Author: Pepa

How to Create a Successful Online Store

Today, it’s easier than ever to launch an online store. However, the whole process of creating a successful e-shop is a challenge. Today’s customer has access to a global e-marketplace, which is full of options.

You need to stand out in a crowd of competitors during every stage of a customer journey. Customers don’t buy  because of price alone. There are more effective ways to attract your customers and make them loyal to your e-shop.

Design of your online store

About one half of online shoppers won’t return to an e-shop if they find it unesthetic. The web page design belongs to the top factors while deciding a purchase. While creating a web page you should think of a good navigation – to provide your customers an easy travel throughout the entire website. You should also keep in mind that a brand consistency is important – make your brand easily recognizable.

Product reviews

People want to know everything about a product that they are willing to buy. They are reading reviews more than ever. 63% of buyers are more likely to make a purchase from online store which provides online reviews. So they don’t have to search for the products reviews somewhere else.

Related products

Do you want to increase sales? Show your customers related products – products that other people have bought together or things that just look great together.

Easy mobile buying process

Mobile traffic accounted for 50 % of visits in the last holiday season. Smartphones are becoming the most powerful tool when searching for a product. On the other hand the number of shopping cart abandonments is much higher while using a phone. How is that possible? Maybe there are more buyers who are searching on their mobile phones. Or maybe the whole buying process is not as highly optimized to smartphones as it should be.

Great customer experience

By 2020 customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience.  Customer experience is important. It improves customer satisfaction, reduce customer churn and increase loyalty and sales.

6 Tips to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment

Almost 70 % of online shoppers don’t complete their purchase. The number of cart abandonments is increasing and becoming one of the most serious problems for online retailers. There are many reasons why people don’t complete their purchasing journey. We will discuss the reasons and give you tips how to encourage your customers to buy before leaving your online store.

The top 3 reasons why customers don’t complete their purchase are “extra costs”, “the site wanted me to create an account” or “too complicated checkout process”. There are many other reasons why customers are not satisfied with the buying process and leave your website before buying. Here are some tips how to reduce the shopping cart abandonment.

Keep the shopping cart visible

20 % of buyers who don’t complete the buying process want to save their items in a shopping cart for future consideration.  The best option is to place a shopping cart icon in the corner of your website.

Scarcity

Scarcity will encourage your customers to buy now. A great example how to show your customers that they have a last chance to buy a product is to show how many products are remaining. If they see there is a last unit of a product, they won’t waste time and will buy it faster.

Offer free shipping

44 % of buyers who abandon their shopping carts do it because of extra costs like shipping costs or return shipping costs. Offering free shipping is a way how to stand out from your competitors and encourage your customer to buy from your online store.

Easy guest checkout

Don’t ask your customers for creating an account before the checkout. It will slow down the process. It is better to ask them in the end when they already have completed their purchase.

Use exit-intent popups

Exit-Intent Popups appear when a customer is about to leave your page or shopping cart. You can stop him from abandoning his cart by providing more information about his purchase or offering a deal so they won’t leave your page. For example: “Don’t go, get 10 % off if…”

LiveChat

Buyers have many questions when buying a product. They usually aren’t 100% sure about a purchase. Use a live chat to help them with their purchase completion.

Karolína Alvaradová – creates a perfect return process at Retino

Staying updated with trends in eCommerce is the only way to stay ahead of your competitors. The most dominating trends in 2017 are discussed below.

Mobile optimization

There are 2.3 billion smartphone users in the world. As phones become more powerful and frequent people are buying on their phones more than ever. By the end of 2017 smartphones will cause the most traffic for eCommerce websites. Every successful e-shop should allow their customers to browse on their webpage on mobile phone with ease.

Same day delivery

The expectations of buyers have dramatically changed within the last years. 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience and by 2020 customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. Customers love the idea of receiving their purchase immediately and hate waiting. Offering your customers same day delivery will fulfill your customers needs.

Free return shipping

Customer service have become very important to buyers and they look for e-shops that provide perfect return policy. 92% of buyers said that they will buy something again if product return process is easy and 79% of consumers want free return shipping. Consumers who paid for return shipping decreased their purchases by 75 to 100 % within a two-year period.

Social selling

People rely on social media. Nearly 50 % of buyers said that reading comments and feedback on social media influences their shopping decision. If you want to be visible in the upcoming years you should definitely be active on your social network page.

Personalization

As people are overloaded with information, they become frustrated when website content doesn’t meet their expectations. They want a web journey that is tailored to their tastes so they would save time and find everything easily. Personalized content can directly target your customers and helps them to find what they really want.

Karolína Alvaradová – creates a perfect return process at Retino

The Importance of Online Reviews

Every company needs an outside view. You can communicate customer satisfaction with a purchase through an email. But more often you are going to identify the purchase experience through online reviews. And you should be prepared that other buyers will read them as well. Online reviews have become very popular among buyers.

