Online and On Point: Delivering Superior eCommerce User Experiences

From landing on your site to leaving it, every step of the user experience matters.

For eCommerce sites, the user experience can mean the difference between browsing and buying, checking our or dropping out (cart abandonment), so the UX should be considered, intuitive, designed to make the journey from arriving to buying, seamless. Focus on that path, deliver more than your competitors, think like a customer, ensuring usable site architecture from start to finish.

Offer on-boarding, but be careful to only include offers where the value is immediately evident, offering true value to the customer.

Deliver Superior Customer Service

Customers are everything, so customer service is critical. Without (satisfied) customers, no eCommerce business survives.

Think about it in those stark terms, and you’ll start to understand how imperative great customer service is. Not good, no average, not okay, outstanding customer service is what people remember and come back for. Ultimately, people often judge a company not by a mistake or issue that may arise, but on the way it is discussed, handled and rectified.

In fact, if a complaint or issue is dealt with well, and to the complete satisfaction of the customer, they are more likely to stay loyal to your brand or business, as they know they are valued.

Make it easy to contact you, via phone, email, social media, as that is also key. One of the most important elements of any ecommerce business the ability to contact customer service with ease, and details of all contact options should appear on each page, not be hidden somewhere deep in the site map. 

Inclusion/Visibility of Valuable Reviews (ask for more feedback)

Feedback is a direct reflection of your products and services. When someone takes the time to offer great feedback, don’t be afraid to harness the power of that by putting it front and centre.

Consumers often use positive reviews as a barometer, and while it is not the only factor which can tip the balance towards buying, it is definitely a contributory factor.

Don’t be shy, be proud, and be proactive about all those nice things people say about your business, products, and services. There’s no prizes for modesty in eCommerce...

Identify Content Marketing Strategies

Strategic marketing, if thought out well, can really help fine tune who you are aiming your messaging at, how they are likely to respond to it and, ultimately, how successful your marketing campaigns are.

As many of those in marketing will attest, marketing campaigns don’t put themselves together, so make sure all that work is worth it.

Determine your target audience, rather than wasting your time with a one ad fits all approach:  

1. Create and document your strategy (process fine tuning)
2. Make it personal (also see below for personalization tips)
3. Repeat this mantra:  Content is (still) king
4. Build strategic marketing partnerships (where possible)
5. Start collaborating with influencers, get them involved in your content
6. Be the solution, i.e. help customers solve a problem
7. Initiate a forum, try to engage and let customers interact

Personalization

The days of ‘one ad fits all’ are fast disappearing, as targeted marketing and precise demographic customer bases take centre stage.You can’t just market to everyone, you have to market to someone, which is where personalization comes in. 

Here are a few things to remember:

1. Data is critical, so get as much as you can
2. Create buyer/customer personas, using the data you have gathered
3. Map out content for each customer persona
4. Create and deliver personalized Content
5. Make user experiences personal

In the next few weeks, I will be working towards another Appnvoation eBook, which will take an in-depth look into all things eCommerce, Magento, and how different digital strategies can equip your online offerings for success.

Stay tuned.