The groundhog made his prediction earlier this month for the upcoming weather, so I thought I’d give it a shot and look towards the future of eCommerce. It should come as no surprise that eCommerce growth is a force to be reckoned with, and there are no signs of slowing down. Forrester predicts that eCommerce sales in the U.S. are estimated to reach $523 billion over the next five years. All things considered, that is a 56% jump from the $335 billion in sales from 2015.

So, what does this mean for you? If you want to be an industry leader, you need to be at the top of your game and be prepared. You need an action plan and you need it now!

I have heard it said more than once that “customer experience” is just another buzzword – here today, gone tomorrow. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Ignoring the importance of the customer experience will negatively impact your ability to grow.

Jerry Gregoire, former CIO at Dell, believed “the customer experience is the next competitive battleground.” Competing brands need an edge on their competition if they want to grab the attention of consumers. You can no longer rely on just having great products because your competition has great products as well. However, by providing a superior customer experience, you may just be able to edge out the competition.

Think about these numbers:

  • 88% of customers prefer doing business with a company that offers quality customer service over a company that has the latest and most innovative products.
  • 69% of customers switch brands due to real or perceived poor service, with product quality being cited as the reason by only 13% of respondents.
  • 89% of marketers expect customer experience to be their primary differentiating factor by 2017, and marketers across industries must apply digital best practices to differentiate their brands.
  • 97% of organizations stated improving customer experiences is critical to success.
  • 64% of consumers think that customer experience is more important than price in their choice of a brand.
  • 40% of customers begin purchasing from a competitor because of their reputation for great customer service.
  • 52% of customers expect to hear back from brands within 7 days of giving an online review, particularly one that’s negative or critical.

Sure, customer service is only part of the customer experience, but it plays a major role. Expectations of consumers and their desire to be treated in a unique and engaging way takes a front seat to the product you are offering.

The days of being another faceless eCommerce site are long gone and if you want get the attention of your target market, you need to be approaching them through social media, your website blog, forums, Youtube, and many other digital channels. Through engagement in these areas, you can immerse your customers in a complete brand experience.

As we move forward into 2017 and beyond, you must do so with the knowledge that real-time customer engagement will continue to increase. Online shoppers want an experience that closely mimics an in-person shopping experience where they can ask questions, test the products, and generally interact with a customer service representative. Here are some things you can start working on today to ensure your customers are there to experience your brand tomorrow.

  • Hire the right people who are willing to invest in your brand and make it great. Provide them with the tools and training they will need to gain knowledge of the customers and their previous engagements with your business.
  • Make your customers feel valued. Give your customers the personal interaction they want. Be sure to listen and respond to your customers immediately. Your customers want to know that their voice has been heard and that you care about what they had to say.
  • Switch from an inside-out to an outside-in mentality. Every decision, process, and change must first be approached from how a customer will benefit from a proposed change. Set your customer experience objectives first and then work backwards to decide on the technology that will help them to achieve their objectives.
  • Use customer feedback to make improvements on a regular, scheduled basis.
  • Be proactive and anticipatory. Lead your customers forward.
  • Pay attention to your site’s performance. Perform regular optimization tests that answer these questions: Does your website load quickly? Is it compatible with different screen sizes? Are there any broken links? Then, make the changes to improve.
  • Add a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on your website to assist your customers. This allows them to quickly research answers to questions they may have with your product or service.
  • Monitor the internet, especially social networking sites and review sites, for mentions. Remember, today’s consumers use social media when they are unhappy rather than contacting the company through traditional avenues.
  • Provide an omni-channel customer experience. Customers want and expect a seamless user experience across all touch points (online, in-app, on social, and in-store).
  • Bump up your efforts to ensure a customer’ privacy and security.
  • Make sure your site is responsive. According to eMarketer, here’s why:
    87% of millennials continuously have their smartphone by their side.
    42% of people use smartphones to aid shopping research while they are in an actual store.
    U.S. adults will spend 3 hours and 17 minutes a day using a mobile device this year.
  • Leverage the power of the mobile. Have a visible presence to get noticed by your mobile audience. This means Facebook Mobile as well as YouTube, Google Mobile search, and Google Maps.
  • Pay attention to social. Consumers like to make contact via social media because it is transparent, immediate and easy. Be quick to respond and engage to ensure your competitors don’t slip in and do it for you. Keep in mind that 52% of consumers expect a response within 30 minutes of posting on social media.
  • Use your big data, but don’t neglect the small-data level. The individualized, personal tidbits buried in unstructured data and direct personal feedback from customers has a great deal of value. Data collected from customer surveys and interviews can reveal deep knowledge about how and why customers use your product, what could be improved, and how it benefits them. This information, when applied properly, can enhance the one-to-one customer experience like nothing else.
  • Always strive to exceed your customers’ expectations. Continuously and consistently provide not only what your customers want, but also make sure the journey is seamless at each and every point of contact. Consistency of brand messages across all channels is the key to success.

By combining these insights and strategies, you will provide your customers with a more complete picture of who you are and what you can do for them. You can stand out in the crowd and become a leader in your industry. Moreover, these can be the first steps in generating more revenue for your company and lead to more profitability than ever before.

Read more on customer appreciation or learn how eCommerce optimization can help your business grow.