According to recent studies:

• 91% of customers occasionally read online reviews
• 84% of customers believe them as personal recommendations
• 68% of customers form an opinion about your e-shop after reading 1-6 reviews

Receiving public reviews can make you feel uncomfortable but you need them. Here’s why online reviews are crucial to your business:

Positive reviews increase sales. A well-written online review from a satisfied customer is priceless. It can eliminate any doubts that a new customer may have about an e-shop or product. New customers rather buy a product somewhere where it’s well-rated.

You will understand your customers better. With a feedback from your customer you will be able to identify what’s really important.

Raise awareness of your e-shop. Online reviews can be a great part of your marketing strategy.

They give your customers chance to speak, they build a stronger relationship and increase their loyalty. Only few customers will give you a feedback. Other customers just leave your e-shop. You should go through all reviews and try to make innovations based on them.

Online reviews – an incentive for other customers to write a review. New researches done by psychologists show that so-called crowd behavior is also reflected in the online world. Customers are more likely to write an online review if there are more reviews about your e-shop.

Nowadays, tracking online reviews is not enough. You should respond to every review that occurs to show your customers that you care. The positive thing about online reviews is, that not every negative online review is a bad thing and is going to harm your company. You should turn it into your advantage – respond to every online review and try to do the best to improve your services.

Karolína Alvaradová – creates a perfect return process at Retino

Positive Customer Service Communication

Communication with customers is a cornerstone of every successful business. Every situation requires different actions, but you should always keep in mind that the thing you want to achieve is a satisfied customer.

You have several ways to make your customer more relaxed and pleased – by providing great return policy, offering discounts or free gifts with a purchase. However, one thing is clear – when you communicate with your customers politely and in a friendly way you will win their hearts. By words you can create a strong relationship with them, get their loyalty and make them come back.

Sometimes it is hard to think positively when your customers are negative from the beginning. However, they are still your customers and they might want to spend some money with you. Try to learn how to think positively.

There are some phrases that a positive communication doesn’t include.  Customer service often uses a phrase: “We can’t do that”. Is that really true? What about saying: “We can try to solve that problem”. The important thing is to try to think positively. Another phrase: “It is not available right now”. Your customer has chosen a product and he doesn’t want to hear that after all he can’t get it. Try to make the situation at least a little bit more optimistic. Rephrase the sentence and say: “This product will be available within 2 weeks, I’ll let you know as soon as the product gets here.”

Sometimes only using different sentences can help your customer feel more secure and happy. Try to learn it by checking your last emails. Rewrite all of your negative words (don’t, won’t, can’t). Listen to your customers– you will identify negative speech.

It may take a while for you to start communicating differently, but it is worth it. It has been proven that positive communication makes your customers more loyal and pleased. And remember – it is six times more expensive to get a new customer than to keep an existing one.

Karolína Alvaradová – creates a perfect return process at Retino

The Perfect Return Policy

Even though the online shopping is becoming more popular, customers still feel the risk of returning goods. 2/3 of buyers read terms and conditions before confirming the order. The terms and conditions should be a simple document that is easy for your customer to understand.

According to many studies, a good customer aftercare service is a reason why a customer returns to an e-shop. Creating an effective return policy increases revenue and attracts more customers. Here are some tips that make returns perfect.

Don’t hide your return policy. Display the “how to return goods” link on the main menu so your customers don’t have to go through the whole terms and conditions document. If a customer is not 100% sure about a purchase this will affect him.

Pay for the return shipping costs. Almost 80% of customers want an e-shop to pay for the return postage. Many researches show that a customer who is happy with the return process delivers significantly higher sales in the long term.

Shout about your great return policy. Don’t be afraid to mention it directly on the main page. Let every customer know that you offer something more.

Attach return instructions with a customer’s order. He doesn’t have to search for the instructions, it takes less time – satisfaction on both sides.

Speed up your communication with customers. Inform your customers about the return status in time, so they don’t need to worry about their money. A good communication with customers is one of the most important factors for the next purchase.

Let the customers give you a feedback. If you find out what customers want and create innovations based on their needs, they will have no reason to switch to competitors.

Karolína Alvaradová – creates a perfect return process at Retino

How to Write Message Templates which Don’t Make You Sound Like a Robot

More than 70% of customers prefer email communication while buying things online. If they don’t get a quick response, they will switch to another e-shop. It is almost impossible to write manually to every customer. You have to think about every single email and it is also risky – you may easily forget something or you’re going to make a typo. For an effective email communication – message templates are important.

A confirmation email about receiving customer‘s order is a great example where you can use the automatic sending of your message templates. You can also use automated emails if you want to wish your customer a happy birthday or show him the latest product offer. Message templates make life easier for you but they have to be well-written. A customer doesn’t want to communicate with a robot. We’ve prepared a few simple tricks for you to make your prewritten emails sound more natural.

Write emails in your brand voice. Is your marketing communication somehow specific? Your emails should sound like that as well. Your customer service and your marketing team must work together. Your emails will look more trustworthy.

Use pronouns. Words like you, yours, we etc. will create a relationship between the sender and recipient. Communication looks more personal.

Use plain language. Use words of everyday life and write shorter sentences. Communication will sound friendlier and natural.

