Consumers are savvier than ever before, which means providing a great customer experience (also known as ‘CX’) is absolutely vital.
Even big-names in the ecommerce world like Amazon are self-professing themselves as customer centric.
So, if you’re not putting your buyers at the center of everything you do, you might be missing out on sales.
Think about it:
There is so much choice out there today, which makes it incredibly easy for buyers to jump ship if they’re not getting the experience they want. Not listening to this and tapping into customers’ needs is risky and could lead to a dramatic loss in sales.
3 customer experience trends taking over the ecommerce world
1. Personalized content
Research shows that 96% of marketers who have personalized their customers’ experience in some way have managed to create deeper connections.
This means more sales, better reviews, and buyers that keep coming back for more (and who recommend you to their friends and family).
Customers today want their own unique journey that’s built up of milestones based on their previous buying behavior.
In fact, they expect ecommerce brands to use their data to create individual stories with relevant product recommendations and content that matches where they are in the sales funnel.
How personalized content increases sales
On a very basic level, personalized content makes customers feel special and as if you’re speaking directly to them. This is invaluable in an age where consumers are constantly craving deeper connections with the brands they buy from.
Despite living in a digital age where e-commerce sales are carried out behind millions of pixels, people want to feel like they’re interacting with real humans.
But personalized content does so much more than that.
It provides customers with the exact content they need at each step of the sales funnel. Give them the right recommendations, the right help, and the right information, and you’ll quickly qualify them to move to the next stage of the funnel.
How to personalize content to drive ecommerce sales
- Get customers to create a profile
This way, you can track their movements around your site and determine what they like and don’t like. You can quickly get a better idea of their preferences and start serving them relevant content based on those.
- Segment customers
Once you’ve got an understanding of where a customer is in the buying cycle and what they’re interests are, you can segment them into different groups and serve them content that relates to these interests. This means you can recommend relevant products to the relevant people and increase the chances of making a sale.
- Create content for consumers at different stages of the buying cycle
This might mean sending prospects at the top-of-the-funnel a list of product ideas based on their search history, or it might mean sending prospects at the bottom-of-the-funnel reviews and testimonials from past buyers of a product they’ve shown interest in.
2. Align brand values
Did you know that consumers are far more likely to buy from a brand that shares their values?
This is because we feel an affinity with people who believe in the same things as us and it creates an immediate connection.
How aligning brand values increases sales
When your brand openly believes in something, you’re more likely to attract people who think the same.
Outdoor clothing brand Patagonia is a great example of this. Their mission statement is to “build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm”. In action, this means that buyers of their product can return an item when it gets worn and get a new one for free.
As a result, the brand has built a following of incredibly loyal fans. They do this by tapping into emotions and core beliefs, which are both a key part of purchasing decisions.
How to create brand values that drive ecommerce sales
- Get to Know Your Audience
The first step in aligning your brand values with your customers’ beliefs is to get to know your customers. Talk to them in the places they hang out online, dip into their conversations, and ask – whether that’s via surveys, feedback, or mining buyer data in some way.
- Align Yourself to a Cause
Take something your customers believe in, whether it’s helping the environment or not buying into the “throwaway” culture like Patagonia’s customers and weave this into your brand story. The key here is to not try and please everyone.
3. Conversations through a messaging platform
Consumers today want information and they want it right now.
By using a messenger platform (we’re talking apps like Messenger, chatbots, and SMS here), you’re giving customers the chance to ask questions and get answers right away.
This stops them from going elsewhere to find what they’re looking for.
How conversations through Messenger increase sales
Messenger apps give customers the information they want in real-time which catches them when they’re in buying mode.
Say, for example, you want to buy a pair of shoes.
You’ve found a pair you like but you have a couple of questions about the size and material, so you email the brand. However, they don’t reply right away and, in fact, state it could take them 48 hours to get back to you.
On another site, you have the option to live chat with someone and get your size and material questions answered right away.
Which site are you going to buy from?
It’s obviously going to be the second one where you can get the information you need right away.
How to have conversations through Messenger to drive sales
- Implement a Chatbot Service
Chatbots are a great way to answer customers’ basic questions without having to hire tons of new employees. You can answer simple queries about size, delivery, and material in the exact moment that prospects have a question.
- Use Messenger As Your Primary Customer Support Avenue
Gone are the days of email support with a 48-hour response time. Instead, providing a good customer experience means providing instant customer support. Messenger apps let you do this on the platforms that customers regularly use. Remember, everyone is used to using a Messenger app of some kind, so they expect brands to be on them too.
Drive sales with these customer experience trends
Let’s face it, driving sales is the number one goal for ecommerce brands and providing a good customer experience is absolutely vital in getting prospects to hand over their cash.
In an age where consumers want instant information and are savvier than ever, customer experience has never been more important.
With the tips we’ve laid out here, you can start improving the experience your customers have – whether that’s by creating personalized content, cementing your brand values, or sparking conversations via a Messenger app – and, ultimately, drive more sales.
