Customer Delight Is A Losing Strategy in E-commerce? ✨

#HTE 259 - Here’s What’s Better? 🤩

January 20, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes

📢 Hello Hello Marketer!!! 📢

Hold on tight, because this newsletter is your VIP pass to a world where customer satisfaction reigns supreme and marketing becomes sheer brilliance! 🚀 Dive into the secrets of "Minimizing Customer Effort," where effortless satisfaction meets strategic genius. Discover the game-changing "5 Effective Strategies to Streamline E-Commerce Journeys" that will revolutionize the way you connect with your audience.

But that's just the beginning—get ready to be captivated by "6 Ways to Delight E-commerce Customers" effortlessly. And if you've ever wondered why Instacart Ads are a marketing powerhouse, we spill the beans in "Why Instacart Ads Should Be Part of Your Strategy."

Newcomers welcome to HTE's hub! Join 35k+ CEOs, CMOs, and marketers for game-changing insights. Get ahead, sign up for brilliance, and let's rise together! 🚀

Minimizing Customer Effort: A Smarter Approach for Customer Satisfaction 🚀

5 Effective Strategies To Streamline The Customer Journey In E-Commerce🌟

6 Ways to Delight E-commerce Customers with Low-Effort Experiences

Why Instacart Ads Should Be Part of Your Marketing Strategy📣

Instacart Advertising: How to Boost Your Campaigns' Performance🚀

Get your gear on and let’s plunge!

Minimizing Customer Effort: A Smarter Approach for Customer Satisfaction 🚀

Customer experience in e-commerce goes beyond great products and prices. The real game-changer is efficient and helpful support. While surprises like handwritten notes and freebies are nice, prioritize quick and effortless assistance for a stellar experience. Add those delightful extras as the finishing touch for long-term growth. 🚀💬

Why "surprise and delight" isn't the best customer service strategy ?🚫🌟

"Surprise and delight" might sound like a fun strategy, but when it comes to customer service, it's a bit like relying on sprinkles and cherries to make an ice cream sundae satisfying. Sure, they're nice, but they won't save the day if the base isn't solid.

Imagine waiting on hold for 45 minutes only to be greeted with jokes. Not cool, right? Similarly, showering customers with freebies won't make up for ignoring their feedback about your product. What customers really want is quick and effective problem-solving—think of it as the essential ice cream base.

Stats show that nearly half of customers have ditched a brand due to a bad customer experience in the past year. According to Matthew Dixon's book, "The Effortless Experience," customer service interactions are four times more likely to drive disloyalty than loyalty. In other words, most interactions make customers less loyal.

If only 20% of support interactions leave customers delighted while 80% leave them frustrated, the key is to focus on reducing frustration rather than chasing after hard-to-achieve delight

 5 Effective Strategies To Streamline The Customer Journey In E-Commerce🌟

Ensuring customer loyalty hinges on minimizing their effort. Research shows that a whopping 94% of customers lean towards making a purchase after a seamless, low-effort experience. Conversely, only a meager 4% consider buying again after a high-effort encounter. Hence, reducing customer effort is integral to delivering a top-notch customer experience.

1️⃣ Offer Self-Service on Your Website

  • 88% of customers expect online stores to provide self-service options.

  • Implement a Help Center with FAQs or interactive features for order management.

  • Example: Steve Madden's Help Center enhances the customer experience.

2️⃣ Address Pre-Sales Questions in a Help Center

  • Proactively answer questions potential customers might have before making a purchase.

  • Include clear sizing guides, shipping, and return policies.

  • Prevents customers from abandoning purchases due to unanswered queries.

3️⃣ Utilize Forward Resolution in Customer Support

  • Anticipate and address potential issues before customers ask.

  • Example: Provide information about pre-order items during a shipping inquiry.

  • Review past interactions to identify common follow-up questions for proactive resolution.

4️⃣ Minimize Repetition, Maximize Context

  • Equip customer service representatives with comprehensive customer context.

  • Gorgias’s customer sidebar provides purchase history, communication records, and more.

  • Avoids the frustration of customers having to repeat their stories at every interaction.

6 Ways to Delight E-commerce Customers with Low-Effort Experiences

Customers love a touch of excitement without the hassle! Sprinkle some delight on your e-commerce customers, boosting conversion rates in the short term and building loyalty in the long term. Here are six strategies to implement once you've established a smooth, low-effort customer experience:

  1. Free Shipping Magic 🚚

  • Offer free shipping, now an expectation for 66% of online shoppers.

  • Customers adore the word "free," even if it's just a few dollars saved.

  • Consider setting qualifying amounts for that delightful free shipping experience.

  • Example: Woxer charms customers with accessible info on free shipping in their live chat.

  1. Referral Rewards 🌐

  • Launch a customer referral program for double benefits.

  • Attract new customers through word-of-mouth advertising.

  • Delight customers with discounts and rewards for referring friends.

  • Tools like Extole make referral programs a breeze.

  1. Social Media Shout-outs 📸

  • Post user-generated content on social media to celebrate customers.

  • Highlight positive reviews, customer interactions, and product usage.

  • Reduce your content creation workload with genuine customer showcases.

  • Example: Marine Layer rocks Instagram with user-generated content.

  1. VIP Treatment with Loyalty Programs 🌟

  • Reward VIP customers with loyalty programs for repeat purchases.

  • Integrate loyalty platforms like LoyaltyLion for seamless experiences.

  • Example: esmi Skin Minerals achieves a 58% boost in loyalty program enrollment.

  • Learn more about esmi's success with Gorgias and Loyalty Lion.

