Ecommerce Stores: How to Digitally Please Your Customers
The digital age: a time when marketplaces have no borders. If a product is available anywhere in the world, you can bet your bottom dollar that you can have access to it. While this means there is a considerable amount of potential to make a healthy profit, it also means that competition has increased. The selling experience has changed dramatically.
However, the one area that has not changed from the traditional shopping experience is the necessity to provide exceptional customer service. So, as an ecommerce business, what can you do to satisfy customer demands?
Website Design
Website design is not merely just a way to showcase to potential customers the goods and services you have on offer. It’s a way to provide consumers with a user experience they want to repeat. This means that not only does your website design need to be aesthetically pleasing; it must also be intuitive and easy to navigate.
Consumers need to be able to locate information and products easily. They shouldn’t have to click through a selection of pages to find what they are looking for. Strong calls to action are critical to driving sales, but they are also essential to give direction to the consumers’ journey.
Technically sound website designs are fast loading. Online consumers have a comparatively short attention span, so if your website takes too long to load, the reality is they will click away. A slow loading time influences your website’s profit: statistics show that if consumers must wait 4 seconds for a page to load, 25% of website visitors abandon the page. Not good!
Website Content
Many ecommerce store visitors are scouting the market. They are researching the goods and services they need. This means the website content you publish needs to satisfy their thirst for knowledge.
People also like to find a bargain and actively seek discounts. If you are offering discounts, provide web visitors with promotional codes in a prominent position – don’t force them to work too hard for it! You also need to have any attractive terms and conditions in a visible position; free postage or free returns are great incentives to compel prospects to take action.
You should also make potential customers aware of how secure their details are with you. If businesses can protect customer’s digital identity, they need to tell their customers! This is so important for online shoppers; they need to be able to trust the business.
Social Media Links
Consumers often research companies via their social media channels. They are looking for information about how you communicate with your customers. Can you be trusted? Do your values align with theirs? Your social media presence is a compelling tool to help consumers decide whether to spend their money with you. Even if you have negative reviews from customers, so long as you respond appropriately and reasonably, it will not damage your reputation. Active social media profiles show potential customers your business is thriving.
Ecommerce is big business, but to get ahead, you must have a digital presence that helps consumers decide to spend their money with you. Your website needs to be customer-centric and be populated with content that connects with consumers on an emotional level.