In what has felt like the blink of an eye, 2022 is almost behind us – so what is 2023 looking like?
In 2022, we added over 280 features to Merchanter; brought on board several new customers; and developed integrations with a broadening range of third party platforms and services. In 2023 we look forward to building on the foundations of continual improvement that we have been developing this year, focusing on some really important areas.
It’s sure to be another busy year, and we have plenty in the pipeline. Without wanting to get too bogged down in the details of every planned development and feature (though rest assured there are plenty), our plans for 2023 fall broadly into two main areas, which we wanted to share with you.
Customer success planning
Yes, that means you! More focus on what keeps our customers happy is definitely on our agenda for the year ahead – and we would really appreciate your input on that. We like to think we are a responsive bunch so the more we know about what you need, the better able we will be to help you achieve your goals.
We have invested in a new and improved system internally for handling helpdesk queries, and will continue to refine and improve those systems for you to benefit from, and we continue to develop our staff to provide you with expert, responsive service.
And speaking of enhanced service, one of the big initiatives in this area that we’re excited to launch next year will be our Ten-25 Knowledge Base.
Despite being simple to use, there’s a lot more to Merchanter than meets the eye. We understand that it’s impossible to get acquainted with every feature in the system when you’re starting out. Over time though, you’ll want to access more advanced features and functions to make sure you’re getting the best value from your system at all times.
From customer feedback we know that a convenient, self-service option for training and help resources would be welcome. We are therefore putting lots of effort into building a comprehensive Knowledge Base. This will be a destination for system feature help, video tutorials and walk-throughs, which will be available for all users as part of our unlimited service package. We plan to launch it in the new year and will be adding to it continually over time.
Finally, we are really excited to be launching the Merchanter Notification Centre in 2023. This will give you total control over all the system alerts and notifications that each user receives. That means you can be confident that all the key metrics and alerts you need to see are right in front of you, without being bombarded all day with irrelevant notifications. We think it’s going to be a real game-changer for users and we can’t wait to get it rolled out next year.
Emerging technology hub capability
2023 will be the year of connectivity. We follow industry trends carefully and aim to stay a step ahead in the future-readiness of our software, to give our customers every available advantage.
Cloud technology is a wonderful enabler. It represents a key shift in the way that people and businesses use technology – a system like Merchanter is able to sit at the centre of your business and link to the platforms and services you wish to add on to take your organisation forward, rather than being responsible for every function itself. It’s a huge step forward in terms of being future-ready and puts users in a strong position to take advantage of emerging technologies which can really benefit merchant business. It means you can choose the best-in-class solution for each business area, rather than shoe-horning everything into one massive, lumbering system.
Agility and response-time are crucial in today’s volatile commercial landscape and the flexible, interoperable nature of a cloud system puts you in exactly the right place to take advantage of the new tools at your disposal. In 2022 we have set up some great integrations with major eCommerce and finance platforms, and plan to increase these capabilities further in 2023.
We are also looking at advanced data migration and analytics integrations, as well as new routes to market like NearSt and SnapIt, to name a couple. Having the option to add on the right elements for your business will be hugely powerful. As always, if there area specific integrations you would like us to set up, we would be happy to investigate the feasibility and action where possible.
Let’s work together
2023 looks set to be an exciting, if almost certainly challenging, year. With collaboration, communication and commitment, we know it can be enormously successful.
We are so grateful to our customers for continuing to recommend our system to other industry colleagues. Thank you to all our customers and industry colleagues who have supported and championed Ten-25 and Merchanter over the last year – let’s see where we can go together next.