Virtual selling replaces in-person: remote culture is no longer a mere alternative, it’s more like the main stuff now. Customers now prefer shopping remotely and would rather have a virtual meeting to discuss details of products/services and finalize transactions virtually than meet in person with the brand.
Slow sales cycle: when the pandemic started, many consumers panic-bought essential items, but after a while of experiencing a pandemic, consumers became calm and more cautious in making purchase decisions. As a result, the sale cycle is no longer as fast as it used to be.
First, you should always have a mindset that the customer journey from awareness to purchase stages must be smooth and convenient for your customer. So, it doesn’t matter whether the customer journey happens online or offline in-store. Make it a goal to create a customer experience that centers the customer.
Here are some of the practices you can adopt and improve upon to create a smooth digital experience for your customers, which will invariably help your business to keep up with the tides.
As a CEO, you should invest in your website and equip it with the necessary features and functionalities to provide customers with an in-depth digital shopping experience. Your website should provide an engaging virtual experience throughout the purchase journey, from the research stage, even up till after the delivery.
Customers don’t necessarily need human supervision or clarification during the purchase journey because they can do everything by themselves now, but only as far as your website functionality allows them. For example, when a potential buyer needs demonstrative information about how an item works, they expect the website to provide it, otherwise, they will go to another website with better customer engagement.
You need more than a well-optimized website to create a digital experience for your customers. You also need to take advantage of social media (marketing) and other touchpoints. You need to maintain a relationship with your target audience in the current congested eCommerce industry. Your customers should be able to reach you outside of sales. Having an active social media presence will build trust with your customers, create awareness for your brand, projects, and products, and increase sales.
There are other touchpoints you can use to reach and engage potential customers. You can create a mobile app for your business, set up a profile on Google My Business, run email campaigns, run paid adverts on search engines, and set up a virtual help desk. Ensure that your brand personality is the same across all your touchpoints.
Customers often push meeting the sales team until they are almost ready to buy, so ensure that your staff act in alignment, providing relevant detailed answers that give your customers real value.
In fact, the world is moving towards a digital era like never before; Mark Zuckerberg is championing the introduction of the metaverse, increased use of VR/MR/AR, etc. As a CEO, you need to get familiar with digital innovations to keep up with the trends.
From the initial development of a proprietary eCommerce platform, to now specializing in Volusion web development and design, MAK has been at the forefront in custom eCommerce website development since as early as 2001.
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