Last Updated on September 1, 2023 by David
Guest Post by Alexander Hunkin
There is a reason why customer experience is the main priority of all businesses nowadays and a very good reason too. People shop online more than ever and it is not a secret that consumers are often willing to pay more for a product or service if their customer experience is great. In fact, 86% of them, which is not a surprise because after all, satisfied customers are loyal customers.
What this means is that you’re missing out on sales and possibly returning customers by not keeping your customer service at the highest standard. Besides, it’s a known fact that acquiring a new customer is five times more expensive than retaining an existing one. Therefore, improving customer experience is not only desirable, it is crucial.
Businesses that have not yet realized this have a lot to do to keep up with successful companies worldwide. As something that can make or break your business (especially now when more people are shopping online than ever) customer experience is the most important aspect that you should focus on in 2021 and the future. Below, we have listed 5 ways to improve your online customer experience.
Solve Your Customers’ Problems
Negative customer experiences can and should be used to identify issues, resolve them, and improve the overall experience of your online shoppers. With customer feedback, you will gather valuable data on the areas that need improvement and work on them. Know what your consumers really want and make it possible.
This is the only way to really know whether your customers are satisfied with your product/service, why not (if customer feedback is negative), what would they change, etc. Besides, when you seek customer feedback, it shows that you care about what your customers think of your product and whether it has benefited them and in what way, etc.
Shoppers appreciate such an approach and are likely to return to your website to browse and purchase more products.
Invest in Redesigning Your Website
This is the key to success for every business that sells products or services online. Studies show that 74% of users are likely to return to user-friendly websites. If you don’t have a functional, easy to navigate website, then no matter how great your product or your service is, you’re likely to lose many potential customers.
Why?
Because in this day and age of the digital transformation and with the abundance of options, online shoppers want an impeccable experience and won’t compromise. They don’t have the patience for poorly designed, outdated, slow websites.
They want to be able to easily navigate a website, browse products and find the information they need quickly. If your website is hard to navigate or worse, it’s not optimized for mobile devices, you’re set to fail in the eCommerce world.
Online shoppers use different devices to browse products and shop such as mobile phones and tablets, which means that your website needs to load quickly and be very easy to use regardless of the device in question. Hence, redesigning and optimizing your website is essential if you want to be able to compete with the big names.
Design Matters
People are visual beings and react to images, logos, etc. A study revealed that 94% of users form a first impression of your website based on your design. They form an opinion about your brand in less than a second. This shows just how powerful great design is and how important it is for online retailers, especially during this COVID-19 crisis.
By redesigning your website, you can improve it both visually and technically so that it not only has an appealing design but is also very user-friendly, fast, and responsive. You can fix what didn’t work, remove outdated parts, update content and products, and improve the overall functionality of your website.
This is a chance to implement the best practices and technical solutions to create an impressive website and facilitate an impeccable customer experience. Win customers over with fast load time, attractive design, and a functional website, and they will keep coming back.
Offer Free Benefits
It’s not a secret that people love receiving free things. You can use this to your advantage and attract new and retain your existing customers by offering them certain benefits such as loyalty points or free shipping. Both of these offers have become increasingly popular and most webshops now feature them.
Online shopping is becoming prevalent, sped up by the ongoing pandemic which forced us to stay at home and browse products instead of going to physical stores. But even though they are willing to pay a significant amount of money for a product, users love it when they don’t have to pay the shipping. Discounts and loyalty programs are also quite beneficial as they invite customers to continue purchasing your products to gain even more benefits.
Implement Live Chat Support
When they have a problem and reach out to your customer support, users expect a response quickly. Providing help fast can make a difference in whether the customer will continue with their purchase or abandon your website. And they do expect that you’ll be able to answer their queries 24/7.
While some users prefer to use email or social media for their complaints, the majority of them favor live chat, 42% of them to be precise. This is because they don’t have to wait. The live chat function allows them to get their questions answered in real time which is essential for your overall customer experience success.
Build a Knowledge Base
Another way you can improve customer experience is by building a knowledge base, something that users can turn to in order to find answers to their questions or solve a problem. A knowledge base or a self-service function includes answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ), how-tos, videos, guides, screenshots, etc.
A knowledge base can also be in the form of a forum where other customers have asked questions and received answers. When a user encounters an issue, they can refer to the forum or FAQ to check whether someone has already provided an answer to their question before they decide to reach out to a customer support agent.
Most websites now have a knowledge base as users expect it. However, to be useful, your knowledge base should be updated regularly with new information, photos, and videos.
About Re:amaze
Re:amaze is a modern helpdesk and customer messaging platform designed to help eCommerce businesses boost customer happiness and revenue. Re:amaze allows all customer-oriented teams to work together in a shared inbox through email, social, SMS, voice, and live chat. Re:amaze also comes packaged with automated messaging and chatbots so eCommerce brands can succeed at the front lines of conversational commerce.
About Alexander
Alexander Hunkin is an Australian based startup advisor with in-depth
experience in growing business. His meaningful and strategic advices have
helped in setting and growing many startup companies in Brisbane and Perth.
Alexander is also a content creator for different niches. The top ones are
business, career, finance and marketing. He aspires to share his
experiences and is always on the lookout for the next opportunity to
enhance his skills. When he isn’t busy working, you can find him cooking
exotic meals, scuba diving and cycling.