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Web Channel Experience Management 2.0: Overview User Management

Arno-Meyer
Advisor
Advisor
‎04-23-2012 7:31 AM
0 Kudos

Dear community members,

I guess almost every Internet user already has ordered products from a web-shop or has done a registration for such an application. So this topic is familiar for almost everybody but some aspects are really difficult and important if you run a Web Shop.

Illustration 1: Logonview for the Web Shop Application

On the one hand side the shop operator is interested that every user does a registration. This is important for the customer retention. On the other hand site (even more important) he wants to avoid every obstacle the user hinders to buy.

This makes the whole decision about the registration to one of the most important decisions for the web-shop.

In many business applications the user is forced to register and to login. In most of the cases he even has no choice to use the application or not. For a B2C web-shop this is totally different. Here the user has a lot of freedom … also the freedom to leave the shop after 2 seconds.

Therefore it is important to let the user decide if and when he wants to register himself; if and when he wants to login.

For the shop operator it is important to decide which logon-type is the best for his customers.

Logon-Types

With Web Channel Experience Management different logon-types are possible

  • eMail
    For a B2C-Shop the logon-type “eMail” is the usual one. This means the logon is done with the entry of the eMail-address and a password. The advantage is that the user doesn't need to think about a good user-name.
  • User-Alias
    The logon-type “User-Alias” is also supported. This means the user has to use his name or an alias for the logon.
  • Technical ID
    A third option is the logon with technical ID. This is a BADI-implementation the customer can set-up within the project. Technical ID could be a phone-number, a license plate or any kind of number which is unique and sufficient to identify the user.


Illustration 2: Configurationoption in Web Channel Builder (User Module)

Since Web Channel Experience Management Release 2.0 the “Contact Scenario” is also supported. This means the logon as B2B user is possible. Here the logon is pretty much the same as it is in the B2C scenario. Only in the case the user is assigned to multiple companies he has to select the right Sold-To Party directly after the logon.

However the direct registration in B2B is not yet possible. The shop operator has to do the registration and as to inform the customer about the login.

Registration Settings

For a B2C-Shop different options for the registration are possible. The shop operator has to decide which options he wants to enable for his shop.

  1. Single page registration versus registration via guided flow
    Single page registration means that the user has to enter all required data in one page. For the guided flow the registration is done in several steps and the user can navigate back and forth.
  2. Immediate User Activation
    Immediate activation means that the user is logged in directly after he has done the registration. There will be no eMail send out which includes an activation-key. Immediate User Activation or activation with activation with activation-key is again a trade-off decision between usability and security. The activation key can help to ensure the correctness of the eMail-Address the user has entered.

Late Logon and Guest User Scenario

In a B2C Scenario it is critical to show a logon directly. Many decisions are rather impulse buying decisions and the logon can have a negative impact on this buying decision.

In principle the user can use the Web-Shop without to logon. In this case not all areas are visible for the user but he can use the product catalog and even add articles to his shopping cart (this works only for the JAVA Basket). The user can now do the logon very late in the checkout-process. It is also possible to do the registration very late in the checkout-process. One prerequisite is the immediate user activation as setting for the Web Shop-Configuration. Otherwise there would be a process-break and this would be annoying for the user and he could lose the products he already has added to the shopping cart.

With release 2.0 it is also possible to do the checkout directly without a logon and registration. We call this “Guest User Scenario”. You could also call this “Onetime Customer Scenario” or “Express Checkout”.

The advantage for the user is that he doesn't need to register and think about a password and user name. The disadvantage is that he cant change the order afterwards easily and he can't benefit from the advantages the shop offers for recurring users (discounts, special offers).

Further Information

Related to Web Channel Experience Management in general

Related to User Management

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