Customer experience is just as important as the product while running a business. However, the digital side has lagged behind in this area. A better digital customer experience becomes increasingly important with the growth of e-commerce.
As a business owner of an e-commerce store, you have to remember that your customers expect the same experience from you that they would get from anyone else – whether they shop online or not. Therefore, the old saying “the customer is king” is once again gaining importance. So, what should you do to keep your customers happy and confident that they will come back to you frequently?
What is Customer Experience?
There’s no need for an extensive introduction to customer experience – we’ve all been customers at some point in our lives – but it’s worth noting that more than 80% of customers are willing to pay more for better service.
An organization’s customer experience refers to how the customer feels during every stage of the purchase process, whether that is before, during, or after the sale. It is important to remember that customer experience exists even when you are not thinking about it.
It is always a good idea to think like your customer. Let’s take a look at the two paths most commonly use by users.
Let’s start with a traditional brick-and-mortar store. Imagine you want to purchase vegetables. You walk to the store to see how the vegetable looks, so you take it in your hand. If all goes well, you’ll put your purchase in your basket and proceed to the checkout to pay immediately. All the information about the products, including their positioning and pricing, was available during this process. A combination of subjective and objective evaluation happens during this process.
Immediately. All the information about the products
We now turn our attention to the website. Did you have a similar experience when choosing vegetables? The answer is simple: no. Websites can be found, products can be found, images can be seen, details can be read – even the number of products on offer can be seen as well as the cost – but much of the subjective feeling is lost.
Customer experience activities are only effective when they are carry out from the customer’s perspective. You cannot move forward without setting this objective as your benchmark for future action: otherwise, your actions will be ineffective, to say the least.
In the beginning, you must decide what they need, what irritates them, and even what truly aggravates them. Ask yourself whether shopping on your e-commerce site is a pleasant experience or a tedious chore? Does it take a long time? How convenient is it?
What is a cloud-based phone system?
Unlike on-premise solutions, cloud-base telephone systems work differently. Instead of traditional phone lines, cloud-base telephone systems like KrispCall use the internet to facilitate calls. A major difference is the mobility of the system.
When you use a legacy phone system, you literally tie your staff to the location. Your staff cannot use it from other locations. The cloud uses VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). An audio signal is converted into a digital signal that can be used on mobile devices, on your computer, or over an app on your phone.
How can cloud telephony enhance customer experience?
Keeping customers happy and ensuring a great experience is the only way a business can succeed. A cloud-based telephony solution helps you do that!
Cloud telephony enables people from around the world to contact the caller with ease. Even when the office is closed, customers can still reach out for support, and the team can attend to their concerns wherever they are located. This ensures timely communication and enhances customer satisfaction.
Immediately addressing the customer’s concerns and issues gives the customer a sense of being cared for and catered to. Propelling them smoothly through the sales funnel and enhancing their experience.
A cloud-based phone system allows businesses to transform their call centers into contact centers. That offer multiple communication channels to customers. You can define metrics and gain more insight from analytics programs. So you can take steps to improve the customer experience in a significant way.
Why customer experience matters for your e-commerce?
It’s always a win-win situation when you improve customer experience. Your business will have the flexibility to offer this without being constrained by a single landline number. Your customer would not be able to reach you at all when a single landline number is engaged and would need to hold or leave a message. A response will not be provided until the next working day if they call after business hours.
These frustrations can be changed with clever VoIP features. Based on their needs, it is possible to route customers to a specific department, such as your finance or technical department. Furthermore, you can listen to voicemails anywhere, enabling you to stay in touch with your clients at any time they need it.
Voice over Internet Protocol also provides crystal-clear audio because of the lightning-fast internet connections. It makes no sense to offer support over a cracked line, after all your customers rely on your support.
Here are five ways in which a cloud-based phone system can improve your e-commerce’s customer experience:
Always Available
No matter where a business representative is located, customers can reach them using cloud telephony. Therefore, if a member of the staff is out of the office, their calls will go to their mobile device or another number.
How does this affect customers? First of all, there is a significantly lower risk of leaving a voicemail message, an experience we all dread. An employee will, inevitably, pick up one of the numbers to which the call is forwarded.
If a customer can get their question or problem answered during their first call. It is quite likely that they’ll have a good experience with your company.
Responding as quickly as possible can also benefit your business because buyers are likely to choose vendors who respond first. By simply being more available than your competitors, you will be able to win more deals.
Use IVR and Auto-Receptionist to provide a personalized customer experience
Today, e-commerce businesses converse with their customers primarily through the phone or online. So it is crucial for them to personalize and welcome these interactions in order to align with their emotional frequency.
When approached by a customer, you need to make sure they are not confused as it is your best chance to make a good impression on them.
In the IVR system, the customer is systematically guide through the menu options, streamlining their experience.
It serves not only as an automatic receptionist for all customer calls but also as the first point of contact for the customer in case of questions. A customize tone of voice and intelligent call routing system personalize every aspect of the customer experience.
IVR is already improving the productivity, efficiency, and engagement of calling agents across other industries such as health, education, and finance.
Track Relevant Customer Service KPIs
If your business is serious about improving its e-commerce customer experience, it’s imperative to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as handle times and retention rates.
By combining objective metrics with your customer service, you can identify trends and pain points, which will allow you to develop a data-driven strategy for improving your customer experience.
It is possible to measure the customer satisfaction score (CSAT) by simply asking for feedback following a support call or distributing a short online survey asking for feedback. An increase CSAT translates into happier customers overall.
Omnichannel Inbox
Managing conversations across all channels is easy with a single inbox. All communication is in one place for easy reference and super-fast response, eliminating long wait times when customers have questions or problems.
Oftentimes, customers will conduct a little research before purchasing something from your company, and one of the ways they may do this is to check multiple platforms. Depending on the information they find and the responses you provide, you may earn their trust or not.
Offering a superb customer experience across all channels is possible with an omnichannel inbox. Aren’t you of the opinion that if you respond quickly via live chat but not at all via Facebook, it looks unprofessional? It is natural for customers to tell friends and colleagues when they receive excellent service.
Communication Stream
Base on what we have discusse above, we can find that it is important to communicate with customers wherever they feel comfortable and wherever they are most likely to be.
It is important to note that customer experience is a result of customer perception, which can be fickle. It is sensible to cover all your bases since one person’s irritability may not bother others. The quality of your communication will impact the customer experience, so lengthy delays, inefficient processes, or an inability to access information will cause your customers to frown.
Using technology to strengthen relationships and build bonds with customers is the key to customer experience. You might be surprise to learn that 1 in 3 people will abandon a brand they love after just one bad experience. It is something to ponder.
Conclusion
Customer service seems to be mistaken for customer experience by many people. In contrast to one touchpoint, which impacts just the customer’s feelings, the other touches every aspect of the customer journey.
Companies that implement customer experience strategies enjoy success in key areas such as reducing their churn rates, increasing brand loyalty, and increasing revenues. With the right implementation, a cloud-base telephony system can offer immediate and long-term advantages over traditional landline phone networks in this sense.
Phones will not disappear anytime soon, which is why businesses should ensure that their customers are offer the very best phone service possible. Voice over Internet Protocol allows you to do just that. The bottom line? You should start using a cloud-base phone system today and ditch your outdate landline.