A huge part of finding success as an eCommerce business is providing an excellent customer experience. The customer is the core of the company, after all. Without them, you would have no sales and, with no sales, there’d be no profits! The question is, how can you enhance the customer experience? How do you make a good impression? If you want customers to sing your brand’s praises, use the following 7 tips.
1: Focus on Stellar Customer Service
The customer experience must start at the beginning. While excellent customer service might sound like the bare minimum, focusing on it is still crucial. Without it, everything else falls apart. By responding quickly to concerns, keeping a friendly tone, and providing an enjoyable shopping experience, the customer is more likely to come back in the future. There is also more chance they will recommend your brand to others!
2: Use Third-party Logistics
One major part of a good customer experience is the speed and efficiency of orders. If a customer is left waiting weeks for a package to arrive, they won’t be impressed. If, however, all your orders get picked, packed, and dispatched instantly, you’ll have tons of happy customers. Luckily, there’s a simple way to achieve that: third-party logistics. 3PL warehousing takes care of all orders, from picking to returns, quickly and efficiently. It frees up your time and ensures every customer receives their order fast.
3: Create a Mobile-friendly Site
Many online shoppers browse on their phones. That means having a great eCommerce website for desktops is not enough. To create a good customer experience, you must also ensure it is mobile-friendly. Avoiding errors like bulky text, over-large images, and slow loading times means your customers won’t click off straight away. Plus, a mobile-friendly eCommerce site will leave a good impression, meaning the customer may return to shop again.
4: Send Free Items
Sending free items might sound like a way to burn money. It’s not, though. While not every customer will make the most of the free products they receive, the gesture will make them think kindly of your brand. That doesn’t mean you should send nothing of worth – send gifts that most of your customers will love. For example, if you sell makeup, attaching a free makeup sample to an order is sure to put a smile on your customer’s faces!
5: Offer Exclusive Discounts
People like feeling special. That’s why exclusive discounts work so brilliantly. It’s simple: offer exclusive discounts to your loyal customers (or those who have signed up for your emailing list), and they will feel like part of your brand’s community. Even if it doesn’t lead to a sale, it will boost your reputation with the customers that already enjoy your brand. Plus, the chances are you will notice an increase in sales!
6: Take Action After Customer Feedback
When used correctly, customer feedback is like gold to eCommerce businesses. However, note that it’s only when used correctly. Many companies think that they take feedback onboard without actually doing it. To provide the best customer experience possible, don’t be one of those businesses. Instead, listen to customer feedback and take action if applicable. For example, if you’ve had multiple comments about an overly-complicated check-out process, figure out the issue and fix it. Once you’ve done so, let the customers know you’ve taken action and thank them for bringing your attention to the problem.
7: Be Open, Honest, and Transparent
Everything can’t go perfectly all of the time. Unfortunately, that is part of running an eCommerce business, and there’s not much you can do about it. However, there’s something you can do to make the customer experience better when errors or delays occur: be open, honest, and transparent. By keeping your customers informed, they are more likely to trust you. Plus, they won’t feel quite as bothered when a package arrives a day late or you run out of stock!
Managing an eCommerce business takes a lot of energy and organization. With so much to consider, you might forget to provide customers with a great experience. That must be avoided, though, as the customer’s experience drives the success of any eCommerce business. By delivering orders quickly, offering exclusive discounts, and providing utter transparency, your customers will think of your brand positively.