Skip to content

Web & Digital Experience

Ecommerce experiences: an order that knows the customer

A standard online store sells standard products well. A service business sells things that depend on the customer: the filter that fits their furnace, the plan that brings a technician twice a year, the part that has to be on the truck. Custom commerce is worth it there, where the store reads the customer's record and every order creates the work it needs.
Discuss your storeSee one order ↓
customerC-0731 · J.H.furnace on fileManufacturer Afilter size16×25×1filtersshowing what fits your furnace16×25×1 · pleatedfits16×25×4 · mediadoesn't fit20×25×1 · pleateddoesn't fit16×25×1 · 3-packfitscart16×25×1 · 3-packevery 3 monthsmaintenance plan2 visits a yearpaid · by the payment providerorder O-5521visitspring tune-upTruck 3restock 3 × 16×25×1

A store that doesn't know the customer

A standard online store

  1. 01Every filter size is listed; the customer guesses theirs
  2. 02Plans live in a separate app with its own login
  3. 03Orders arrive as emails someone retypes
  4. 04The technician doesn't know what was bought

Wrong filters come back, and plan customers call to ask what they have.

Commerce that knows the customer

  1. 01The equipment on file decides what's shown
  2. 02Plans and repeat orders live on the customer record
  3. 03Each order creates the work it needs: a visit, a restock line
  4. 04The technician sees the order on the job

The order is part of the customer's history, not a separate shop.

One order, into the operation

One order, followed until every part of the business that needed to know, knew.

O-5521 · C-0731 · J.H.

  1. Filters chosen

    16×25×1 3-pack, from the equipment on file

    done

  2. Plan added

    2 visits a year

    done

  3. Paid

    taken by the payment provider

    done

  4. Visit booked

    spring tune-up; filters delivered then

    done

  5. Restock line on Truck 3

    3 × 16×25×1

    done

  6. Next filters

    in 3 months, from the plan

    next

One order, and nobody retyped it.

What's worth building custom

The catalogue, the cart and the checkout are usually bought. These are the parts a standard store can't do for you.

  1. 01

    What fits

    From the equipment on file

    Sizes, parts and models shown by what the customer owns, not a catalogue they have to decode.

  2. 02

    Plans and repeat orders

    On the customer's record

    Every 3 months, twice a year: kept with the customer and changed in one place.

  3. 03

    Payment

    Taken by the payment provider

    Cards are handled by the provider; the store never holds card numbers.

  4. 04

    Into the operation

    Orders that create work

    A visit booked, a truck restocked, a technician told.

  5. 05

    Returns and swaps

    Started from the order

    The wrong size is swapped on the next visit, without a phone call.

When an order goes wrong

Three common failures, and what the customer sees.

16×25×1 3-pack · out of stock

  1. Stock checked

    none in the warehouse

    failed

  2. Customer told at checkout

    before paying, with a date

    done

  3. Back-order or single packs offered

    done

  4. Customer chose the back-order

    ships on the 14th

    done

Nobody pays for something that isn't there.

What a connected store hands off

In

Customer record
equipment, plans, history
Catalogue
products and what they fit
Payment provider
cards and payouts
Store
show what fits, take the order

Out

Orders
on the customer record
Work
visits and restock lines
Payments
taken by the provider

Worth building when the order has to know the customer

Good fit

  • What fits depends on what the customer owns.
  • Orders create work: visits, deliveries, installs.
  • Customers buy again on a schedule.

Not the right fit

  • You sell standard products anyone can choose. A standard store fits.
  • Orders never touch your operation after payment.

Where this capability is used

Next to ecommerce experiences

Questions about ecommerce experiences

Do you build the whole store from scratch?

Rarely. A standard commerce platform handles the catalogue, cart and checkout well. We build what it can't: what fits, plans, and the link to your operation.

Who handles card payments?

A payment provider, under its own security rules. The store never stores card numbers.

Can existing customers' equipment be loaded?

Yes, from your service records. Where a record is missing or old, the customer is asked and the answer is saved.

Can it sell services as well as products?

Yes. Plans, tune-ups and installs are sold like products and create the work they need.