You might hear quite often “our primary objective is to get our online site up as quickly as possible.” Sure, it would be nice to meet such an objective to open your new channel available for business sooner than later. But should that be the sole measure of success? Is that the most important piece of the goal?

If your site is launched in a quick manner, yet the first visitors have a bad user experience, they are unlikely to return. This is quite severe, and thus your site will have failed its purpose. It will not generate the revenue you hoped for if customers do not like it.

In an IBM US consumer study conducted as an overlay to the annual IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) global consumer study, IBM evaluated the effect of the online experience, desktop or mobile, has on the overall brand relationship the customer has with the retailer. A poor experience leads to a negative view of the brand. One out of every two consumers aged 13-39 consider it likely to very likely to undermine their brand relationship with the retailer, while 2/3rds of those in their 40’s and 3/4ths of those 50 and above said that it was likely to very likely to erode their brand relationship with the retailer.

Therefore, the real goal in launching an e-commerce site is not how fast you can get it up. But rather, it is whether you are offering a great online experience, one that is engaging, easy to use without frustration, differentiates you from your competitors, and inspires your customers to purchase from you, keep coming back, and hold your brand in a high regard. Remember, it’s not fast if it doesn’t work.

Source: It Ain’t Fast If It Ain’t Clean