  1. Milestone Celebrations 🎉

  • Celebrate loyal customers at key milestones like birthdays or anniversaries.

  • Offer warm fuzzies, maybe some free products, to show appreciation.

  • Encourage social media shoutouts by surprising customers.

  1. Proactive Customer Service Excellence 🌐

  • Move beyond reactive customer service by proactively reaching out.

  • Utilize self-service resources and non-intrusive chat campaigns.

  • Automatically assist customers displaying certain behaviors, reducing cart abandonment.

  • Improve your brand’s customer experience with a proactive approach.

Sprinkle these strategies into your e-commerce mix to create delightful experiences without the effort! 🌈

5️⃣ Enhance Support with Automation and Omnichannel Approach

  • 90% of customers value an "immediate" response; 78% prefer multiple support channels.

  • Utilize automation features for quicker responses and handling repetitive queries.

  • Explore an omnichannel strategy for diverse touchpoints, preventing loss of customers due to limited availability.

Remember, the key to customer satisfaction is a seamless, hassle-free experience. Implementing these strategies ensures that your customers not only stay but also enjoy the journey with your brand. 🚀

Why Instacart Ads Should Be Part of Your Marketing Strategy📣

Instacart is quickly becoming a household name in the U.S. as people seek convenient ways to purchase groceries and everyday items from their local stores.

Brands already selling groceries and consumer goods through major retailers are using Instacart to gain an edge in a competitive market.

According to Marsten, reports show that online grocery sales have surged from 3% to 10% of total grocery sales in a short time. 🌐🛒📈

Instacart Ads should be a part of your marketing strategy for several reasons:

  1. Reach Ready-to-Buy Customers: Instacart is a platform where customers are already in the mindset to make purchases. Advertising on Instacart allows you to reach these customers when they are most likely to buy.

  2. Increase Product Visibility: With millions of products available on Instacart, it can be challenging for your product to stand out. Instacart Ads can boost your product’s visibility, ensuring it gets noticed by more customers.

  3. Drive Sales: Instacart Ads have proven to be effective in driving sales. Brands like Kodiak and Chomps have seen significant growth in their sales after leveraging Instacart Ads.

  4. Gain Valuable Insights: Instacart provides detailed performance insights that can help you understand what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to adjust your strategies accordingly.

  5. Flexible Budgeting: You can start with any budget and adjust it at any time based on the performance of your ads.

  6. Targeted Advertising: You can target your ads based on various factors like the customer’s shopping history, ensuring your ads reach the most relevant audience.

Remember, the key to a successful marketing strategy is diversification, and including Instacart Ads in your marketing mix can help you reach your business goals.

Instacart Advertising: How to Boost Your Campaigns' Performance🚀

✅ Turn on Optimized Bidding: Switching to optimized bidding or creating new campaigns with this feature automates bid management. It sets the best bid to maximize expected sales within your budget.

💰 Allocate Sufficient Daily Budgets: Ensure your campaigns have enough daily budget to make the most of optimized bidding. Start with at least $20 a day; budgets over $100 speed up optimization.

📈 Consider Minimum ROAS Targets: Set a minimum Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) goal to guide optimization. It's the lowest acceptable ROAS. Following the Ads Manager's recommendations helps.

⏸️ Minimize Campaign Pauses: Frequent pausing disrupts optimization. Let the algorithm work by not pausing campaigns too often, maximizing auction participation and performance.

⏳ Give the Algorithm Time: Allow the algorithm time to optimize your campaign fully. At least a week lets it adjust and fine-tune for optimal performance.

🤝 Collaborate with Instacart Representatives: Work with Instacart representatives for insights, guidance, and setup assistance with optimized bidding.

Optimizing your Instacart campaigns is your ticket to success. These tips unlock the full potential of your campaigns, helping you reach your audience effectively and achieve excellent returns on your advertising investment. 🌟📊📈

Brand of the Week 🔥

MEET LAURYN

The culinary mastermind behind the recently crowned Netflix champion, winner of Snack vs Chef! Not just your average recipe developer, culinary producer, or private chef—Lauryn is the self-proclaimed "snack queen" who's turned her victory into a bold venture: S’NOODS, her very own snack brand.

When she's not busy conquering the snack world, Lauryn graces screens as a how-to video and recipe tutorial talent, sharing her culinary expertise. But that's not all—she takes her skills to the high seas, serving as a private chef for The Sailing Collective charters, exploring the globe one delectable dish at a time. And if that weren't enough, Lauryn dedicates her creative prowess to developing content for partner brands, adding her flavorful touch wherever she goes. 👑🍜✨

Top Reads📚

8 DTC brands to keep an eye on in 2024  ~ 16 Jan, 2024, Business of Fashion

Mikkeller signs deal with Carlsberg ~ 16 Jan, 2024, The Drinks of Business 

HTE Job Board- Get Your Dream Job With a Click✨💼

Welcome to the HTE Job Board. We connect talented individuals with exciting career opportunities. Browse through our latest job listings and find the perfect match for your skills and aspirations. 

Your Voice 🎤

Phew! That was a lot, right? But hey, knowledge is power🌟. We hope this edition gave you some insights and maybe even cleared up a few doubts.

Got questions or topics you'd like us to cover next? Holler at us! We’ll give you a shoutout in our next edition. If you have any questions, reply to this email and share your valuable feedback so we can aim to address them in our upcoming editions!

Thank you for being a part of our community !🙌

Did you find this newsletter helpful? 👍 / 👎

Your feedback keeps us going.

Until next time,

With 🧡🧡

How to E-commerce