Moxie recently sat down with representatives from some of the most recognizable luxury brands on the planet to conduct a retail-focused discussion on the online buying journey. Alongside them sat some of the most trusted national brands from supermarkets, fast food restaurants and commodity stores.
What struck us as most interesting were the commonalities of these retailers’ pain points across brands—regardless of product type, consumer spend, or market share—and the level of respect these companies all had for their customers throughout the buying journey. Across the board, companies named empowerment of the customer as key to providing a positive online experience, while mobile was a common challenge. And although live chat can certainly enhance the customer journey, it can just as easily inhibit the experience if implemented poorly or without context.
Chat isn’t for everyone.
We all value a little “me” time—a day at the mall by yourself, a cappuccino and a good book at the corner café. Sure, it’s nice to know people are there to help, but only if needed. It’s your day, after all.
This is virtually how your customer is engaging with your brand online. You’re there to assist as (and if!) needed, on your customer’s terms. You know this, because you know your customer.
So how can Live Chat complement the experience? Based on visitor behavior, you can determine whether Live Chat would be helpful, and the most opportune time to suggest chatting with an agent if so. Perhaps you notice your customer is struggling to choose between two different shades of blue on a blouse, clearly trying to match a pair of pinstripe pants already in the cart. A helpful nod from a friendly agent may be just the thing needed to close the sale. But the timing of this execution is critical—too soon in the journey, and it’s a turn-off. Too late, and you’ve missed not just a conversion opportunity, but a potential customer for life.
Live Chat might not always be the best solution. What about those times when customers only need a simple answer and not an extended conversation? In these cases, a snippet of contextual information can do the trick. By empowering your customers with thoughtful, manageable self-service, you add another dimension to your conversion efforts. For example, if a customer is having difficulty with a coupon code, they likely don’t need or want to converse with an agent. They just need the correct coupon code, which can be instantly delivered through an intelligent knowledge assistant.
As our recent focus group revealed, the world’s biggest brands respect their customers and value their time above all. Nothing will make your customer doubt that more than a poorly implemented Live Chat platform. As ecommerce pros, we owe it to our customers to understand their needs and implement tailored solutions accordingly.
This is their day, after all.
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