Three Out-of-the-Ordinary Ways to Create Meaningful Experiences for eCommerce Customers

You’re always looking for new ways to engage your customers, right?

The experiences that your customer is able to share with you dictate a lot when it comes to customer retention and brand loyalty. So much so, that there is a whole movement called the Experience Economy that is changing the way eCommerce as well as brick-and-mortar view consumers — and the way consumers view brands.

You may have heard the following idea said before:

“An experience occurs when a company intentionally uses services as the stage, and goods as props, to engage individual customers in a way that creates a memorable event.”

What do memorable events look like for your unique brand? Where can you create more value and depth to the customer experience? Here are three out-of-the-ordinary ideas eCommerce businesses can use increase and improve customer experiences in simple, yet innovative ways.

1. Host Tours, Live Digital Events, or Webinars

In-person customer interactions with your business don’t have to be limited just because you don’t have a brick-and-mortar store. Technology now allows eCommerce businesses like yours to connect face-to-face with customers even if you’re all scattered across the country.

Live streaming, webinars, and virtual meeting spaces allow you to connect with customers in a personal way that simply wasn’t possible 5 years ago. This is a new spin on consumer engagement, and it’s growing quickly.

So, get creative and cater to your target demographic. What sort of event would your customers care about? What topics are they dying to learn more about? What aspects of your business would your fans be interested in participating in?

Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Offer a virtual tour of your facility. Allow your customers to book a tour of where the magic happens. Have one of your staff members be the guide.
• Live stream or record the creation process. Are there pots of soup simmering on the stove? Is someone hand-blowing a glass vase? Show people their products are created and who is doing it.
• Host classes. Show your customers how to pair the right foods with your boutique wines. Teach customers expert maneuvers with their drone or how to capture stunning images with a camera lens. Do you sell spices and herbs? Host a series of live cooking classes online.
• Host a community tasting event for new products. Fans who sign up will be sent new trial products to taste and then join a virtual event on social media to give their reviews.
• Bring in third-party speakers about topics your customers care about. Sourcing materials from a new supplier who’s leading the way in sustainable farming? Give him the floor so he can educate your fans.

The most powerful thing a brand can leverage is a sense of community and belonging. These types of experiences bond customers with a brand and help to grow a community of like-minded people (and fans).

Intimidated by the prospect of managing the booking process? This experiences booking app for Shopify merchants makes event management seamless. You can even customize the theme to reflect your branding and set up automatic reminders for your attendees.

2. Offer Video Chat

What happens when a customer calls your customer support staff and is invited to FaceTime instead?

I’ll tell you. You have startled, happy customers.

I recently purchased a couch online. When it arrived, I confidently began putting it together. But no matter how hard I tried, I could not get two pieces to connect correctly. I called customer service and tried to describe the issue. The customer service rep, unable to visualize the problem, offered to do a video call.

“Oh, I see the issue now. We sent out the wrong piece for this model. I’ll send you a new one right away.”

I left them a great review. Don’t get me wrong. I was annoyed that my new sofa was to remain in pieces on my living room floor for a whole week while I waited for the correct piece to arrive. But I was so delighted with the customer service, that I didn’t mind the inconvenience so much.

Here’s another story of the power of face-to-face conversation.

Mark and his team launched a new product and discovered only a few days after going live that there was a bug in the software. It didn’t take any time at all for the team to tackle, but by this point, they already had hundreds of people who’d downloaded the app.

Rather than issuing a mass, impersonal email, Mark took a different route. He began video chatting with everyone who called in with questions — even if he was walking down the street on his way to the office.

“I talked to them in real-time and helped them troubleshoot the problem. For some people, I couldn’t actually fix the issue — it was a software bug that needed to be fixed by the developers. The customers didn’t seem to care though. The fact that I answered with a face-to-face video call has created raving fans. I was blown away that something so small could have such an enormous impact.”

In picking apart why this has proven to be so effective, you need to remember that the world of eCommerce is incredibly impersonal. Video calls reinforce a vital truth for consumers. Your brand is much more than just a website. You’re staffed by people with names and faces, who care about the kind of experience your customers have.

This face-to-face interaction is relationship building. And, crazy enough, that relationship matters nearly as much the product itself.

3. Design a Memorable Unboxing Experience

No matter what you order these days, it always seems to end up on your doorstep in a nondescript brown box or white bubble-wrap package. The unwrapping experience for all purchases is virtually the same.

It seems so unimportant, but this lack of customized packaging cheapens the customer experience and destroys the illusion of personalized, special care. The package opened in no way reflects the brand that they just purchased from.

The unboxing experience is a big deal in the eyes of consumers, yet still it’s ignored by many eCommerce businesses. So much so, that there are over 72 million unboxing videos on YouTube.

Two of the top ten most-watched YouTube channels in the US are unboxing channels. They have a combined total of 38.6 billion views.

Aside from the potentially massive marketing opportunity, should your product be featured in an unboxing video, also consider the experience impact for your customer.

Opening up a package is a moment of excitement. The more ways you can surprise customers and make the experience itself stand out, the more indelibly your brand will be imprinted in their brain.

Prepare for the Rise of eCommerce Experiences, Because This Trend Isn’t Going Anywhere

As eCommerce continues to expand, strategies to more deeply engage consumers in meaningful experiences will increase as well.

Now is the time to begin planning how to create or improve the eCommerce experience for your customers. Consider what areas of your digital presence can be enhanced for your specific audience. How can you make your brand truly stand out? If you were your customer, what would you like to see?

You can also bring us in for help. Our branding experts have helped many businesses Go Big. We’ll help you create a branded customer experience action plan that will set you apart from the competition so you can shine.

Get in touch with us here.

Love,
Mammoth Factory