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With more people shopping online, customer service for eCommerce has become an integral aspect of most businesses.
To attract and keep current customers happy while winning new ones, providing hassle-free service experiences with efficient support staff is paramount for winning business and maintaining relationships. This post will focus on strategies you can employ to maximize customer experiences in your online store.
What Does "Customer Experience" in E-Commerce Mean?
Customer experience (CX or customer journey mapping) encompasses any interactions, thoughts, or emotions exchanged between your brand and customers from their perspective.
Technically speaking, customer experience (CX) extends far beyond any "official separation" due to customers returning in the future (but that's for another discussion...).
But let's not stop here... As previously noted, there's no one way of creating an exceptional customer journey experience.
Review Some Examples Below:
With just one glance, it is easy to identify how customer experiences vary across brands and industries.
Note: E-commerce experience and on-site customer experience do not represent identical experiences (more on this later.). However, some similarities do exist.
And Again:
Consumers often experience similar patterns regardless of sector. Your needs will likely depend on individual circumstances; as an e-commerce provider, however, they must recognize certain key requirements e-commerce customers possess.
Simple and Beautiful Reviews for Your Website
We'll explore how you can improve your customer experience to grow your online business.
1. Customize Customer Experience
Personalization in eCommerce customer experience is on the rise - for good reasons! Retailers that dedicate resources and time towards customizing their sites have reported experiencing up to 15% increase in eCommerce sales revenue.
You can employ various methods to enrich customer experiences and make purchasing from you an unforgettable journey for customers.
Here are a few of the best ones you should give a try:
- Include their initials when responding, using geo-location for accurate shipping options in their own country
- Recalling their browsing history to provide recommendations based on recent observations.
- Discounts on products and services can be an effective way to draw new customers in.
- Send an invite for a VIP online event, send birthday wishes, or speak the language your clients understand!
Amazon serves as an outstanding example of how to implement these strategies successfully.
Instead of showing all their products simultaneously, it remembers past searches and offers personalized suggestions based on past interactions. Check out the new Amazon integration for your online store if you want your positive review data brought into it!
2. Shop Mobile-Friendly
Search engine optimization your website for mobile devices is the second step you can take toward providing customers with an enhanced customer behavior experience.
Over 65% of eCommerce traffic now originates on mobile devices alone! If your website takes more than three seconds to load fully, many customers won't bother proceeding to checkout. Many visitors will leave immediately as it takes too long.
Consider these points when creating your mobile-friendly website:
- Simple mobile versions are simple and user-friendly; to optimize performance, avoid placing large-sized content.
- All infographics - videos and pictures alike - should be reduced in size (videos included) until everything fits.
- Inspect that links and buttons work correctly before publishing anything live on mobile.
Checking mobile visitor stats will also be essential - these statistics can be found within web analytics.
If your website analytics reveal that more than 40% of visitors prefer mobile-friendly sites, developing an exclusive application could be more efficient than responsive design - something your mobile customers will certainly appreciate.
3. Allow Customers to Try Products Virtually
Online shopping presents several disadvantages, with its main drawback being an inability to test products before making your purchase decision.
Recently, many businesses have begun employing virtual reality (VR). This helps customer base understand how an item looks in real life before buying it; this tactic can be applied across industries, including jewelry, watches, and beauty products.
Chrono24, one of the largest online marketplaces for luxury watches, has developed technology that allows users to test out watches directly on their smartphones.
4. View Customer Reviews
Displaying customer reviews allows future clients to see whether people were pleased with the purchase and would recommend it to other clients.
Prominently display these customer reviews before committing to purchase, greatly boosting confidence levels among your target market.
Sometimes, customer reviews provide the answers needed, thus eliminating the need to contact call centers directly.
Reviews could contain details such as delivery timeframes, packaging sizes, or effectiveness ratings that are helpful to potential buyers.
Third-party apps offer one of the easiest, fastest, and most efficient methods of showing customer feedback.
Customize these applications to fit your company with options like automatic replies and incentives if applicable - be sure to take note of some of the top customer review apps if this is something new for your organization!
Simple And Beautiful Reviews For Your Website
Easy to collect, display & grow your customer's reviews, photos, & videos.
1. Unboxing Experiences: Create a Unique Experience
Unboxing products has become more important as online purchases outshout traditional store purchases.
Unpacking their product will leave them feeling appreciated and more inclined to post about it on social media, helping promote your brand and product to potential buyers.
This can increase awareness for both your products and spread brand recognition among existing and potential new ones.
Here are a few ideas for planning an unboxing that will stand out:
Apple provides some of the most stunning and unique packages. Customize it to fit your company logo by printing or writing one by hand in special packaging materials - like this kraft paper box packaging from China with handwritten notes inside!
2. Give Gifts to Your Customers
Surprise your clients with gifts as an excellent way of showing you value them. A small surprise gift should go out with every order placed - its size doesn't matter; giving something extra for free doesn't matter.
These small touches make an unforgettable customer experience and encourage repeat purchases.
