An eCommerce roadmap is a visual tool meant to organize the various tools, services, and platforms that an eCommerce business is using. Given that an eCommerce business is largely based online, it can be easy to lose track of the number of tools your team is using, and as a result, weaken your team's communication.
It's this problem that has led to the development of eCommerce roadmaps. A roadmap helps you and your team keep track of each of the eCommerce tools and strategies that you're using.
The right eCommerce roadmap will help your business scale, grow, and master its current lineup of tools and services. Without a roadmap, the opposite is likely to happen. The disorganization and lack of clarity can lead to issues that prevent your company from growing and succeeding.
To develop an eCommerce roadmap strategy, you need to start by researching your target customers. It's true for any business, but especially eCommerce companies: your customers are the backbone of your success. If you don't understand them, then you won't understand how to succeed.
Developing a richer understanding of your customers will help you develop an eCommerce roadmap by providing you with insights into how the various tools, services, and platforms you're using fit into your overall strategy and approach.
Next, you'll want to create a map of your present and future eCommerce roadmap. For your present eCommerce roadmap, that means collecting and diagramming the tools and services you're currently using.
Once you have an idea of where you stand, you should compare this to a future eCommerce roadmap. In what areas can you improve? Should you be dropping certain tools in favor of others? Are there customer needs that you aren't meeting? Create an endpoint for your strategy.
Once you've done that, you're ready to start creating your eCommerce roadmap strategy. This strategy is the series of steps that your business will take to get from where you currently stand to the place you want to be.