Statistics are inexorable – up to 70% of shopping baskets are abandoned by online shoppers. The need to register on the site, the complex process of placing an order or high costs of delivery are not the only mistakes made by companies in the e-commerce industry. Potential customers are also discouraged by the way in which shops communicate. What should be avoided to keep shop users with you?
Product added to your shopping basket, payment made… and nothing. Silence on the side of the online shop can effectively discourage even the most determined customer to repeat purchases. Consumers today expect information on a current basis. And this is the case at every stage of order processing – from its acceptance, through the posting of payment and preparation for shipment, to the mere handing over of the goods for delivery. Both e-mail and SMS sending will work here, which enable the customer to quickly and conveniently track the order.
Contrary to appearances, the effectiveness of communication does not increase proportionally to the number of messages sent to the customer. Internet shops, which contact the customer too often, usually achieve the opposite effect. Instead of encouraging potential customers to use the offer, they discourage them by sending unwanted spam. As in any field, as in the frequency of communication with the customer of the e-shop, it is worth to find a golden mean.
The speed of online shopping is one of the reasons why online shops gain an advantage over stationary ones. Meanwhile, many sellers often forget how important the role of time in online sales is. Info lines that require listening to audio melodies and waiting for a long time for an e-mail response – today is definitely not enough. In online shops, the use of chatbots and virtual assistants to improve brand communication is becoming more and more common. In order to fully exploit the potential of communication through chat rooms, one should remember to respond to customer inquiries in an instant. A quick response can result in a customer staying in the shop and completing the transaction.
Another of the mistakes that online shops make in communication with customers is the impersonality of contact. As shoppers in the online shop, we value the feeling of individual and even exceptional treatment. Having access to the history of contact with a customer, we can personalize the messages addressed to him/her and thus build his/her loyalty.
The last, but equally frequent, communication mistake in online shops is disregarding the knowledge gained through marketing automation tools. Having information about potential and current customers, we need to learn how to use it in purchasing processes. We should pay attention not only to who, but also how they react to the received messages, and what exactly someone is doing on the shop’s website. Tracking customer behaviour enables us to effectively reach individuals with the right message.
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