A few weeks ago I bought an overnight bag online. Why do I feel the need to tell you about it you may ask? Well it was a pretty amazing experience. And I don’t mean amazing in the “oh my God that was awesome” kind of way. I mean it was amazing that I actually persevered on the site and finally found what I was looking for. I’m still feeling a little dazed that I stuck with it since I normally bail at the first sign that a website isn’t talking to me in language that I understand.
Let me start by saying that the website had a fabulous range of overnight bags, and definitely had the one that was perfect for me. The problem was that it was really really hard to find. That’s because the business had chosen to list their bags in their side navigation by their own bag names, none of which gave me any insight whatsoever as to what type of bag it actually was. The ONLY way I could search was by product name – which told me nothing about the positioning of the product and gave me absolutely no clue whether or not it suited my needs.
I really wasn’t interested if the bag was called “Sprint” or “Elite” or “Casual”. What I wanted to know was how big it was and how light it was – because I’m off to Thailand next month and I want a lightweight bag I can throw into my suitcase that wont take up too much room. It’s my little companion that will carry home all of the shopping I plan on doing while I'm away.
If the owners of this website had been thinking like their customers, they would have organised their bags into categories that customers would want to browse. Small, Medium, Large and Lightweight categories would have worked perfectly for me. Maybe also Side-zippered and Waterproof would make sense too.
What didn’t make sense was to present me with a bunch of meaningless names so I had no option but to trawl through them all to check the specs before I bought.
That got me thinking about the glaring disconnect for many businesses – the inclination to over-focus on us (the business) and not them (the customer). Instead of focusing on what and how we want to sell, we should be developing a deeper understanding of what, why and how our customers want to buy.
So, what is it that customers want? Great deals? Fast shipping? 100% replacement guarantees? Easy-to-navigate websites (thumbs up to this one for me)? What is it about your business that makes customers want to buy? What keeps them engaged? What makes them stay on your website rather than jump on to your competitor’s?
Understand what they Want
Most of us want to feel important and that our opinions matter. Customers want you to care about their needs. They want you to understand the outcome they want, not just the solution. They don’t care about your value proposition but they do want to know how you can help them solve their problems.
Customers are interested in buying an outcome that will help improve their life. That’s why it is critical that you understand how your company’s core competencies capabilities are relevant to your customers’ desired outcome. Your influence with your customers is directly related to how well they understand the value of your solutions for them.
Research is a good way to better understand what your customers really want but it doesn’t need to be expensive – online survey tools are easy to implement and a great ways to gain customer feedback and market research. Don’t try to second guess what your customers want – go straight to the source to get the answers direct.
Personalise their Experience
If you’re selling online, getting your customers to log in before they start browsing is a great way to personalise their experience. Not only can you greet them by name, you know their purchase history so you can make recommendations and offers based on the knowledge you have acquired about them. If a customer knows they are always going to see a special offer specifically for them, they’ll keep coming back and ignore your competitor’s offers.
Online chat is another great tool to personalise the customer’s experience. Certainly if my online bag vendor had this feature enabled, I would have found what I was looking for and made my purchase in less than half the time I spent on that site.
Let Search give them the Answers
It always surprises me how few website have detailed answers to questions that are commonly asked by customers. For example, if you’re in the business of roofing restoration, start an FAQs section that covers off all the usual questions people have – how long does it take, how long will it last, is there a guarantee, what colours can I choose etc.
Engaging blogs are also incredibly effective for driving traffic to your website by featuring the information customers are likely to want to know before they make a purchase decision.
The Voice of Dissatisfaction
The voice of dissatisfaction is speaking louder than ever before. It spreads rapidly through social media and online forums. Customers who rarely give praise are quick to let others know when they are not happy. Don’t let it happen to your business.
Of course you’re never going to be able to please all of your customers all of the time – and let’s face it, the old adage that the customer is always right, isn’t always, well, right. But once you set yourself on a mission to think like your customers, once you start communicating with them in a way that is meaningful to them, once you begin asking them what they want and then act on it – then the voice of dissatisfaction is less likely to come knocking at your door.
It's Time to Review
So maybe it’s time for a review of your sales processes and customer communications. If you don’t have the time, the patience or you simply don’t know where to start then hire someone else to help (and in case I forgot to mention it, I am for hire. I’m standing by my phone right now waiting for your call.)