The easier it is for customers to do business and interact with you, the chances are they’ll continue doing it. The more seamless the buying experience, the happier the purchaser.
So, how do you differentiate yourself from all those companies clamouring to get customers?
Top of that list is convenience: make convenience one of your key differentiators and you’ll get them queueing around the block (although, that actually isn’t that convenient… hmmm? But you get the idea, right?)
Your checkout page is where the conversions happen, where window-shoppers become customers, where browsers become buyers, geddit?
Keep the Customer Journey simple and pleasant and they will return.
This is why your checkout page is critical, this is where customers hand over their credit card information, commit to the purchase and finally part with their hard-earned dosh.
While PayPal can work for some, a variety of payment options on the checkout page that takes your target audience into consideration will (literally) pay dividends. An infographic from Milo reveals that 56% of respondents expect a variety of payment options on the checkout page, including EFTs and payments from all major credit cards. Also, don’t send them away to another website to pay.
To stand out from the great milieu, show customers that you are reliable, accountable, and dependable. If you make a promise, keep it and if you make a mistake, own it. Authenticity remains fashionable even in this fast-paced, digital world we are in. Be the business partner that customers seek, make it easy for them to achieve what they set out to accomplish.
Offering multiple paying options removes excuses to walk away from a purchase…
It’s no good having amazing stock online that customers have to basically go through an obstacle course to get to. No-one wants to spend time filling in a form for a purchase that they can simply get from Amazon, with a fraction of the effort. Consider whether brick-and-mortar stores require the same? No, they don’t.
Frog-marching people to sign up for an account when all they want is to purchase and go, is often just simply too intrusive for first-time customers, and it’s a major conversion killer, and giving them time to walk away as it prolongs the payment process. Make the check-out as uncomplicated as possible. If not, they may just avoid the whole purchasing process and go elsewhere where it’s more convenient.
If you want to assess ease of access, put yourself in their Louis Vuitton shoes and see what you have to do to buy from you. What is your customer’s buying process and are you making it as easy as possible? Look for opportunities to up your game and smooth the Customer Journey, including building relationships with your customers.
Engage with customers and make them feel heard.
Engage with them, interact with your community and have genuine conversations, get on social media and be seen to relate, discuss and answer someone’s concerns or questions. Be authentic and be REAL. This will make the customer see you are actively trying to help them make their purchase easier and that in fact, you actually care about them.
This mindset must be embodied by staff as well. Educate employees to cultivate a ‘make it easy, and make it work’ attitude and customers will feel supported and heard. If you also grant employees the authority to make small decisions to smooth the customer experience, they will feel empowered and inspired to make the customer experience a memorable one.
Any customer that is shown consideration and understanding will be more likely to purchase from you and if the experience is an easy, hiccup-free one, they’ll probably even come back again — and send their friends too.
Make it easy for them and keep it simple, stupid. (Okay, not stupid, but you know what it meant, right?)
