Beyond Buying: Effective Methods to Boost Online Customer Experiences

“Money isn’t everything, man,” said the hippie to the businessman. And the latter nods his head in agreement. “Even when it comes to ecommerce,” he replied.

Most businesses are in the game of sales, and creating rich digital experiences are great pathways for customers to walk down. But many companies are wary about constructing a greater network of digital experiences that reach beyond customer purchases.

The stablest of networks operate from a strong core. And so the very best ecommerce sites work from a center of strong functionalities in payment processes and order fulfillment. Only then can building beyond transactions be applied with better effect. This is particularly acute right now, as shopping online has become the only option for millions of consumers across the globe. Your online presence has never been more critical.

There is a competitive collection of ecommerce platforms that can enhance your digital network, yet in our opinion, Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud is number one in terms of functionality, and plenty out-of-the-box features to strengthen your digital experiences.

So what are effective ways of boosting customer experiences online? How can you engage them while adding value to your brand?

Loyalty programs fit for screen

Strategies for maintaining customers through rewards and benefits have been around for a while, and easily predate ecommerce. Trading stamps are more than 10 years old, in which customers would fill booklets with stamps and redeem them for store goods.

You want your best customers to feel wanted in return for their business. And under current restrictions on physical stores, make sure your loyalty programs are simple and easy to use online. Reviewing your current loyalty program to ensure that in-person interactions are not required will make it much easier for customers to obtain their just rewards.

If previously your loyalty program required in-person interaction, and have since modified it to ensure a complete digital experience, customers may not be aware of this change, or perhaps will need a helping hand in explaining how to interact with and navigate through the new online loyalty program.

Personal portals

Providing quick access to information regarding your current position during the pandemic is critical for your customers to be aware of any changes. If you operate in multiple locations or ship on a wide scale, then you’re going to need to personalise these communiques to groups of customers. And this is easily done in the CRM. But if you want to go beyond crisis communication and provide a little extra, consider connecting customers to useful and fun things they can do with your products. One of my favorite restaurants is currently closed but offers delivery. On their menu they offer a drink made with gin. Yet with slumped sales over the last two months, they started to sell entire bottles of gin to move higher priced items. And they tell you how to make your own gin drinks with recipes they provide over their website.

Build forums

One of the more underrated channels of communication between a brand and their customers is the forum. Often neglected but a potential for building brand loyalty, forums provide a space for customers to come together to ask questions, share stories, grab advice or share tips. You can even go as far as setting up a voting system for potential product developments — involving customers in the brand and providing them with a greater sense of connectedness with your brand. Alternatively, this final recommendation would fit nicely into a VIP experience, if you are thinking of how to shift your exclusive experiences to the online world.

These are just a few springboards for building broader networks of customer experience that go beyond buying, and with the comprehensive toolkit of Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud, the limits of this network can be stretched as far as your imagination takes you… well, almost.

PS: UV is one of the world’s leading Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud development & strategy teams. Contact us to see how we can work together.