Technology. The key technology choice is which platform or marketplace to use for hosting the stream and providing e-commerce functionality. Some providers offer one of these functions; others, such as Instagram and Facebook, offer both. The right choice depends on a business’s level of maturity with live commerce. It also involves considering which technology provides the biggest target audience, which features it offers (live chat, “likes,” and so on), and the level of commission to be paid.

Tracking. As in e-commerce, effective monitoring and measuring of event impact by audience, day part, and so on is crucial to understanding what works and what doesn’t. It is important that the live-commerce operating model be flexible enough to act quickly on that data. After a show, for example, it’s possible to send a link to a recording of the show to a viewer who watched for just 20 seconds, or to offer someone who stayed for ten minutes a discount to convert their interest into a purchase. A one-off coupon code can help monitor customer behavior more precisely. Having this degree of flexibility requires a good content library, clear action plans and offer criteria, and a “continuous improvement” mentality.

Marketing. Like any event, good marketing drives performance, and—as experience shows—companies often don’t invest enough time or resources to get their marketing right and can “starve” even the best marketing efforts. To maximize views, it’s crucial to take an omnichannel approach, alerting target audiences to an upcoming show through newsletters, emails, websites, apps, push notifications, and social media and providing links and information on paid social media. The best producers have an intimate knowledge of the features (such as countdown clocks) offered by the chosen livestreaming platform, and they invest the time to understand which websites their target audience frequents and place ads there.