PIM solution packages:

• Community Edition: Free of charge – Designed for small and medium-sized enterprises looking to efficiently manage and distribute product information at a minimal cost.
• Growth Edition: Starting at $25,000 per year – Tailored for mid-sized companies aiming to unlock the potential of product information management.
• Enterprise Edition: Pricing upon request – Catered to large corporations in need of a specialized PIM system. 

Pros:

• Effective product information management: Akeneo enables businesses to easily manage product information, from data input to classification and organization, creating a precise and consistent source of product data.
• High integration: Akeneo seamlessly integrates with other systems such as ERP, CRM, POS, and eCommerce platforms (Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce, etc).
• Scalability: Akeneo provides APIs and an open development framework, allowing businesses to expand and customize the PIM platform based on their specific needs.

Cons:

• High costs: The cost of using Akeneo is relatively high compared to other PIM systems.
• Complexity: Akeneo has some highly complex features that require time and expertise to effectively implement. Moreover, training employees and managing the Akeneo PIM system may demand a certain investment.
• Customer support: Some users find that Akeneo’s customer support can only address general knowledge and may not be able to resolve technical issues or address industry-specific concerns for each brand.

 1WorldSync

1WorldSync is a company that specializes in providing solutions for managing product information and synchronizing product data for large enterprises. Their platform is built on a global network for product data synchronization, connecting suppliers, retailers, distributors, and various stakeholders worldwide.

1WorldSync currently offers four customizable solutions tailored to the needs of large enterprises:

• Base: Geared towards businesses looking for quick and efficient global product content management.
• Plus: Leverages product content to boost marketing strategies and sales initiatives, and ensures compliance with transparent information policies.
• Pro: Delivers a visual data solution along with premium support services for setting up and managing high-quality product portfolios.
• Premier: Enhances brand visibility in the eCommerce market through carefully curated. high-quality content.

Pros:

• Comprehensive product information management: 1WorldSync offers a robust platform for managing product information, including images, descriptions, technical attributes, barcodes, and other details. This helps businesses efficiently maintain and update product information.
• Global product data synchronization: 1WorldSync establishes a global network for product data synchronization, enabling businesses to connect and share product information with partners and customers worldwide. This network ensures the consistency of product information across various sales channels.
• Enhancing customer experience: By providing detailed, accurate, and consistent product information across sales channels, 1WorldSync improves the shopping experience and product evaluations for customers.

Cons: 

• High costs: Since 1WorldSync is a PIM system designed for each business, the cost of using 1WorldSync can be relatively high
• Complex regulations and standards: Businesses must ensure that managing and sharing product information on 1WorldSync complies with legal regulations and standards, such as privacy rights, data protection, and industry standards.
• Complex and user-unfiendly: The interface and workflow on 1WorldSync can be relatively complex and challenging to understand for new users. It requires time and resources to train employees and adapt to the new system.

Sales Layer

Sales Layer is a PIM platform tailored for efficient product data management across medium and large businesses on a global scale. This PIM solution is designed with customization in mind, and its pricing varies depending on specific business needs, with a starting cost of $1,000 per month.

Sales Layer currently offers several solution packages, including:

• Premium: An ideal choice for businesses seeking a swift and sustainable PIM system implementation.
• Enterprise: A comprehensive solution providing all the essential features for elevating a medium-sized business into a global enterprise.
• Enterprise Plus: A specialized PIM solution adept at effortlessly handling intricate data challenges within businesses.

Pros:

• Centralized product information management: The Sales Layer provides a centralized platform for managing product information, ensuring data consistency.
• Workflow and process control: Sales Layer offers tools for managing workflows and work processes to organize and manage product information updates and approvals, guaranteeing data quality.
• Rapid information retrieval and search: The Sales Layer incorporates algorithms that enable swift retrieval and searching of information to meet specific user demands.

Cons: 

• Complex implementation process: One of the drawbacks of the Sales Layer is its relatively intricate deployment and initial configuration, especially for businesses with existing and large-scale systems.
• Specialized training requirements: Sales Layer may necessitate a certain amount of training time to become familiar with the interface and functionalities of this PIM system. Training employees and ensuring proficiency in using the Sales Layer can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.
• Limited technical support: In the event of issues or technical problems, support from the Sales Layer may not fully meet expectations or provide a quick resolution.

Salsify

Salsify is a cloud-based product information management (PIM) platform that offers businesses a solution to efficiently manage and distribute product information across various sales channels. Salsify functions as a software a service (SaaS) application, with usage costs tailored to each business, typically ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 per month. 

Pros:

• Comprehensive workflow management: Salsify offers the capacity to manage workflow procedures, permitting the adaptation, monitoring, and endorsement of alterations in product data, guaranteeing accuracy and proficient control of work processes.
• Multilingual and multiregional compatibility: Salsify backs the management of product data in several languages and geographic regions, facilitating effective expansion into international markets.
• Seamless integration with various systems: Salsify permits integration with diverse business management systems and tools like ERP, CRM, SCM, POS, and more, streamlining business processes. 

Cons: 

• High deployment and maintenance costs: The initial deployment and ongoing maintenance expenses for a PIM system on Salsify can be relatively high compared to other PIM systems. This might impact a business’s long-term financial resources.
• Initial data input challenges: Importing initial product data and information into Salsify can be challenging and time-consuming, particularly when dealing with a large volume of product details from various sources. This process requires meticulous attention to ensure accuracy.
• Complexity in usage: Salsify offers a wide array of features and product management capabilities, but it also comes with a corresponding level of of complexity. Learning how to use Salsify effectively may necessitate time spent delving into guides and documentation.

inRiver

inRiver is a PIM system developed to efficiently manage and distribute product information across various sales channels and different eCommerce platforms such as Adobe Commerce, Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, etc. The cost of using inRiver is approximately $1,000 per month. 

Pros:

• Product variations management: inRiver supports the management of information regarding product variations, including color options, sizes, styles, and other details. inRiver enables comprehensive and diverse product information display, effectively meeting customer needs.
• Integration with DAM support: inRiver supports integration with Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems, allowing the management and linkage of digital assets such as images, videos, and product-related documents. This enhances the management and distribution of multimedia content related to products.
• High scalability: inRiver is designed to expand its capabilities according to a business’s specific requirements, catering to diverse business needs and objectives.

Cons: 

• Complex user interface: Some users may find it challenging to navigate River’s user interface due to its relatively complex nature, requiring training to become familiar with and use effectively.
• Resource-intensive PIM system implementation: Implementing and maintaining inRiver demands a highly skilled workforce.
• Complex customization capabilities: Customizing and integrating inRiver with existing systems and workflows can be intricate and require technical expertise. This can result in difficulties and increased costs associated with system integration and customization.

Above is a summary of the top 5 PIM software options tailored for large-scale businesses, each with its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the requirements for PIM system development and budget considerations, companies can explore and select the most appropriate PIM solution. 

Get in touch with SECOMM for more information!