What is eCommerce customer experience and why it matters? Learn how an eCommerce store can boost their customer experience and, thus, improve their business efforts.
Why Customer Experience Matters
Customer experience is a crucial factor that can either make or break a company’s success. Do it right, and there will be plenty of benefits headed your way. Fail to achieve an excellent customer experience and your business efforts will soon start going downhill.
Additionally, it’s not enough to simply have a good customer experience. Instead, you need to do all in your power to make it excellent. In order to achieve that, there are certain things you’ll need to address first. Therefore, here are a few tips on how any eCommerce store can boost their customer experience and, thus, improve their business efforts.
The Website Needs to Be Flawless
The success of your eCommerce store will greatly depend on the quality of your website and its performance. Websites that take too long to load (it shouldn’t take more than two seconds for desktop, or more than three seconds for mobile) can instantly turn customers away, discouraging them from even trying to browse the offer.
That’s why you need to make sure that your website is well-optimized, easy to navigate, easy to understand and, fast, mobile-friendly and of course, secure. First, make sure that all the pictures and videos on your store’s website are well-optimized and refrain yourself from using picture formats that are not website-friendly (e.g. TIF). Additionally, make sure that all the shortcuts that allow seamless browsing are easy to find and avoid using too many pop-ups and ads.
Read: User Experience and Website Optimization for Social Media Marketers
Improve Your Product Pages
In the spirit of providing seamless browsing experience to customers on your website, you need to make sure that your product pages are well-organized and informative. Keep in mind that the point of every product page is to encourage your customers to make a purchase. Once on the product page, your customers will expect to find all the relative information regarding the product itself, as well as reviews of other customers, based on which they’ll decide whether to buy something from your store or not.
Therefore, make sure that you include all the necessary information in your product pages, like product descriptions, such as the size, price, material, etc., but also make sure that everything is on-brand. Once again, use strong, consistent visuals and make sure that the navigation is as simple and as intuitive as possible. These factors primarily affect user experience and can increase your digital customer engagement.
Boost Your Visibility
Running any type of business and hoping it will reach success without having good marketing strategies in place is simply not an option. That’s why you should analyze your current marketing efforts and see just how effective they are. If there’s any room for improvement, don’t shy away from it.
Furthermore, try to identify other ways you can boost your online visibility. For example, if you haven’t done it so far, try to make use of various DIY SEO strategies that are easy to implement but will boost your online credibility and help you extend your reach. Also, build your presence on social media platforms to help engage with your audience and also promote your products in the meantime.
Read: 7 Tips to Boost Your Site’s Conversion Rate Using Images
Be Present
Being present online also plays a huge role in improving your customer experience. Brands that simply push their products without interacting with customers can’t hope to become as successful as the ones that do. Therefore, ask your customers for feedback and try to engage with them as much as, and whenever possible.
Also, be ready to come across some negative feedback from time to time – you simply can’t expect to please every single person. However, instead of ignoring or deleting the negative comments, try to find out the underlying reason that caused them. If it’s something that’s simply out of your reach, that’s fine, but if it’s something you can improve upon, don’t ever ignore it.
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Read: Best Ways to Anticipate Your Customer Needs
Make Sure That Your Website Is Secure
Unless you have an excellent security system in place on your website, you really can’t expect potential customers to trust you enough with their personal information. Cyber-security is – or, at least it should be – the primary concern of every serious online business these days.
That being said, make sure that your eCommerce store is completely safe and that the entire checkout process is clear, easy to use and seamless. Moreover, online consumers are generally savvier these days, which means they’ll know if your eCommerce store lacks proper security measures. In addition, the lack of security is one of the main reasons consumers abandon their shopping carts, and every abandoned shopping cart means lost sales for your business.
Check out our list 12 spectacular Shopify themes for your eCommerce websites.
Offer Free Stuff
Simply put – everyone loves free stuff. Be it free promotional merchandise or just the option of not having to pay for shipment, your customers are bound to welcome it with open arms. Some people even feel like they should be entitled to free delivery and shipment, especially if they’re a returning customer, or if they’ve spent a significant sum in your store.
Alternatively, you can offer free delivery and shipment but make the ETA last longer (two days, a week, a month) and charge for the next day delivery. This is the easiest way to allow your customers to choose what suits them best, which will definitely boost customer experience. Not only that, but you also get to provide customers with convenience, without it hurting your bottom line.
Read: The Foolproof Way to Market Your Brand Online – Here’s How
eCommerce Customer Experience – Final Thoughts
Nowadays, online consumers don’t only look for eCommerce stores that can provide good product quality, but also those that can provide a seamless customer experience. With that in mind, competing on the highly competitive and overcrowded market means that you’ll lose customers to competitors, unless you can provide them with the right experience that will keep them engaged and loyal.
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