For instance, cosmetic businesses selling make-up could include an exclusive beauty blend (a small teardrop-shaped brush used to apply make-up). And those selling sunglasses could offer them a cloth to help clean them afterward.
Related:- What Do Understand By Woocommerce And Its Features
3. Join a Community
Online shopping can be an overwhelmingly daunting experience. From new brands entering the e-commerce scene to growth hacks or advertising strategies popping up everywhere, consumers have various choices when shopping online.
Online customers expect more. Customers want to understand what makes you unique, what inspires your passions, and how these relate to changing the world and including them in your story.
Establishing a community around your eCommerce business development will build up loyal customers who support it and can become advocates.
You can take these steps to build an inclusive, resilient community.
- Define your Business goals
- Choose a eCommerce platform for your community.
- Cold emails are sent to attract visitors.
- Promote your social media accounts to attract visitors
- Set some rules.
- Welcoming your members in person;
- Make sure you provide your clients with valuable content
- Customer engagement every day.
Related:-
4. Choose Payment Options
Your payment options must also be carefully considered to improve customer shopping experience.
Imagine your client finding what they're searching for but then discovering that their preferred payment option wasn't listed - only then will they leave in disappointment and perhaps never come back!
By neglecting to offer customers various payment methods - particularly those commonly utilized by online shoppers - sales conversion rates drop, and customers become unhappy.
To mitigate such situations and retain customers for life, always provide multiple payment methods, including those most popular among online customers.
PayPal (one of the most popular payment methods).
- Debit cards (Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover JCB
- Use an eWallet to pay for your purchases (Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Skrill
- Prepaid cards (Paysafecard and Snap)
- Gift Cards for Apple and Google
- Bitcoin and Ethereum are two examples of cryptocurrency
5. Boost Your Social Media Presence
No matter who your audience is, social media must play an integral part in marketing your online shop successfully.
Combine Facebook.com, Instagram.com, and Youtube.com as platforms where customers can discover more.
6. Offers Buying on Social Media Platforms
Many businesses have begun creating an eCommerce social media shop.
Numerous tutorials online will show you how to do this quickly, while Ray-Ban, one of the world's premier sunglasses brands, sells its products through Instagram Shops.
7. Facebook Bot FAQ
Businesses have realized the immense value of using Facebook Bots on their official pages and have implemented them into their operations.
Your bot can answer customer inquiries while you're not around your computer screen. This bot typically only covers basic questions regarding product, delivery, and payment details.
8. Trends
Lastly, monitor current social media trends by using social media monitoring marketing tools.
Doing this will give you valuable insights into client needs and spending habits.
9. Implement a Content Strategy
Your company should start sharing and creating engaging content via social media open-source platforms like Instagram and YouTube if it hasn't already.
Recent research has demonstrated how rich product content increases sales by as much as 35%, leading to increased traffic from organic search results, improving sales, and establishing customer loyalty.
Content can take many forms, from blog posts or interviews to infographics or fashion/make-up-related posts on an eCommerce store specializing in fashion/make-up products.
Many brands fail to grasp that posting regularly is essential to succeed with this strategy.
You should post 5-20 times every month not to lose customer interest while keeping customers up-to-date on brand updates and developments.
10. Make an 'about Us Page That is Compelling
As soon as you launch an online business, an "About us page" should be part of its plan to attract future customers and drive sales.
On it, you can introduce yourself and how your services can assist. Many businesses do it incorrectly, though!
Imagine attending a party celebrating a new business, and you overhear someone telling someone else it is professional or excellent without explaining more precisely why this statement should apply.
Doesn't that seem confusing and ridiculous? Again, be wary when discussing yourself on an "About us page." When bragging that your business is "the best" or has years of experience. Your customers could leave for good.
Below are a few strategies you can employ to boost the effectiveness of your website:
- Tell us your story.
- How can your product or service help customers?
- Include some testimonials of customers.
- Update your about page regularly.
- You can share your goals and objectives or your plans.
11. How To Take Superior Product Pictures?
Whether it is your first eCommerce shop or an experienced one, using high-quality photos of products will allow customers to see exactly what they are purchasing easily.
This helps customers feel assured in making purchases from you! Here are a few key strategies for taking stunning product images:
Use a tripod to take photos for greater stability
- Select a light source: natural or artificial
- Take pictures without the flash on
- Keep to a camera with good camera features, such as a smartphone or digital camera
- You can highlight your products by using a landscape mode.
- Before shooting, make sure the lens is clean.
- While making the shot, keep your hands still.
- Don't use digital zoom
- Get inspired by brands that you like
Customer Experience Across Channels: Delivering A Seamless and Omnichannel Experience
Multichannel client communications have become the standard among businesses today.
Customers who interact with you across multiple touchpoints (social media, website, or physical stores) will likely become more loyal and convert.
What is Omnichannel?
Customers benefiting from multichannel experiences can engage with you across multiple sales channels.
This is a Short Example:
Consider, for instance, a retail clothing store as an example.
