The Five Steps of Adopting an Online Customer By Tory Darling, Codal Inc
______________________________________________________ As shopping online is becoming more and more the norm for an array of industries, developing a strategy to obtain and retain a customer is flipped completely. Completely adopting an online customer is a task that consists of multiple components to be executed flawlessly. The process between awareness and purchase requires an execution that far beyond exceeds that of the competition. Without a seamless and engaging user journey, the customer ending up at your competitor's site is as simple as a couple clicks. User experience research services are great in assisting in figuring out where the online customer is having trouble or bouncing completely. Once a UX design service has pinpointed the pitfalls, they can design a journey that better suits the user’s expectations. In order to most effectively explain the best practices in adopting an online customer, I have broken it down in five distinct steps. Step 1: Spark Your Differentiation First and foremost, it is important to really understand what makes your product or service different and unique from competitors. That distinct and unique quality needs to be clearly and effectively captured throughout both the website and various online marketing initiatives. Noticeably is the second component of this step. In 2017 there are many ways you can get noticed by the online consumer, but the two most popular are search and social. In the long run, organic search is best strategy to build, but to get immediate and quick exposure, paid search is the way to go. Step 2: Talk the Talk Just like in a romantic relationship, communication is key for any online retailer. The messages of the overall brand and vision need to be evident to the customer. A UX
design agency can assist in making sure the messages that are communicated are clear, concise and have as sense of focus. Step 3: Be Desired Just as easily as a user can opt in to explore a website, so to is it just as easy to bounce and opt out from the site. Ensuring that the site is relevant, usable, desired, credible and acceptable are critical in maintaining the interest of the customer. More importantly, as an increasing number of customers user their mobile device to satisfy their shopping behaviors, companies need to have a mobile friendly presence. A mobile app design and development company is a great partner to work with to create a seamless mobile presence. Step 4: Path to Purchase Conversion is the ultimate goal for an eCommerce store. If you are not converting, then you will not be in business long. The most important step of getting a customer to purchase to first making sure they can find the product or type of service they are looking for. Findability is one of the core components of UX. Regardless of how many products are included in the online store, the customer wants to find what they are looking for immediately. Whether you have a search bar, filters, or just a well organized display, the end goal is for the customer to find what they are looking for with complete ease. Step 5: Establish Loyalty The process doesn’t stop once the customer hits the “place order” button. Arguably, maintaining the customer and enticing them to keep coming back is a critical component in maintaining and growing long term sales. In order for a customer to shift to a loyal customer, they need to first have a great first experience. That experience needs to include being satisfied with the product or service they purchased in addition to the components surrounding receiving the product, such as shipment. Any part of the process, from delayed shipment to poor customer service, can impact the loyalty a customer, a loyalty every company should hold dear.
Conclusion The adoption of a long term customer is an intricate process that requires the expertise of many fields, but especially a UX design company. In order to fully adopt a customer you need to be unique, grab their attention, have a seamlessly designed website, perfect the point of purchase, and focus on retaining the customer’s business in the long term. Looking for more insight on UX design services? Are you wanting to develop an app and you need to know the cost to develop an app is? Visit Codal’s blog, or come talk to us here! We’d love to hear from you.
Codal Inc App Development & UX Design Agency www.codal.com