The Future of eCommerce Will Focus on Creating Experiences |
Posted: October 10, 2017 |
Every technology gains traction among both businesses and consumers goes through multiple stages before reaching maturity. That technology goes through multiple iterations, but as the technology continues to mature, the experience of using that technology is further refined. For example, laptop computers started off as machines that were almost the exact size and weight of a personal computer, and they have been repeatedly refined over the years to the point that they are a small fraction of the size and weight of the traditional consumer laptop a half decade prior. eCommerce is a similarly evolving technology, and the obvious evolution of eCommerce over the past two decades has been from a novelty as seen in the early 2000s to an experience that rivals in-store shopping. In fact, eCommerce has quickly become the driver of almost all retail growth today. For your business to remain relevant over the next 10 years, you need to be committed to reaching your customers in the manner that they’re now accustomed to. If you’re struggling to identify that perfect message for the modern consumer, here is a good place to start. Create A High-Touch Experience With eCommerce At the core of the modern eCommerce experience is the creation of an experience that gives customers the best things about shopping online, but that maintains the high-touch approach that in-store shopping is still known for. Companies like BaubleBar are well known for this approach, which involves connecting customers with stylists over video chat, creating a business model that’s centered on maintaining ongoing client relationships, and catering to each customer individually. Your business can do the same by using video chat services like Agora.io to reach customers using video, regardless of whether they’re accessing your website from a cell phone or their laptop. Providing face-to-face support dramatically increases customer engagement, and makes it easier for you to form a real connection with your customers. Combine Personalized Service And Product Curation Companies like Birchbox have done an excellent job at creating a model centered around giving customers a selection of carefully curated products, which has gone a long way toward making the company an incredibly popular destination for beauty products for both men and women alike. Where they falter slightly is in their sense of personalized service. While there is some personalization on the back-end, it doesn’t always translate to customers. Having a personal stylist help you choose your Birchbox samples would go a long way toward alleviating that problem, and your business can benefit from the same recommendation. While you may personalize your service, which is a great idea to attract new customers and engage with current ones, going that extra mile to personalize that service in a customer-facing manner will go a long way toward creating that experience your customers are looking for. No Matter What, Push Personal, Face-to-Face Service The biggest thing that customers miss from shopping online is the face-to-face service that you get when you shop at a brick and mortar store. If you’re going to include video in your eCommerce experience, make sure to put it front and center. Offering the feature but then burying it as a last resort on your customer support page just isn’t going to cut it, particularly since your competition is almost definitely going to thinking about implementing live video as well. Your business needs to succeed online to continue to remain relevant today, and a major part of that is going to be in your ability to connect with customers on their terms, and while they’re shopping on your website. Creating an experience that rivals, or even one that exceeds the experience that your customers can get in-store will be important, but it’s also extremely important that you are committed to maintaining your edge by continuing to invest in technologies that improve the customer experience online. How are you tackling the customer experience question today? Let us know in the comments section below.
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