How focusing on customer service can increase your EOFY conversions
With EOFY fast approaching, no doubt your screens and inboxes are flooded with sales and incentives. And while we all love a discount – it shouldn’t come at the cost of good customer service.
As a retailer, you’d know that in some cases, there’s no wiggle room left on price. Instead of focusing on the sales, focus on your customers and use this as a chance to build better relationships to grow your business.
If you’re an online retailer and you’re planning one last EOFY hurrah, here are some strategies to hack your customer service and increase conversions before and after EOFY.
Make it easy
What do customers really want? Good prices and quality products are a given, but studies show that even these aren’t enough to tip the scales if the user experience is hard. A 2007 survey of 75,000 customers by the Customer Contact Council showed that the biggest driver of customer loyalty was reducing the amount of work the customer needs to do.
Put yourself in the user’s shoes and make yourself the customer and remove extra steps that could get in the way of purchasing. Consider adding frictionless payment options like PayPal so customers don’t have to go get their credit card to finalise a sale. Send shipping labels to customers needing to make returns, make it easy to update accounts, and go out of your way to troubleshoot. Keep the whole process from perusing to purchasing as simple as possible.
Keep it personal
With more than one-third of the worlds global population using email, modern inboxes are loud, crowded places. According to Statista, about 269 billion emails were sent and received each day in 2017, and that figure is expected to exceed 320 billion daily emails in 2021.
From endless promotional emails to generic spam – most inboxes are impersonal, and as a marketer, it’s getting harder and harder to cut through.
Try stepping outside of these standards to delight your customers with a personal touch. Many small brands include personalised notes in their packages, thanking you from purchasing from them. One eco-conscious company writes directly onto the inside of the box so they’re not wasting extra paper. Some Australian brands include mini chocolate with purchases, and others throw in a piece of old-school candy for a hit of nostalgia. What can you do to add a special, personal touch to your customer service?
Give to get
There’s a well-known sales technique based around the idea of reciprocity, and it boils down to this – if you give something, you’re more likely to get something in return.
It’s a simple concept, but the thought of handing out freebies left, right and centre can be intimidating for online retailers. Generosity can deepen your relationship with customers and make them more likely to do business with you.
What you give doesn’t have to be big, either. You can reap the rewards of reciprocity by thinking about what your customers might appreciate. For a clothing company, a 10% discount when they use the company’s hashtag on social media. What about a postcard with ideas on how to style a newly purchased décor item? How about a recipe e-book to go with that new appliance? Or a small loyalty discount to say thank you? Small gestures make nice surprises and draw your customers back to return the favour.
Interact to upsell
Not all customer interactions are an opportunity to make a sale, but a lot of them are. When your customer is happy, when they’re supplying you with feedback, when they’re sharing your brand on social media, or when you’re contacting them with information, you have the chance to grow your business as you grow your customer service.
Keep an eye out for unmet needs and find ways to solve customer problems using your company or products. Always be ready to tell the customer about something of yours that will add extra value to what they’ve already purchased.
Fix red flags
Sales aren’t the only thing you should be tracking during EOFY. By regularly reviewing your metrics, you can identify where things are going wrong and be proactive about fixing them.
Customers might not always tell you about a problem with your website, but if you see higher than normal bounce rates, you’ll need to investigate. If a particular product gets returned at a higher rate, it could be a problem with how it’s described. If carts are being abandoned, you should be sending follow up emails.
Look at your metrics to find red flags, identify who your most engaged users are, and discover why less engaged users are leaving your site. Once you identify the kinds of consumers most likely to leave without buying, you can come up with ways to effectively win them over.
With these simple tips and the power of Shippit behind you, you can use EOFY as a chance to power up your conversions.
