The Customer Experience Often Begins & Ends Online

Your prices are well researched and fair.  Your product presentation, functionality and distribution strategies are flawless.  You have very talented managers and associates who have been well trained in customer service, and your marketing team believes in the "customer is always right" philosophy.  So now you feel you've addressed all of your customer experience issues and will surely impress, convert and retain customers, right?

Hmmm...not so fast.  In today's digital world far more consumers have their first interaction with a product, service or business online.  They're visiting your website, Facebook page, mobile app, email newsletter or other digital platform before they ever step foot in your store or pick up the phone to call you.  And if they have a bad experience online, it's probably the last interaction they ever have with you. 

According to Neilson, 70% of online social network users shop online.  Digby.com says, "67% of consumers will use their smartphones to find store locations, 59% to compare prices, 51% to obtain product information, 46% to check product availability, 45% to shop online, 41% to find and use coupons, and 40% to scan bar codes".  And the figures are only growing.

Do you make it easy for customers to reach someone who can help them?  Remember, online shoppers aren't confined by brick and mortar hours of operation.  While this might seem elementary to most B2C retailers these days, many are still focused primarily on their websites, but haven't spent much time managing their social media and/or digital channels.  Additionally, more B2B consumers are using social media to research products and services as well. 

According to a recent study by Accenture, "only 8% of B2B companies would describe their social media usage as extensive. This is in contrast to the 65% of respondents who indicated that social media is extremely or very important."

Far too often, businesses still judge social media success purely by the direct and immediate impact it has on the bottom line, rather than looking at it as a customer service tool that helps ensure brand loyalty.  It is a point of direct engagement with a consumer or customer and provides a powerful and unique opportunity to show them that you appreciate and value their input and feedback.  Those who aren't viewing social media as a large part of the customer experience are still missing the boat.  But they won't be for long, because if present trends continue, they'll either be forced to adopt or forced to close shop.

So, how is your online customer experience?

Overselling can kill the customer experience

Most retailers teach their associates the art of "up selling". That is, how to convince a customer that an extra item would enhance the one they are looking to buy, or that a more expensive version might be a better option. Up selling is most common in retail outlets where associates work off of commission or bonuses.

However, there are dangers to up selling if the associate appears too aggressive or anxious to get you to spend more money. It can alienate the customer and damage the brand loyalty that may have otherwise been developed.

I recently returned from a brief respite at a beautiful golf resort in central Virginia with my family. One day I got a nice massage that was quite enjoyable. I really appreciated how the masseuse explained to me each element of the massage so that I understood its intent and how it would help relax my sore muscles. She also shared this information in such a manner that it didn't interfere with my relaxation and the soft, calming music that was playing in the background.

After the massage, I was preparing to return to the locker room to shower, then pay on my way out, when the masseuse began hard selling me on a collection of oils and skin care products that I really had no interest in buying. That brief moment of overselling turned a good customer experience into a bad one.

I would have preferred that she just explain the benefits of each oil that was used, while letting me know that they were available for purchase if I was interested, rather than try to force them down my throat while I was walking down the hall in a bathrobe.

Just a note to the wise: It's OK to teach your associates and sales teams the art of up-selling, but don't incentivize them so much on those sales that it leads to a damaged customer experience and lack of trust in your brand.

You know why car dealerships have such bad reputations? Because they are so focused on squeezing every possible dollar out of each sale. Dealerships and their sales associates fail to recognize that they can generate significantly more revenue through return customers and referrals than they can by misleading customers into paying for extras they neither need nor want. They are willing to sacrifice long term brand equity for short term sales by up selling customers on virtually everything. They oversell!

Often a soft sell or presentation of "options" is a better tactic, and one that is more likely to secure a loyal customer.