Commentary

Managing the customer web experience

Jesse Himsworth, vice president of strategy and integrated solutions, Clearlink, explains that the web customer experience is no longer about simply setting up a website. It's about providing a personalized, tailored experience based on the customer's wants and needs.

Photo by iStock.com

October 24, 2018

By Jesse Himsworth, vice president of strategy and integrated solutions, Clearlink

As of 2017, 96 percent of Americans shop online. With just about everyone making purchases online, the web customer experience needs to be effective and efficient for a vastly varied customer base. It's no longer about simply setting up a website that allows someone to buy a product or sign up for a service. Today's online shopper is savvy, and a bad customer experience on the web can break your business.

The ideal customer experience Is personalized

So, what is the ideal web customer experience when the customer base is so varied? Even if they want to buy the same thing, customers online don't all want to be sold it in the same way. The ideal customer experience on the web is personalized, delivering a tailored experience based on the customer's wants and needs.

Here are three lessons for better personalizing your content for your audience — and creating a great web experience for every user.

1. Provide a variety of content
Despite your customers having a common interest — your product or service — individuals online consume content differently. Some shoppers primarily browse on desktop or laptop computers, while many others use their phones. Some prefer to read in-depth articles, others like videos. Providing a variety of content doesn't just mean writing articles about different things — it means delivering that subject matter in different ways.

Enhance your product pages with a short video explaining how the product works and what makes it special. Include blog entries with information relevant to your customers. Use infographics and tables. Optimize for mobile devices by keeping your descriptions short and CTAs clear. Every customer's a little different. How you reach them should be too.

2. Be honest
Shopping online makes purchasing easier and quicker. Buying is now just a click away. That also means product research and reviews are just a few clicks and searches away. According to a PowerReviews survey, 24% of consumers consult reviews before every purchase. If you aren't honest about your products or services, a potential customer can quickly determine the truth. Once that sort of trust is lost, they'll move on to a different opportunity: According to Moz, you risk losing as much as 22% of your customers based on a single negative review.

It's best to be honest. Don't say a product or service is the best if it isn't. Keep personalization top of mind here. Instead of declaring why your product or service is the best overall, describe the features that make it the best option for specific customers.

3. Find ways to listen to customers
Another major obstacle of doing business online is that the customer is no longer right there in front of you. And when they are out of sight online, it's easy to forget to communicate with them. But interacting with your customers, discovering what they want, and delivering that will be the difference between thriving and failing.

No one knows what your customers want more than the customers themselves. Listen to them! Use voice of the customer surveys, let customers write reviews that other customers can see, and engage with them on social media. Doing so will improve the customer experience and your bottom line.
If you don't have the budget to start a voice of customer program, Google's AdWords platform provides a great and free starting point. Here you can look at what people are searching for and gain insight into the specific answers your content should be providing, and the problems your digital customer experience should be solving. Do this consistently and soon you'll show up at the top of search engine results pages with content that's specific and relevant to customer interest.

All three strategies are present with the home security review site SafeWise. The site recommends home security solutions for customers based on their answers to a series of simple questions. Less effective review sites often provide lists of the best security systems without taking into account the wide array of consumer needs. A security system that's ideal for 75 percent of shoppers isn't best for everyone. A site like SafeWise, using personalization and customization — a "choose your own adventure" of online shopping, if you will — provides a much better customer experience than a generic review site that does not.

A good customer experience may no longer mean a friendly smile at the checkout stand or a helpful in-person sales representative, but the principles of effective customer service still apply. As shopping moves from brick-and-mortar stores to online shopping carts, don't forget what has made businesses successful in the past. Provide a personalized experience — show your customer you care — and you'll have a customer for life.