An Insider's Guide to the Customer-Centric Mindset
Customer satisfaction is more important than ever in e-commerce. If your customers are happy, they will come back.
However, you need more than a great product; you must also deliver a top-notch customer experience.
So, how can you do that?
By focusing on one thing above all else: Your target audience.
Think about it—if you're selling ketchup 🍅, there's no point in showing off fancy dress shoes or running shoes if those items don't appeal to ketchup buyers (or potential buyers).
The same is true for any product or service: If you want people to buy something from your e-commerce site, it has to meet their needs and expectations while also making them feel good about themselves—and their decision to purchase from you specifically.
Why is the customer experience so crucial for boosting e-commerce sales?
It's no secret that customers expect more from e-commerce sites than brick-and-mortar stores.
They want convenience, speed, and reliability.
But it's not just about the delivery of a product.
Customer experience sets one online store apart from another, and it's becoming increasingly important to companies as a critical metric for measuring success.
A customer's experience begins the moment they land on your site, with their first impression of your brand and products.
Then they need to find what they want quickly and easily—all while feeling confident in their purchase decision.
If customers aren't satisfied with their purchase process, they're unlikely to return.
That's why keeping track of different data types is so important—like what happens after someone clicks "buy."
For example: 🔽
Do shoppers receive confirmation emails within five minutes?
Are there any hiccups with delivery?
If so, how quickly can you respond?
Your customers want answers fast.
Assess your customers' needs.
How?
Ask them directly or observe their behavior as they use your product or service.
If any common themes emerge from these conversations--for example, many people need clarification about how to use an aspect of your app--then it might be worth improving the user experience around that feature accordingly.
Similarly, if one product category (such as shoes) has been performing poorly lately, another (like clothing) has grown enormously, then it’s time for new merchandising strategies within those categories.
Hence, you can bring more balance back into your site’s overall sales performance.
Identify their biggest challenges.
A key step to improving your e-commerce sales is understanding what your customers want.
If you sell apparel, one of the biggest challenges people face online shopping is finding clothes that fit well.
So if one of your customers were having trouble finding shoes that fit his wide feet (and he told you), it would be worth taking note of that insight–he might appreciate seeing more options on his next visit.
Understand why your customer is on your e-commerce site.
It’s vital to know why your customers are on your site.
Many online stores make the mistake of assuming their customers have a specific reason for visiting and then try to cater to that assumption.
Instead, it's better to start with the assumption that no one knows why they're there and then figure out what would make them stay or leave based on their behavior.
Before you do anything else, you need a clear understanding of what you want to achieve with each customer interaction and how it aligns with your overall business goals.
Know what they're hoping to find when they land on your page.
To better understand what your customers are looking for, you need to know who they are.
To start with, ask yourself these questions:
What does my target audience want?
What problems do they have that my product can solve?
How will this improve their lives/businesses/experiences (or make them feel good about themselves)?
Don’t forget to write out a few buyer personas! 😎
How can you make their experience more enjoyable?
Regarding customer satisfaction, several factors can make or break your e-commerce store.
The first step is ensuring you offer a good user experience by making it easy for customers to find what they're looking for and checkout without hiccups.
Once you've tackled those basics, here are some other ways you can improve the customer experience:
Offer free shipping--and remember speed. If your products don't arrive quickly enough, even if everything else is perfect (which is unlikely), people will feel like their money was wasted because they didn't get what they wanted in time. You might think that offering free two-day shipping isn't worth it because it costs more than just paying for expedited delivery yourself; however, the potential increase in sales from new customers outweighs any loss of profit from extra expenses incurred by providing free shipping across all channels and locations.
Use images instead of text wherever possible so people know exactly what they're getting before clicking "add to cart." This also helps avoid confusion caused by different versions/colors being available than what appears on the screen while shopping online at first glance (eBay sellers, beware.).
What customer pain points do your products solve?
Your customers' pain points will vary depending on who they are and what they need.
For instance, if you sell shoes, a pain point might be that they need more closet space to store all their shoes.
One solution could be offering them a storage unit to keep all their shoes in one place.
Another solution could be creating shoe boxes for easy storage of different types of shoes.
The most common pain points include:
Cost (whether it's too expensive or too cheap).
Complexity (too tricky to use).
Convenience (not being able to get what they want when they want it).
How can you improve their satisfaction with your brand and product?
I'm sure you've heard the phrase, "the customer is always right."
In reality, it depends, and it doesn't mean you should give them whatever they want.
To improve your customer satisfaction and ensure that they'll come back to purchase again in the future:
Ensure your website has straightforward navigation, easy-to-find contact information, and an intuitive user interface (UI). You can also use tools like Google Analytics or KISSmetrics to track how customers interact with your site so that you can make improvements based on what works best for them.
Provide value by offering incentives such as discounts on returns or exchanges if needed; this will help build trust between yourself and potential buyers who may not have used your product before since it makes them feel safe about purchasing something from someone new.
Make sure you package your products carefully, so nothing gets damaged during the transit time.
Focus on what your target audience values most.
You should also understand how people interact with your brand online:
What do they like about it?
What don't they like?
How can we make things better for them?
Finally
With a good understanding of your customer, you can put yourself in their shoes and make better business decisions.
Whether it's improving your product selection or making sure the website is user-friendly, this knowledge helps you increase sales and build loyalty among your customers.
Until next time, your friend Parrotfish. 🤝