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5 'don’ts' and 1 ‘do’ for making the customer experience rich and robust

Simple, common sense strategies in communicating with shoppers can prove rewarding for businesses and consumers.

October 5, 2015 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com

One of the worst things any retailer can do to a consumer is annoy them. And as I experienced this past week those annoyances can arrive in a variety of ways so here’s a quick list of easy things a business operator can do that likely won’t cost much if anything, but will create a more friendly, closer customer relationship. Read through to find the one "must-do" retailers should undertake as well.

1. Don’t remind a customer there are items in a cart. Why? Because most online shoppers know why they’ve left things in a cart, and while the reminder is all about driving the customer back onto the site to complete a transaction, buy more goods and maybe even put more items in a cart, the online consumer today will head to the site when they want and need to. Another email in the box isn’t going to make that happen in the majority of cases.
2. Don’t send email with a customer’s last name in the subject header like this: "Mottl we miss you." That email will likely bring up memories of the high school team coach yelling at a player or admonishing a player. It’s also as far from personal as you can get, especially with female consumers.
3. Don’t make a customer put something in a cart in order to see the price. This seems to be an increasing approach, especially among retailers harping "big savings" and "special prices." Again, it’s geared to getting the purchase process forward and products into carts, but it likely turns off more shoppers than it turns on and is viewed by many as an extra step that’s unnecessary.
4. Don’t harp a special sale or product price and then put it on a clock — with an expiration of two hours, or 12 hours or even 24 hours. Again, it’s not friendly or warm.
5. Don’t run a sale or special price and then be out of stock. That scenario is likely one of the most annoying and frustrating for a consumer. It brings back memories of the printed flyer bait-and-switch that was used heavily before online shopping even existed, and it's rarely seen anymore in a brick-and-mortar environment as social media provides consumers a fast way to spread the news that a retailer is playing some game.

And, here is the one "do" that retailers should embrace: Reward your loyal customer before and when you’re trying to reward new customers and fans. Don’t offer "new" subscribers a reduced price on a service if you’re not going to give your current fans some sort of similar break or price reduction. Today’s consumers have more options than ever, and if they’ve been loyal and supportive, retailers need to give that as much attention as they do to new potential customers.

About Judy Mottl

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Judy Mottl is editor of Retail Customer Experience and Digital Signage Today. She has decades of experience as a reporter, writer and editor covering technology and business for top media including AOL, InformationWeek, InternetNews and Food Truck Operator.

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