Enterprises must be able to sell services online to appeal to today’s customers, but that’s easier said than done. Here’s how no-code can help.
Buying goods and services online isn’t a luxury—it’s a way of life. Business Insider reports that consumer-facing e-commerce sales are expected to bring in $3.914 trillion this year and according to Nasdaq, 95% of all purchases worldwide will be made online by 2040. Consumer behaviors have also changed in tandem with the standard shopping experience, especially in light of COVID-19. According to McKinsey, 65% of consumers have adjusted their behavior due to the pandemic—including, most notably, doing the majority of their shopping online—and, in many cases, these behavior changes are likely to be at least semi-permanent.
Given these broader trends, enterprises must meet customers where they are and find ways to sell their goods and services online instead of in-person. For enterprises in industries that traditionally rely on in-person interactions like insurance and financial services, this is easier said than done.
Three Key Obstacles to Selling Enterprise Services Online
It’s clear that enterprises must be able to sell their services online in order to remain competitive and appeal to today’s consumers, but digital sales do come with a few common pain points:
1. Data Security
Of these three business challenges, cybersecurity might be the most difficult to overcome. As the demand for web applications skyrockets, it can be tempting to cut corners on application security in the rush to get to market. That’s what hackers are counting on. NTT Security’s 2019 NTT Security Global Threat Intelligence Report found that application-specific attacks comprise over 32% of all cybersecurity threats, making them the most common attack vector.
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Digital applications that support online sales are especially attractive targets for hackers because they’re full of personally identifying information, user credentials, and financial information. When you add up the costs of a well-executed data breach—including legal fees, reputational damage, reduced customer loyalty, operational disruptions, and more—it amounts to a staggering $8.64 million, on average.
2. Addressing Modern Customer Expectations
Thanks to “the Amazon effect,” it’s incredibly common for enterprises to have websites or applications that allow customers to browse offerings online and make purchases. As such, today’s customers have a lot of options to choose from and aren’t afraid to take their business elsewhere if an enterprise’s customer service experience leaves a lot (or even a little) to be desired.
It’s not enough to simply have a digital application that supports online sales. Today’s consumers expect fast, accessible service and easy-to-use digital solutions that give them all the information they need to complete their customer journey upfront.
It’s not enough to simply have a digital application that supports online sales. Today’s consumers expect fast, accessible service and easy-to-use digital solutions that give them all the information they need to complete their customer journey upfront. Unfortunately, building these digital experiences using traditional development methods is time-consuming and expensive.
3. Robust Document Management
Still, making it possible for customers to purchase goods and services online is only half the battle. Before you close an insurance sale, for instance, there are contracts to negotiate, forms to sign, and other manual processes that involve shuttling paper back-and-forth from person to person. Even if you can build or buy a secure web application that offers fast customer service, your efforts to sell enterprise services online will fall flat if you don’t have an efficient way to streamline and optimize what holds it all together, i.e. robust document management. In the modern era, document management table stakes include the ability to automatically generate personalized documents, securely send them to customers, finalize them via e-signatures, and retain a clear digital trail of all steps in your workflow.
How No-Code Can Help
No-code can help enterprises navigate the aforementioned pain points so they can safely and efficiently sell goods and services online.
From a data security standpoint, any flow or application built using the Unqork platform benefits from our enterprise-grade security features. Your application will live in a single-tenant, cloud-agnostic infrastructure so you don’t have to share server space with other enterprises and risk accidental data loss. Also, we regularly assess our platform security with quarterly penetration testing and use enterprise-grade encryption for data in-tranist and at-rest. You can rest assured that your customers’ personal information is safe and you remain compliant with your industry’s security standards, avoiding any costly fines.
You can also use no-code to streamline, digitize, and optimize the paper-based processes involved in making a sale.
Additionally, a no-code platform like Unqork empowers you to create new flows and applications faster than you ever thought possible. Not only does this help you stay agile, but it helps you provide the high-quality online experiences your customers crave. For example, you can build interactive, self-service hubs that give customers all the information they need to make an informed purchase in one place. Visual interfaces and drag-and-drop components also make it easy to incorporate user feedback into new iterations of your application and make changes on a dime.
You can also use no-code to streamline, digitize, and optimize the paper-based processes involved in making a sale. For instance, the Unqork platform offers several pre-built document management integrations powered by DocuSign, streamlining document generation, submissions, and e-signatures. Once you add this functionality to your application, it becomes much easier to keep contracts organized and manage documents. With security and logistics taken care of, you’re free to focus on initiatives that will set you apart from other enterprises in a competitive marketplace.
Want to learn more about how no-code can be used at your organization? Schedule a personalized demonstration with one of our in-house experts. Also, sign up for the Unqork newsletter to keep up-to-date on the latest in the world of no-code.
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