Boost the Ecommerce Customer Experience with These Strategies

Ecommerce businesses strive to create easy transactions and satisfactory experiences. However, there will inevitably be times when things simply don’t measure up for every buyer.

The rise in ecommerce options has made consumers more discerning, too. According to a survey from PwC, “73% of all people point to customer experience as an important factor in their purchasing decisions. Yet only 49% of U.S. consumers say companies provide a good customer experience today.”

Luckily, ecommerce businesses with a proactive mindset can improve common customer complaint areas before they become points of contention.

Where Ecommerce Falls Short for Digital Buyers

Hopefully, your digital advertising efforts consistently drive potential customers to your ecommerce site. While this is the goal, keep in mind that increased visibility and traffic also comes with increased chances for feedback — and not all of it will necessarily be positive. Some of the most common problem areas include the following:

The site isn’t mobile-friendly or easy to navigate. Mobile optimization is no longer just a nice-to-have feature; it’s essential to creating a good customer experience. Ecommerce sites lacking this optimization and those with clunky navigation will lose out to sites with better performance and easy-to-use design.

Lack of personalization. First-party data provides a wealth of information for creating personalized online shopping experiences. Consumers expect this data to be used in their favor, too: 63% of people said they “expect brands to use their purchase history to provide them with personalized experiences.” With 64% of small businesses reaching out to customers via email marketing, personalized messaging is a must to ensure that your email is the one customers look for in a crowded inbox.

Lack of voice search functionality. Voice search is convenient and accessible. More than 60% of adults aged 25-49 report speaking to voice-enabled devices at least once daily, and while they’re not all making purchases this way, at least 24 million U.S. buyers did at least once in 2021. Successful ecommerce businesses need to keep pace with new communication methods.

Strategies for a Better Digital Buying Experience

Maintaining a positive ecommerce experience is an ongoing process. Start by addressing these key areas.

1. Better website experience

Pairing a well-maintained data feed with first-party data creates better and more relevant ad experiences for your target audience. Taking the time to populate your data feed with product information — including material details, specs, pricing, inventory, etc. — ensures your customers have a consistent experience across all platforms and know what to expect when they navigate from a digital ad to your ecommerce site.

When digital buyers arrive at your site, they should be able to easily browse through product offerings without confusion. Some ways to achieve this include:

• Product categories similar to what you’d expect in a brick-and-mortar store
• Easily located search features
• Intuitive navigation
• A visible cart to make final purchase easy

2. Better personalization tactics

First-party data helps marketers strike the right balance between creating personalized communications without feeling invasive. Once again, your data feed can be used in collaboration with this data to reach qualified potential customers through dynamic retargeting. These tactics can serve ads based on previously viewed items that are relevant to the shopper as opposed to items with no relevance to them.

Email marketing presents another opportunity for personalization. Use audience segmentation to send the right message to the best potential buyers. For retention strategy, send emails after purchase for feedback on customer satisfaction or what could be done to improve their next buying experience.

3. Better voice-search experience

Voice search is often used to find convenient solutions, which is why it’s especially important for local search. Think of how often you look up “Italian restaurants near me” or something similar. You want the results to be easily accessible. Regularly updating your Google Business profile with full information can make your business easier to find through voice search.

When creating a profile and writing ad copy, consider how you’d describe your product or business out loud, because that’s how consumers will conduct a voice search. Focus on long-tail keywords and be extra cautious to avoid keyword stuffing.

Reputation, Revenue, and Retention

Satisfied customers are more likely to make additional purchases. When you consider that current customers are 31% more likely to spend more on their average order with your business, it’s apparent how customer satisfaction can lead to customer loyalty, retention, and increased customer lifetime value.

It’s clear that personalization works. Research from Campaign Monitor shows that, “Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened and marketers have found a 760% increase in email revenue from segmented campaigns.” Go beyond the subject line and use first-party data to make custom recommendations, offer special promotions, or thank them for their recent purchase.

Recent voice commerce statistics show that it’s worth investing time in new digital tactics as well. Data from Statista shows, “The total worldwide transaction value of e-commerce purchases made through voice assistants is expected to rise from 4.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 to 19.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2023,” more than 400% growth.

Even though they can be tough to take, every instance of customer feedback offers an opportunity to do better. Both negative and positive feedback help your team improve company processes, thereby ensuring a better experience for future customers.