Facebook provides potential buyers with access to many shops that sell these T-shirts with Batman logo designs; by clicking on one, they are taken directly to that shop's Facebook page, where they can read product reviews and learn more information about it.
They click through to an online store and begin filling in all necessary information; unfortunately, their desired size option was already unavailable when they started shopping online.
They click the live chat button to contact the brand and see when their size option would return in stock; as soon as their favorite size becomes available at the nearby store, they can place an order confidently!
T-shirts can then be reserved in-store and picked up later by customers.
Customer contact with the company was five-fold:
- Original ad
- The Facebook page of the company.
- The site is a good place to start.
- The Live Assistance Team
- The team at the store.
Both the customer and the company got the results they desired.
How Can You Provide a Great Omnichannel Experience to Your Customers?
Here is an effective marketing strategy which we will describe:
- What do your consumers need and want, when and how?
- You must first fully comprehend your target customers and the channels they utilize when purchasing products from you.
- Incorporate content that fits across different screens into every creative product produced.
- As customers interact with you across multiple channels, providing them with seamless support across omnichannel is vital.
- Hesitez Integrating physical stores within this support concept should only increase customer experience and loyalty.
Upselling
Upselling refers to convincing potential customers to buy more costly products.
Products created today tend to offer higher-quality performance than previous offerings, making your life simpler when looking for a 42" TV for your living room.
Multiple television models in a store will likely offer various features and specifications.
Imagine this scenario: An assistant comes into a store and informs you that an even better television is available at only a few dollars more - they convince you to purchase it, thus upselling.
This phenomenon is called upselling.
Follow these simple steps to implement upsell tactics into your online business successfully: Your most-viewed items reviewed on your website; avoid products 30% higher in cost than what was originally purchased; use testimonials as sales aids; explain why alternative product is superior?
Cross-Selling
Cross-selling, on the other hand, is a marketing technique that encourages customers to purchase additional related items initially targeted in an initial search.
Have you ever found yourself at a burger joint wanting a chicken burger but finding promotional packages available with that chicken, such as beverages or fries bundled together? Although you didn't intend on it happening this way, somehow buying everything ends up happening anyway!
Cross-selling can be an excellent way to expand your online business. Cross-sell products should cost at least 60% less than what was added to your cart, such as headphones, filters for glasses, or smartphone masks.
To avoid offering too many product descriptions, as too many could make people abandon the purchase altogether
Carts That Are Abandoned Can Be Reduced
Imagine online shopping as being just like physical retail!
Imagine walking into a store and filling your cart up with everything that interests you before, for some unknown reason, leaving it sitting idle in the middle and walking out without actually buying any products from there - something which, however, would likely never occur in reality!
eCommerce makes eCommerce commerce accessible and user-friendly for consumers worldwide.
Here are some tricks you can use to lower the bounce rate of cart abandonment:
- Add a few transaction trust indicators;
- Create a progress bar on the checkout page;
- Include thumbnails of products that you are selling.
- Switching between shopping carts and stores should be easy.
- On the checkout page, add a compelling "Call to Action."
- Give your clients a strong money-back guarantee;
- Make sure you know all additional costs upfront.
- The load speed of your site should be optimized.
Some will leave their carts behind even after employing all your strategies to convert customers.
But it would be best if you didn't stop there. Remarketing can help restore all lost customers.
Enjoy a Simple Checkout Process
Checkout steps of an eCommerce website are crucial in increasing conversions and driving growth.
Once your store is up and running, spending both money and time to keep it operating successfully, and with buyers visiting regularly, all your efforts could prove futile if visitors fail to complete their checkout processes.
Make the checkout process as smooth and painless as possible to maximize its success.
Here's how:
- Clear the "add to cart" button
- The "pay now button" should be visible to all consumers
- Allow guests to checkout.
- Offering a variety of payment methods
- Use the top bar as a checkout page.
- Distractions of all kinds should be eliminated
Empower Your Employees
At the core of any eCommerce business are its employees.
Employees play an essential role in driving sales and satisfying customers in your shop, acting as "faces." If they address their well-being, employees will be more motivated to ensure customer satisfaction.
Be sure to hold morning meetings, educate and train your staff, inform them about brand news, and commend their hard work - among many other tasks!
Offer A Transparent Return Policy.
At the core of any eCommerce business are its employees.
Employees play an essential role in driving sales and satisfying customers in your shop, acting as "faces." If they address their well-being, employees will be more motivated to ensure customer satisfaction.
Be sure to hold morning meetings, educate and train your staff, inform them about brand news, and commend their hard work - among many other tasks!
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Conclusion
Here we go! With this user-friendly guide in your hand, we hope these techniques can help your eCommerce website services to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Every organization today competes for market share and product features that appeal to customers, who require more than simply good products to keep returning for more.
If you want to stay at the top, having an exceptional omnichannel offer that stands out from your competition can only do that; an impressive experience via eCommerce or other channels would help achieve that aim.
