According to the 2020 Zendesk Customer Experience report, roughly 50% of customers would switch to a competitor following a bad customer experience. This means that improving your conversion and sales boils down to understanding your customers.
Here's the thing: It is pretty easy to start a business these days, all thanks to e-commerce. However, there is more to it than having an online store.
You need to think of a way to attract your ideal customers and make sure they will come back for more. And this is where providing an excellent customer experience comes in.
In this post, we will share 11 ways you can improve your e-commerce store's customer experience.
Create a User-friendly Website
Your customers want an easy-to-navigate site. That way, they can browse, find, and purchase products seamlessly.
To boost your e-commerce conversions, your products should be arranged according to categories. You should also incorporate an excellent search feature to find relevant products.
Another feature you should include is a hassle-free checkout process.
Make Your Online Store Mobile-friendly
Allow your customers to purchase on the go. Make sure that your site is mobile-optimized. You can also consider creating an app for your e-commerce business. That way, customers can buy your products whether they are on mobile or desktop.
What's important is that you are providing a consistent experience. This is regardless of whether a customer is using his smartphone or laptop.
You can also survey your customers whether they prefer to use an app when shopping online. In exchange, you can provide them with a small gift or a discount code on their next purchase, and you get responses.
Develop a Compelling Product Page
Every product page has one job: to convince the visitor that the product is worth the purchase.
Ideally, it should have these things:
- Pricing
- Excellent photos with several contexts that help the visitor imagine how they'll use the product.
- Product details (color, material information, sizing)
- Other descriptive information lets them sell the product.
Here are also essential elements that you need to pay attention to:
- Copywriting. Is it on-brand and informative?
- Visuals. Is it consistent with your branding?
- Navigation. Is it straightforward and intuitive?
Make Product Searches Hassle-Free
Simplifying your e-commerce website's navigation and search allows you to create better customer experiences. You can do this by segmenting your products depending on the design, use, type, and other classifications. That way, customers can quickly find what they're searching for.
It's also vital that you optimize your image to fit various screen sizes. You should also place all the necessary information about the product to make up their minds quickly. You should also include intuitive filters so that users can narrow down their search, helping them save time.
Keep in mind that approximately 47% of users expect a website to load fast (about two seconds).
Otherwise, 39% of them will abandon your online store if the images take a while to load.
Provide Seamless Checkout Process
Creating a seamless checkout process for your site can significantly decrease the number of abandoned carts that you see.
Ideally, your shopping cart should be visible on every page, and the payments should be secure. It would be best to allow different payment options, like Paypal, bank transfer, and COD.
You would not want your customers to abandon their cart just because a payment method that is convenient for them is not available. If you have high abandoned cart rates, you should run a feedback intercept on your site to identify the issue.
Use Personalization Techniques
One of the most substantial factors in driving customer loyalty is personalization.
Personalization is key to boosting customer retention for your e-commerce business.
You should use data to understand your customers better. It would help if you made them feel valued.
Here are a couple of personalization tips that you can try:
- Give a discount on the products or services that are relevant to the customer.
- Know their location, and give information on delivery to this particular region.
- Know your customer's history. Show them a list of recommendations based on the items your customers have viewed or recently reviewed.
- Communicate with their native language.
- Send personalized emails. Send them a birthday compliment or a VIP invitation to a customer event.
Upsell and Cross-Sell Relevant Products
When you offer your customers relevant items, you're providing them with an excellent online experience. So, make sure that you don't show them irrelevant products but offer them items that complement their shopping carts.
You should also provide them with enticing offers with clear CTAs. You might also want to consider the frequency of your messages as constant upsells as they may alienate your clients.
When you offer complementary products and discounts, you make customers feel like they are VIPs. This will compel them to keep on buying from you.
Provide Effective Customer Service
When it comes to excellent customer service, being proactive is the key.
You don't want your customers to ask follow-up questions. Instead, anticipate what a customer is likely to respond with.
Let's say that you're arranging a product return. Proactively tell your customers what your online store's return policy is, when they expect to get their refund, and how long the process will take.
If you will send any exchange item, inform your customer about its estimated day and time of arrival. It will also help if you instruct the customer on how the product exchange and return will go.
Have a Clear Returns Policy
One of the biggest challenges in online shopping is that customers can't try or touch the product before purchasing it.
To make them feel more confident of sending their purchases back, provide a fair, easy to find, and transparent returns policy.
Ask for Customer Reviews
Reviews play a significant role in how the e-commerce world works. Obviously, this is a trend that isn't going backward. More and more people always want more and more information about products these days, and not less.
Customers trust product reviews rather than promotional copies. Moreover, reviews are also an authentic way to help customers when they need advice. That's because it allows them to find out more about your product, whether it will suit their needs or not.
That's why creating an effective review strategy helps establish a competitive advantage. It would help if you always strive to provide customer satisfaction. That way, it will be easy for you to ask and receive positive customer reviews.
Don’t Forget to Follow Up
After purchasing, you should also follow up with your customers to check if everything went down seamlessly. So, make sure that you've collected your customers' contact details as part of your order process.
Apart from that, you should also provide discounts on future purchases. That way, you can keep your customers informed of any new offers, products, and services and grow your business.
Over to You...
Customer experience is integral if you want to earn loyal customers. It also serves as an essential tool to grow your online store.
If you can provide an outstanding customer experience, you have a powerful marketing tool in your hands. It can influence your customers to spread the word about your business and products.
This means that ensuring customer satisfaction can lead to more sales and business growth.