It’s a crowded marketplace out there. As of 2022, there were an estimated 24 million eCommerce sites globally – and that number has only grown as consumers continue to shift their buying patterns away from Main Street and to online options. Unlike brands with a physical footprint, eCommerce businesses don’t rely on local foot traffic to survive – their doors are open to all. However, instead of competing with those other shops on Main Street, eCommerce brands compete with the entire world. To get ahead, you must excel across the whole eCommerce spectrum, from branding to visibility to customer service.Â
Here’s how to create an eCommerce customer experience that helps you stand apart in all the right ways.
What do eCommerce Customers Expect?
eCommerce customers have high expectations of the brands they interact with. Great-looking design, fast performance, personalization, easy navigation, clear product information, secure transactions, and excellent customer service are all factors that shape the eCommerce experience. In short, you need to have a great product and branding, be easy to find online, and make it simple for customers to interact with you. Check all those boxes, and you’ll be on your way to success.
Why a Great Customer Experience Matters
The eCommerce customer experience can make or break a brand. For that reason, it can’t be piecemeal. It needs to infuse the entire customer journey – from awareness to after the sale. When you focus on delivering a great experience, your brand enjoys benefits including:
- Greater likelihood of a customer conversion
- Improved profitability and retention
- Customer-first brand differentiation
To embrace customer experience, identify your customer touchpoints and expectations at every point of the customer journey to ensure that you anticipate and deliver upon customer expectations.
Consider factors like:
- Accessibility
- Mobile responsiveness
- Appealing branding
- Great product visuals and information
- Personalized recommendations
- Easy and secure checkout
- Shipping tracking and updates
- FAQs and onboarding tips
- Contact options
- Warranties and returns
- Post-purchase follow-up
Double Down on Customer Support and Engagement
You can have all the above, but a great customer support and engagement strategy can be the critical factor in turning a “maybe” into a “yes” or that recent purchase into a five-star review.
Begin by offering self-service options and robust FAQs to address any questions ahead of purchase – and make it more likely that an order will be completed. Create a script to follow up about abandoned carts, using a discount or offer of support to help a customer finish their conversion. Use personalization options to surface relevant products your shopper might also like, given their shopping history. Offer multi-channel support to ensure that a customer with questions or issues can easily get the help they need before they take their business to a competitor. Finally, follow up with customers post-purchase to ensure their positive experience and to encourage repeat purchasing behavior. Customers who feel heard and valued are loyal.
A Great End-to-End eCommerce Experience is Easy with ACD
If you love the idea of delivering a great eCommerce customer experience but aren’t sure where to start, talk to ACD. Our full-service SaaS customer experience platform integrates with your existing business processes, giving you powerful insights into customer behavior and needs – and offering a multi-channel solution for meeting your customers where they are. Low on support staff? We can even help you build out your customer care team using our pool of trained, US-based agents.
Ready to deliver a great customer experience? Arrange a demo today!
