Why E-commerce companies must deliver WOW Customer Experiences
The smell of brand new product, the ambience and atmosphere, a sales rep who is eager to help with a smile on their face… all these are the attributes of a good in-store experience. Even if you have no intention of buying something, if the store has a compelling customer experience and environment, you may end purchasing simply because the environment put you in a good place.
The question is — this makes sense for a physical location, but can your website become such an enjoyable experience that customers keep coming back? What would make them want to return? To achieve this, your experience must be outstanding — like truly wow. There is no place for “okay” in today’s world. And especially online. There is far too much choice and competition.
Naturally, online shopping has its advantages — it’s efficient, comfortable and convenient. Use these areas to your strength.
Here are our top 3 tips for optimizing your customer experience on your e-commerce site:
Optimize the shopping process
Efficiency…This is the main reason why people choose to buy online. Having a quick, user-friendly, simple process is key. There’s nothing worse for a customer than not understanding how the website works, this can get so frustrating and will make them want to leave.
Whether they know what they’re looking for or not, you have to give them exactly what they want or direct them to what is suitable for them specifically. Identify their interests and direct them to suitable products immediately. For example. there is nothing worse than landing on a Clothing website and not being able to find your gender section easily. Make it quick and painless. After all the whole reason your visitors are shopping online is for ease and speed.
Provide excellent customer support
Given that your online store does not have the traditional sales reps you would be accustomed to in a store, it’s critical that your support team is flawless and easily available. Ensure your support team are humanizing the process and assisting users with purchasing decisions. You may have a lot of competition, but if you give each customer the right attention, then there will be a greater chance they don’t shop elsewhere.
There are plenty of live chat messengers and bots you can quickly install into your website which will make it quick and easy for your team to communicate with potential customers. (Read our Live Chat Blog Post Here)
Keep it fresh
A very commonly used technique used by retail outlets to create a fresh experience for returning customers is to change the layout and structure of the store periodically.
Well, there’s no difference in the e-commerce! In fact, it’s even easier to do! Customers love seeing you have something new for them. Even changing your landing page or having a new pop-up or gallery for them to browse will keep their experience fresh and new.
Using video is a great way to enhance your customer experience online. Throwing in a short video or two is an excellent way to capture your visitor and control their experience whilst on your site.
Ultimately, going the extra mile in each of the touch-points between your brand and your customers will make the difference. Ensuring at all times you are delivering a truly wow customer experience is the only way to guarantee your customers will continue to return and shop with you in what is an extremely competitive and fast growing space.
