Today’s customers are becoming increasingly open to the idea of shopping online. While ecommerce opportunities have been growing for quite some time, the challenges of recent years have pushed more consumers into the digital environment. Today, virtually everyone knows how to shop online, and many prefer this option to in-person transactions.
Of course, while ecommerce has its benefits, like convenience and simplicity, it has also been widely criticised for lacking some of the CX advantages of an in-person interaction.
In the past, companies have struggled to deliver the same quality, personalised experiences to consumers on the web as they can get offline. Fortunately, the right CX solutions can help with this.
If you’re building a business case for CX in ecommerce, here are some steps to help.
Step 1: Explore the Benefits of Trust and Loyalty
Two thirds of companies are now competing entirely on the grounds of customer experience. In an ecommerce world, it’s incredibly easy for any customer to simply choose a different site to purchase their products from if they’re not happy with your approach to CX.
All it takes is one click to pull your customer away from your business. Developing a sense of trust with your customers is how you keep them coming back to purchase more from your business. With a strong solution for CX, you can immediately show your credibility to your target audience and improve their chances of making a purchase.
For instance, a CCaaS solution integrated with live chat software for your website means you can have agents available at all times to answer client questions and give them peace of mind about what they’re ordering. The same omnichannel CCaaS solution also ensures your customers can reach you through a range of avenues when they have questions about your product or service.
Step 2: Look at Opportunities for Ecommerce Traffic
In the physical world, there are a number of factors which might convince your customer to walk into your store. They might be entranced by your shop branding or attracted by a sale banner in the window. However, a significant factor is often geographical location. Customers visit the stores they have nearby.
With ecommerce, the same restrictions don’t apply. Your customers can purchase products from anywhere, which means they have a much wider range of companies to choose from. Attracting your audience in this environment can be a lot more complex.
CX tools, like loyalty and referral software, can help with increasing the traffic you generate for your store. A referral program can help customers find your store, by encouraging your happy customers to drive new potential consumers your way. You can even use CX software to build loyalty programs which reward customers every time a referred friend makes a purchase.
Step 3: Adapt to a New Consumer Era
While there’s definitely a place for offline shopping and experiences in the post-pandemic world, most companies will need to embrace at least some kind of ecommerce strategy. Your ability to continue to attract customers both online and offline depends on the kind of customer service you can offer. CX tools are the best way to stay ahead of the curve.
A strong selection of CX solutions ensures you can deliver the same branded experiences to your target audience, regardless of whether they’re shopping with you offline, online, or through their mobile devices. You can even use CRM tools to track the customer journey throughout a range of different environments, so you can bring context into any conversation with a customer.
For instance, your CRM solution may be able to show you a product a customer purchased in-store in the past, when they’re asking questions about items to buy online. This allows your agents to make more educated suggestions about what the client might want to buy.
Some companies are even experimenting with predictive AI bots with conversational features, which can scan through CRM solutions and suggest the kind of products customers might like. This can be a great way to boost conversions.
Step 4: Focus on the Competitive Advantage
As mentioned above, there are various factors which influence a customer’s decision-making process. However, in an environment where there’s always an ecommerce company capable of selling products with more features, for a lower price, it’s impossible to compete with “deals” alone. Companies need to leverage customer experience to ensure long-term success.
Customer experience tools built into the ecommerce environment can prompt your customer to continue buying from you, even when a range of other options are available. You can use loyalty program software to encourage repeat purchases from your clients. Alternatively, with access to CRM tools in your automated marketing campaigns, you can send messages over email and SMS to nurture clients and increase their lifetime value.
If your customer experience strategy is good enough, it will also improve your chances of reaching new customers, as clients love talking about the amazing experiences they have online.
Step 5: Empower the Customer Service Team
While all companies are transitioning to a new, more flexible workplace in recent years, ecommerce brands have almost consistently relied on a distributed team. The right CX tools can help employees operating in hybrid and global environments to deliver a consistently positive experience.
CCaaS, or Contact Centre as a Service offerings are perfect for empowering agents working remotely on dealing with customer order queries and other issues. The right solutions can even come integrated with collaboration tools, so teams can work more effectively together. What’s more, CX tools with scheduling and workforce management built in mean that managerial staff can make the most of their ecommerce workforce wherever they are.
All the while, your company can use your end-to-end environment for customer service to track important metrics and make data-based decisions about your business. With a comprehensive view of the customer journey, it’s easier to implement strategies which increase purchasing frequency, and drive higher order values among customers.
