In the first installment of our pain point series, we discussed how our recent focus group revealed that all brands—from high-end luxury to everyday commodity—share in the respect they have for their customers, and strive to reflect that level of respect through the online experience.
One voice in the focus group, basing his experience on in-house analysis, stated that multichannel customers—shoppers who cross the brand both in store and online—are simply more loyal customers. Those who engage with a retailer’s brand across devices and in multiple capacities, he maintained, are ultimately longer-term, more valuable customers, as they offer more context for retailers to use to enhance the online journey.
So, how do we nurture these important relationships?
The best way, according to Retail Touch Points, is for retailers to learn from the successes they’ve realized in-store, and extend them digitally to close the gap between brick and click.
Consistency, commitment, and relevance are key
Although what is working in stores may not always translate directly to your website, the more consistency you promote, the more incentive there is for your customer to shop across all of your channels, and the less potential there is for confusion and frustration. An online offer, for instance, should be replicated in-store, to the extent you have the stock available to do so.
As humans, we are much more likely to commit to a product if we are able to engage with it directly, and in physical form. Warby Parker’s Home Try-On program, and many emerging subscription box services such as Stitch Fix and Trunk Club, capitalize on this fact, allowing customers to select a certain number of items to try on at home, and return those they do not wish to keep. By default, a number of customers will opt to keep most or all of the items they’ve received, as they’ve had an opportunity to engage with the product, garnering a sense of commitment to the product and loyalty to your brand.
Relevance, as we often preach here at Moxie (possibly link to Moxie’s Contextual Information page) and as was echoed by both supermarket and luxury store representatives in our research group, is essential to providing a unique customer experience, and to promoting brand loyalty. Understanding our customers and learning from their tendencies, needs, and desires allows for a tailored online experience that will draw those customers in for life.
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