Life today is heavily influenced by perception – from the social media lens through which many measure their success, to the way we evaluate products and services before buying. 90% of consumers say that online reviews impact their purchasing decisions, and as the world is increasingly digital, those reviews extend to the entire customer experience.
Suddenly, every visitor to your site is a review-in-the-making.
Does your experience deliver? Or do you need an e-commerce transformation, STAT?
Is it time for an e-commerce transformation: What would your customers say about your site?
Though our world from here forward will be different, we know that e-commerce is here to stay – after all, new habits have been formed – especially shopping habits.
If you were to poll your customers:
How was your experience today?
Were you satisfied with your service?
Please rate your satisfaction on a scale of smiling to crying emoji.
How likely are you to return?
Would you refer a friend?
Would you mind rating us?
Can you say with certainty that you’d like the answers?
Considering the speed with which people make decisions about how they feel, the best retailers anticipate pain points and address them – before they ever occur.
Be deliberate in your pursuit of excellence
As current events are driving all our experiences online, more and more companies are shifting their focus to digital commerce. Meanwhile, consumer expectations continue to evolve (or rather, skyrocket).
In other words, the pressure is on to deliver a customer experience that’s a thing of beauty.
Understanding all the tools available to improve the customer journey can be daunting. Start by setting your intention – what are you trying to achieve? Which pain points are you trying to address?
Once you’ve identified your priorities, the task becomes much more manageable.
3 elements of e-commerce transformation
Every brand is different, but certain elements of CX are critical to meeting customer expectations – regardless of industry or geography:
1. Personalization
Are you able to deliver a personalized, tailored experience to your customers? Are you collecting the right data to understand their preferences and expectations, and then actually delivering on it?
Remember that the one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work anymore. The better you’re able to deliver individualized (and trustworthy) experiences that adapt based on customer behavior, the more likely you will be to keep your customers coming back.
2. Consistency
Consumers expect consistent, seamless experiences – whether they’re bouncing between shopping in-store and online, or interacting with multiple departments from your company.
That means breaking down the silos that keep your teams and departments (and data) separated.
3. Agility
How quickly are you able to bring new ideas to life? Can you adapt to your customers’ preferences in real-time?
Updates and changes that used to take months are now expected to be done in days.
Dream big, plan long: transforming e-commerce means understanding that e-commerce is always transforming
We’re all in the business of selling; whether it’s a product, a service, or an idea. Just as people change, so do the circumstances around them – meaning the customer journey is never complete – but rather continually ongoing.
Being able to honestly assess your short-comings and identify areas of growth is crucial to long-term success; as is having an e-commerce platform that allows your business to grow seamlessly, while always keeping the customer at the heart of what you do.
