Simple Ways to Improve Customer Experience

1. Develop a customer-friendly website

Shoppers are impatient. Your website needs to be user-friendly so they find what they need without obstacles or delays. To develop a customer-friendly website, you should focus on improving the following:

• Searchability: Easy searchability allows customers to find exactly what they want.
• Navigation: Navigation with categories and sub-categories that are organized and follow a logical hierarchy makes finding everything effortless.
• Speed: An optimized website that loads instantly, avoids abandonment. Your eCommerce site should also be responsive to all devices.
• Images: People want to see pleasing images that tell them what you’re all about while also creating a pleasant shopping experience.
• Calls to Action (CTAs): Your CTAs should make it easy for visitors to find the information they need to guide them through their journey. This includes links throughout the content, such as “Learn more here” or “Watch our installation video here.”
• Cross Selling/Upselling: Showing customers images of similar items based on their search, providing links to other products that are complementary to their current cart content, or providing links to products likely to meet their needs gives customers a better view of your SKUs.
• Self-serve Features: Self-serve features such as links to detailed information help enable purchase decisions.
• Simplify the Checkout Process: Make it easy for customers to reach that final step with a secure checkout that offers popular payment options, quick delivery, and peace of mind.

All these features optimize your website for improved customer experiences.

2. Improve product pages

Product pages are your first and last chance to convert a visitor into a customer. Make sure you aren’t “burying the lede” by making visitors dig for the information they want. Provide easy-to-scan product information with high-quality images to draw them in. Remember, visuals aren’t just limited to photography. You can incorporate GIFs, 3D, and videos that make it easier for customers to make an informed decision.

Seeing a product from all angles provides a better view of how something looks or works, while video is instructional and provides a firsthand experience of how the product is used. Information should immediately address common pain points and show customers how your product resolves their issues. Consider what might motivate a customer to seek out your product and address that motivation in your product information. Also, enable reviews and ratings so customers can see what people are saying about the product and learn how it resolved the same types of issues they have.

3. Diversify your online presence

Today’s shoppers have preferred marketplaces they trust to deliver high-quality products. Marketplaces such as Amazon, Rakuten, and Etsy provide positive user experiences, similar to shopping in a mall. This allows customers to shop under any category imaginable in one place. This reduces their need to shop at a specific brand’s site.

By diversifying your online presence, you become more visible to customers. You can expand your reach and develop new relationships, which can eventually allow more customers to shop directly from your own site.

4. Build product content to improve customer experience

Educational content is by far the most effective way to position yourself as a trusted brand. People research an average of three websites before making a purchase. Therefore, having thorough, high-quality product content that is educational and engaging allows you to help customers along every step of their journey. In fact, it serves several purposes:

• SEO: High-quality product content is at the heart of SEO.
• Customer Experience: Content helps build trust and strong relationships that lead to conversions.
• Reduces Friction: Content reduces friction in the buyer’s journey by addressing all touchpoints. Customers always have the content they need, whether they are discovering your brand, conducting further research, or are ready to make a purchase.
• Brand differentiation: Content sets you apart, so you become the obvious choice for customers.

This is how to improve online customer experiences and increase conversions.

5. How PIM can improve customer experience

A product information management (PIM) solution ensures customers have access to rich product information to make confident purchases. The more thorough your product content and the higher quality your visuals, the more likely it is a customer will trust you. A PIM streamlines the product information process, ensuring up-to-date, relevant information is presented in a consistent manner across all channels. It also enables omnichannel strategies, so your customers find you in their preferred marketplaces.

The PIM ensures proper formatting across all channels while presenting enriched product information customers appreciate. As a result, customers make the right choices easily. Enriched product information creates a smooth buying experience by addressing all touchpoints and channels with contextualized content. Last but never least, it also streamlines your internal processes through all stages of the product journey to get new products and up-to-date information to market faster.

To learn more about how a PIM improves your customer experience, check out our whitepaper below.