A positive customer experience is critical for customer retention. According to a study conducted by customer experience pros Walker, customer experience will overtake price and product as a company’s key brand differentiator by 2020. To ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction, you need clear visibility into customer interactions, rapid response to customer questions, and an easy way to monitor escalations and customer service team performance.

Following is a checklist of six items to improve your customers’ experience on your eCommerce site. How many do you already use and which steps can you take to move your site to the next level?

Seamless Mobile Checkout

As the use of mobile devices continues to rise – and overtakes the use of desktop computers – a high-quality customer experience on mobile devices must be a focal point for eCommerce retailers. If your site isn’t accessible on your customers’ mobile devices, you have a problem. (Luckily, it’s easily fixed with the right storefront software connected to your ERP.)

A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words

Never underestimate the power of high-quality product photographs. We live in a visual world, so an eCommerce website without high-quality images will discourage customers from buying your products. (As photos change, have a uniform update across all your buying channels.)

Offer Personalized Pricing

Pricing within the manufacturing and distribution worlds is complex. When you can provide individual discounts and special offers – and all price codes and quantity discounts are automatically synced with your ERP for consistent pricing with no manual entry, you can improve customer satisfaction.

Improve Inventory Control

Showing your customers the status of an item on the product page – in stock, on backorder, available on X date, etc. – improves customer experience; most shoppers prefer to know whether their chosen product is available before they get to checkout. (Real-time inventory control between your eCommerce site and your ERP makes this possible.)

Make it Easy for Customers to Contact You

Your eCommerce website should function as a customer service arm of your organization, providing the same valuable, up-to-date information that your human customer service representatives would provide. Item availability, pricing, order status, shipping status, or payment information should be available electronically or via online chat. More accurate, timely information means a better experience for your customers and less administrative work for you.

Provide Robust Third-Party Integrations

Think about the features you can implement to make shopping on your site easier:

• Live chat for real-time customer service
• CAPTCHA for enhanced security
• Google Analytics for deeper insight into customer behavior
• USPS, UPS, and FedEx live shipping rates so there are no surprises at checkout
• Multiple payment gateway solutions

When your customers have a positive experience on your website, they’ll want to shop again. Connecting your eCommerce site to your ERP improves your service and their satisfaction.

To see our solution in action and learn how we can help, get in touch for a demo today!

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