Highlight important words. If a customer just wants to get quickly through an email, it is much easier for him if the words are highlighted. Not to mention that the email looks better. A long e-mail containing a lot of information is useless – the customer is not going to read it.

Message templates themselves don’t make you sound like a robot. If they are well-written, the customer won’t see the difference and you will save your time.

Karolína Alvaradová – creates a perfect return process at Retino

5 Reasons Why Customer Feedback Matters

Customer feedback is a guide on how to improve your business. It can help you increase your sales and you’ll be able to address the customer’s needs.

If a customer provides feedback, it means that he is willing to spend some time to give you a tip how you can improve, which is a sign that he has a relationship with your e-shop. Decisions on innovations based on customer’s tips often mean success for both sides.

Customer feedback helps to improve your services and products. The rating gives you an outside opinion. Retailers often deal with trifles that do not matter to their customers. They waste time on innovations that do not influence their sales at all.

Increases customer retention. A satisfied customer returns. If you find out what your customers want and create innovations based on their needs, they will have no reason to switch to competitors.

Gives you information about your customer care service. A good communication experience is one of the most important factors for your customer’s next purchase. A good customer center needs to work reliably, quickly and willingly.

Helps you find out trends among your competitors. You don’t want your customer to switch to the competition. Customer feedback can give you a general view of services provided by other companies and what may affect the customer to buy goods somewhere else.

By asking a customer you show that your e-shop cares. The customer sees that his opinion matters and his relationship to your e-shop might strengthen.

Karolína Alvaradová – creates a perfect return process at Retino

Pavlína Louženská: Customer aftercare service as a key to success.

It is not easy to stand out from a crowd of competitors, especially when you consider how big the eCommerce market is. A key is to concentrate on the customer needs and provide them a perfect sales and aftercare service. According to Pavlína Louženská from 2FRESH (also an ex-CMO at ZOOT), great aftercare will soon be a standard to keep your business running.

Pavlína was interviewed by the founder of Retino, Petr Boroš.

○

What are the key success factors of online shops today?

A personal communication has always been an advantage of smaller players. Amazon will always provide better automated recommendations, but small players can compete with the face to face experience, which respects the local tastes and needs. These are the brands you create a relationship with and you remain loyal to.

Let’s talk about user experience and shopping convenience. It seems to be the number one topic for online shops. Why?

As the Czech eCommerce market grows, you need more sophisticated methods to win over your competitors. And so the e-shops are turning from transaction platforms into shopping experience companies. To differentiate and establish a relationship is the only way to create a great business.

Which stores do you think do this exceptionally well and why?

Martinus, VašeČočky or ZOOT. These stores are great inspiration. In addition to a perfect customer service, you can always expect something more. The whole buying process must be a great experience that a today’s customer demands.

Many western online shops have turned the aftercare service into a marketing tool. They offer significantly longer return periods than the law requires and pay for a return shipping. Some Czech e-shops provide similar services but it’s still not the general baseline. Do you expect that more Czech e-shops will follow this trend in the future?

Definitely. Bigger foreign players just like Amazon or Zalando are entering the Czech market soon and there is also a pressure of local competition and higher advertising prices. You will have to concentrate on the See and Care stage, from the well-known framework “See Think Do Care”. It won’t be possible to compete on the market only with the PPC advertising. A customer aftercare service will be soon a key to success.

A customer aftercare service will be soon a key to success.

What would be your advice for online shops to stay successful in the future?

Integrating online and offline marketing successfully is the way to make your customers loyal. Magazines, events or showrooms combined with a strong personalized digital advertising is a way to success. Just be sure that the channels work together, not separately.

In the beginning there must be a solid foundation based on customer needs. If you’re not willing to listen to your customers and finding out their needs, you shouldn’t enter the market. That’s why I hope that the future researches will become our guides how to approach customer experience.

Thank you for the interview, Pavlína!

 ○

For Czech speakers, we recommend a great lecture on Innovations from this year’s Webexpo, from Pavlína Louženská and Lukáš Pitter.

The Importance of Effective Communication with Consumers

Communication in the return process starts when you write your terms and conditions. If they are simple and do not discourage your customers, the customers are likely to continue shopping. As a result you can establish a deeper relationship with them. Good communication is the key to retaining your customers.

When a customer chooses to return a product he needs to reconnect with their e-shop.  An effective communication process with the customer at this stage of purchase is important to reduce uncertainty and maintain loyalty to your e-shop. 52% of customers are likely to go somewhere else to get their products if they have a poor customer center experience.

Customers expect simple and seamless communication. They don’t want to remind the e-shop about their problem and want the return process to be resolved quickly. 71% of customers expect to receive a response on returned goods within 2 days. More than a half of these customers expect a response within 1 day.

When checking online reviews, note how often your customers refer to a customer service. Their experience reflects negatively or positively on the e-shop. It is one of the main factors that affects the next purchase.

All it takes is for one customer to be neglected. More than 50% of customers with poor customer center experience share it with more than 5 people. 88% of customers are influenced by reviews of the quality of customer service.  The key feature of your e-shop is the way how you communicate.

Karolína Alvaradová – creates a perfect return process at Retino