We’re mid-way through 2015, providing a positive customer experience begins far before buyers reach your site and can learn about your products. With social and search, buyers are doing a great deal of research prior to landing on your company’s website. Therefore, you have to think beyond your website for opportunities to reach and interact with buyers before they start narrowing their decisions of where to buy.
What goes into providing a positive customer experience with social media, and your website with little or no direct interaction with buyers?
Provide value on social media
Be available where they are
Make sure your company is active on social media sites where your ideal buyers are spending their time. That way, when they start their research process you will already be a part of the consideration stage.
Provide useful tips and blogs
One way you can attract interested buyers is to provide information that is unique and of value about your industry. Use content as an opportunity to capture their attention by providing useful tips or educational information through blogs to captive.
"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." -- Albert Einstein
Interact with customer inquiries
Conduct live Twitter chats or inquiries on Facebook. Hosting a discussion about industry standards on Google+. Use these as a way to build your community and trust for your brand.
Keep your website simple
Make your site easy to navigate
Limit your navigation to only the essential items deemed necessary. This will make it easier to buyers to find what they are looking for particularly since many are now conducting their research via mobile.
In stores, 82% of smartphone users turn to their devices to help them make a product decision.(1)
When arriving to your website, refrain from forcing buyers to sort through pop-ups, lengthy scrolling, or interpret your nomenclature for locating content. Give them what they are looking for right away.
The average attentions span of a human being is 8 seconds.(2)
Keep your web pages free from an overabundance of text. With short attention spans keep your content focused on your main message, and highlighting benefits. For those who want great detail, send them to another page that gives them the nuts and bolts of your product.
Be available for customer care
Customers are seeking customer support via social. (Another important reason why to be present where your buyers and customers are), therefore, having someone who can respond as quickly as possible to resolve the situation will help build credibility.
Among respondents to The Social Habit who have ever attempted to contact a brand, product, or company through social media for customer support, 32% expect a response within 30 minutes.
For conflicts, request direct interaction from the user to remove the details from general view. Resolve the conflict then post a resolution note. Why not be transparent? Sometimes resolution is a simple fix and can make the responder look foolish. Other times, responders can get pretty conversational until you find the path to resolution. Stay upbeat to ensure the end result is a positive customer experience.
Customers may forget what you said but they'll never forget how you made them feel." – Unknown
Make a positive customer experience your number one goal. Do this by making it easy for buyers to find the content they are looking for and worth their time to read. This will build trust and loyalty, and you might just capture a customer.
1 Google/Ipsos, “Consumers in the Micro-Moment” study, March 2015