In the face of intense competition, customer engagement is one of the most essential activities your business should prioritize. Customers have the right to be selective when they purchase online, which is why you must engage them throughout the entire shopping process, from ordering to delivery and beyond.
Consider instances in which your shopping cart abandonment rate is high or you are unable to reach your desired sales goals. It can be caused by a lack of consumer engagement, and if left unchecked, it can cause further damage in the future.
The majority of eCommerce firms fail within the first three years because too many of them fail to engage their consumers from the beginning.
Why is Customer Engagement so Important for eCommerce?
Let’s put business aside for a moment and assume the mindset of a buyer. When we want to purchase something offline, we go to a nearby store and enjoy the individualized attention we receive.
Why would you expect online purchasing to be any different? Would you feel secure if you were simply assigned a number?
Certainly not. This is why leading eCommerce businesses are investing in post-sale services improvement.
In addition, they are attempting to maintain contact with their eCommerce consumers throughout their voyage with the brand and after the transaction has been completed.
Fun Fact: Almost 86% of customers will return to a website and spend more money if it provides an engaging experience.
And currently, customer experience has become a significant differentiator for brand advocacy, surpassing price and product variety.
Therefore, if you wish to retain more consumers and convert them into brand advocates, you must invest in effectively engaging them.
Here are several thrilling methods to begin moving in the correct direction:
Before we begin, let’s get one thing straight: you do not need to make significant changes to your organization in order to implement engagement programmes.
As we progress through the following lines, the validity of this assertion will become more apparent.
Permit Reviews and Feedback: Permit your customers to express their opinions through reviews and feedback. Include a remarks section and a star rating, and allow the conversations to commence.
When your eCommerce consumers begin to represent your brand, they become an integral component of your brand’s presence.
Let them know that you are receptive to their feedback, and you may be pleasantly astonished by the ideas they provide.
Because when individuals perceive that somebody cares about what they have to say, they develop an emotional connection to the brand.
Give Them a Reward: People enjoy receiving free gifts. And you can turn this desire for complimentary items into a lucrative opportunity.
Instead of giving out deals, discounts, and rewards at random, offer them to consumers who interact with your brand.
It encourages them to become brand advocates, and their word-of-mouth brings in additional consumers.
Allow them to receive information about offers and discounts via a pop-up or email, and allow them to access these rewards by completing a simple task, such as writing a review.
Create Smart Loyalty Programmes: Creating a variety of loyalty programmes is another thrilling way to increase engagement.
There are more than 3,8 billion active accounts associated with loyalty programmes, with approximately 53% citing simplicity of use as the primary reason and 39% citing discounts.
Yes, you will need to offer incentives to your eCommerce customers in order to retain them, but the cost will be significantly less than acquiring new customers through new marketing campaigns.
Begin Customer Engagement Prior to Checkout: Commence customer engagement prior to checkout. Being an early initiate makes a significant difference in the level of loyalty you can cultivate.
In the past, the options for doing so were limited; however, with AI-based algorithms, you can now substantially enhance the service level.
Utilise chatbots to facilitate the purchasing experience for consumers. According to research, live chat always results in a greater consumer satisfaction rate than other customer service options.
Never Ignore Dissatisfied Customers: Cart abandonment is a problem, but it pales in comparison to losing a consumer permanently. Increased attrition rates can be a significant issue for your brand.
However, if you can promptly address dissatisfied consumers, you can increase the profitability of your business by 125%.
They may not communicate with you directly, but they express their opinions on multiple social media platforms. You don’t want their acquaintances and family to hear about this, do you? Offer them surveys with each transaction to gain a deeper understanding of their experience.
Providing consumers with the ability to monitor their shipments creates a favourable impression of your brand. Additionally, it enables you to remain in contact with customers after they have received their product.
In addition, tracking pages garner a great deal of attention, with the average user visiting three times per day until their delivery is delivered.
Engage them with new discounts and offers or have them complete a survey in order to maintain their connection with your brand.
Concentrate on Creating New Accounts: Having more registered accounts on your website or app will enhance your ability to engage eCommerce customers.
Since many customers find account creation cumbersome, it is preferable to allow them to complete their first purchase before requiring them to create an account.
Utilise Social Media Wisely: If you desire to maximise your use of social media, you must go beyond simply publishing content.
Utilise Google Alerts to monitor your brand’s mentions in blog posts and news articles and to see what is being said about it.
Monitor your other social media platforms to engage more consumers on a regular basis, and commit to posting at least twice per day.
Emails are the most effective method to maintain contact with eCommerce consumers.
It need not be a lengthy, formal email that attempts to sell. You can instead share your offerings in a variety of inventive methods.
Send them emails that direct them to your newsletters, blog posts about product recommendations, most recent e-books, and impending local events.
Permit Subscriptions and Reordering Automation
Make it possible for your customers to reorder a product with the touch of a button on their phone.
Permit them to subscribe to your website to receive reorder point reminders. Determine the frequency of emails based on the purchase histories of previous consumers.
Additionally, you can enable automated reordering and offer a further discount if the customer subscribes to the model.
In conclusion
It is simple to launch an eCommerce business, but a brand will only be successful if it can effectively engage eCommerce customers.
Customer Engagement is the key to sustaining business and cultivating the brand-customer relationship.
The time and resources you invest in your consumers today will yield enormous returns in the future. Establish a reputation for exceptional customer service and experience, and the same will be reflected in your bottom line.
Therefore, begin engaging your eCommerce customers immediately with NextBee’s 360-degree engagement platform. Contact us for more information on how to launch your customer engagement initiatives.
To learn more, schedule a free consultation immediately!
