On Planet's blog, we tell you how to prepare your eCommerce for Black Friday 2022, what tools can help you and what advantages you can get thanks to a good management of your eCommerce during this event.
This time, we show you how to convert occasional Black Friday shoppers into loyal customers to your eCommerce thanks to a good shopping experience and management of your eCommerce.
According to Invesp data, customer loyalty is a very beneficial strategy for an eCommerce, since the cost of acquiring a customer who has already purchased is much lower than the cost of acquiring a new customer. In fact, a 5% increase in customer retention generates up to 25% more revenue for an eCommerce, as shown in this report by Fred Reichheld.
How to build customer loyalty during Black Friday
The key to gaining the loyalty of your customers during this Black Friday and getting them to repeat the purchase in your eCommerce at other times such as the Christmas campaign, sales, etc. is to make the user experience in your eCommerce satisfactory, being able to add the added value of the usual loyalty programs, such as discounts for points, purchase advantages for loyal customers, etc.
Below, we will tell you the 4 essential requirements your eCommerce must meet in order to build customer loyalty.
1. Ease of use
The complexity of purchasing a product will be a determining factor for users to abandon the process, whatever stage they are at (registration, product search, payment process, etc.).
In addition, the abandonment rate during Black Friday will be higher, due to the fact that the supply of products increases and users will prioritize purchases in eCommerce whose buying process is simple and does not take too much time,
Therefore, it is important to simplify the purchase process and clearly explain the different steps required. For example, allow the purchase without registration or save the cart for later.
2. Immediate help
Consumers who get help with their purchase will quickly trust your eCommerce more and will repeat their purchase because of satisfactory customer service that builds trust in your business.
Zendesk, a customer service management software, claims that the optimal average response time for email is 1 hour, for social media 15 minutes and for website chat as little as 1 minute.
Therefore, it is important that your eCommerce has implemented a good customer service software, with access to frequently asked questions, chatbots, etc.
3. Omnichannel communication
The integration of the communication channels necessary to complete a purchase in a single channel will improve the service and, therefore, the user's shopping experience.
To do this, we can use customer service tools, which in addition to improving the speed of response, unify the communication of the different channels to facilitate customer service. In our article "3 Tools to improve customer service in your eCommerce" we tell you how to benefit from these tools.
4. Good after sales service
The customer experience does not end when the order has been made and shipped, but it is important to efficiently manage the after-sales service, especially considering that, being an online purchase, the customer does not see the actual product until it is received.
The after sales service is especially important for products in the fashion and accessories category, since, not being able to try the product before receiving it, the customer may choose not to purchase it unless the return is free or easy to make.
In addition, potential problems with shipments (delays, customs holds, damaged or incorrect products, etc.) must be taken into account and managed optimally to satisfy customers and resolve disputes without harming them.
If the after sales service during Black Friday has been positive, they will trust your business and will not hesitate to repeat the purchase, because they know that if there is a problem, it will be handled favorably.
Conclusion
The customer shopping experience encompasses everything related to the customer's emotions and feelings when making a purchase in your eCommerce, including website speed, payment methods, customer service, web design, after-sales service, among others.
Having a satisfactory shopping experience in your eCommerce during Black Friday will encourage users to return to buy your products on other occasions (such as the upcoming Christmas campaign), turning them into loyal customers and "ambassadors" of your brand. In addition, it will help you get users to recommend your business to their friends and family, leave positive comments and reviews, etc.
To do this, it is important to monitor the shopping experience of your users and analyze what we are doing well and how we can improve those aspects that negatively influence the shopping experience of users. An example of this would be to add an intelligent search engine to your website, if users find it difficult to locate the product they are looking for among all your products. Or add more varied and flexible payment methods.
Now, you know how to convert occasional Black Friday customers into loyal customers to your eCommerce.
Remember that, thanks to Planet you can add to your eCommerces discount automation and scheduling functionality, and you will save time during Black Friday to invest it in your customers.