What is an OKR?
Objectives and Key Results are a trendy reinvention of setting business objectives and measuring them. Unlike KPIs, which are a snapshot measure of something at a point in time, OKRs have a goal element to them and can be shared by teams across business units.
The Importance of Goal Setting in B2B Ecommerce projects
In the age of data, setting goals is an important part of any project. Understanding where you are now, where you want to be and identifying the steps to get from A to B helps to prioritise tasks and investment.
There are several metrics and techniques that have gained popularity with fast growing companies including the ‘North Star Metric’ and OKRs.
OKRs can also be used to define requirements and develop user stories during the early stages of a B2B Ecommerce project, especially for companies that are trying to be customer-centric.
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B2B Ecommerce Examples
OKRs have two parts – the Objective and the Key Results. At a very high level, an objective might be: Increase margin on B2B products and services. The Key Results for that Objective depend on where you are now, but assuming that B2B ecommerce would cut out any resellers or distributors then Key Results might be: Achieve 10% of sales through online channels or Acquire 5 new online customers or Open 1 new overseas territory via online sales.
Each phase and activity in the online sales process has different Objectives and Key Results. Here are some more examples.
Objective: Collect more accurate sales leads data
Key Results: List data that is required to score leads. Design online journey to capture required lead data. Implement CRM and Analytics tools to manage lead data.
Objective: Convert existing customers from traditional sales process to online.
Key Results: Create account based pricing in ecommerce system. Create 5 online accounts for existing customers. Train customers how to place online orders.
Objective: Acquire more online customers
Key Results: Rank 1 on Google for target keywords. Achieve 100 email opens from Account Based Marketing email campaign. Get 200 clicks from targeted linkedin campaigns promoting ecommerce.
Objective: Increase Ecommerce conversion rate.
Key Results: Measure Customer Effort Score on Checkout page. Add new payment methods. Upgrade search tool.
Objective: Increase Order Value.
Key Results: Create product bundles on Ecommerce platform. Implement upsell in ecommerce platform. Implement ‘order-bump’ on ecommerce platform. Implement account based pricing on ecommerce platform.
Objective: Clear overstocked products
Key Results: List overstocked products on 3rd party B2B ecommerce marketplace. Create microsite for overstocked products to sell to consumers. Add overstocked products to offshore market catalog on ecommerce system.
B2B Ecommerce Consulting
Changes in technology and the way people work are accelerating the need for businesses to sell online rather than more traditional sales channels. Buyers are changing – they are working from home with access to a global database of suppliers and vendors.
Your value proposition may be different in the new world. Being in the same regional market may not be enough anymore, which is why setting goals for your ecommerce business is so important. OKRs are just one way to define what success looks like. They are a key part of our B2B Ecommerce Readiness Audit and essential to good design and project management.
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