What is customer experience (CX)? 

Have you ever wondered what sets a brand apart in a customer’s mind? It’s not solely about the product, but also the overall feeling a customer experiences from the moment they discover the brand to the point of purchase and beyond. 

In this blog, we will explore the concept of customer experience in ecommerce and provide insight into how you can create an experience that keeps them coming back for more.

What is customer experience (CX)?

The customer experience is all the interactions a customer has with your brand. It starts from the moment they discover your brand, continues through website browsing and purchase, and extends to post-purchase interactions. Every touchpoint along this customer journey contributes to their CX.

For example, imagine a customer looking for a new pair of running shoes. Their customer experience could start with a frustrating website that’s difficult to navigate, creating a negative first impression. However, if the website is user-friendly with clear product descriptions and helpful reviews, it sets the stage for a positive experience.

Six customer experience strategies for ecommerce marketing

Here are six essential strategies to elevate your ecommerce customer experience and turn those one-time buyers into lifelong brand advocates:

1. Use a customer experience and data platform (CXDP)

To provide a seamless customer experience, it’s essential to have a unified understanding of your customers across various touchpoints. This is where a customer experience and data platform (CXDP) comes into play. 

CXDPs like Dotdigital put the customer experience front and center. We understand that these experiences are the deciding factors between a customer converting or leaving your site, never to return. Here’s how we do it:

1. Unify customer data: Gain a comprehensive, 360-degree view of your customers by integrating with other customer data platforms (CDPs) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. This helps you understand your customers’ purchasing history, browsing behavior, and preferred channels, providing a complete picture of their journey.
2. Craft personalized experiences: Utilize this extensive data to personalize marketing messages, product recommendations, and the entire shopping experience. Tailor your communication to their needs and interests, fostering deeper connections.
3. Automate repetitive tasks:  Save your team’s valuable time by automating repetitive tasks such as sending abandoned cart recovery emails or birthday greetings. This allows your team to concentrate on more strategic initiatives, maximizing efficiency and impact.
4. Actionable insights: Analyze data from multiple sources to acquire actionable insights, including your customers’ preferred channels. Additionally, you can identify which RFM persona each customer belongs to, making it easier for you to convert them effectively.

By leveraging a CXDP, you can build stronger customer relationships and ultimately create a better overall customer experience.

2. Prioritize mobile browsing for a seamless customer journey

Mobile commerce is incredibly important. Today, almost 80% of online retail traffic comes from smartphones, and they influence over 70% of orders. This means your online store needs to work well on mobile devices.

Despite this, many brands still don’t get it right. Picture a potential customer trying to use your website on their phone, struggling to read tiny text, find their way around a confusing menu, and wait for slow loading times. They quickly become frustrated and leave, taking their potential business with them.

The solution? Prioritize a seamless mobile experience:

• Mobile-first design: Don’t just adapt your desktop site. Design your website with mobile browsing in mind from the very beginning.
• Intuitive navigation: Make navigation clear and easy to use with large, finger-friendly buttons.
• Speed is crucial: Optimize images and content for fast loading times. Mobile users are impatient, and a slow site equals lost sales.
• Embrace continuous testing: Regularly test your mobile experience on different devices to identify and fix any usability issues.

By prioritizing mobile browsing, you cater to today’s on-the-go shoppers, boost customer satisfaction, and ultimately drive sales.

3. Boost sales and customer satisfaction with personalized product recommendations

Utilize personalized product recommendations to increase sales in ecommerce. These recommendations can account for up to 31% of online store revenue by providing relevant suggestions to customers. 

You can use artificial intelligence (AI) to customize product recommendations for each customer, which can help boost ecommerce revenue and achieve your business objectives through effective cross-selling, up-selling, and deep-selling.

Different product recommendations include:

• “After viewing this, people buy”: Suggest products that similar customers have bought after viewing a specific product to encourage a smooth buying journey.
• “People like you buy”: Show what similar customers have added to their carts, fostering trust and a sense of community.
• “Purchased together”: Suggest complementary products based on what other customers have bought along with the current product.

By leveraging personalized product recommendations, you can power up sales, boost customer satisfaction, and create a more engaging shopping experience for everyone.

4. Use marketing automation to enhance customer experience

Marketing automation enables you to send targeted messages based on customer behavior, with the ultimate goal of providing a seamless customer experience. Here are some key strategies to improve your customer experience through personalized communication:

• Abandoned cart: Recover lost sales by sending timely reminders and showcasing social proof such as reviews and incentives. To avoid annoying customers, test different time delays for sending reminders. A gentle reminder can turn an abandoned cart into a completed purchase.
• Abandoned browse: Re-engage your website visitors by reminding them about items they recently browsed. Use scarcity tactics such as “selling fast” or offer discounts to encourage conversions while showing that you understand their browsing behavior.
• Post-purchase nurturing: Foster long-term loyalty by implementing a post-purchase program that includes thank you emails, requests for reviews, and helpful content. This shows appreciation and helps customers make the most of their purchases, creating positive feelings about your brand.
• Personalized upsells and cross-sells: After a purchase, recommend relevant products using AI-powered suggestions to keep customers engaged. Anticipating their needs and presenting additional options they might be genuinely interested in will enhance their shopping experience.
• Win-back campaigns: Revive inactive customers with special offers or free shipping to reignite their interest and encourage repeat purchases. This demonstrates that you value their previous business and aim to bring them back into the fold, a crucial aspect of a positive customer experience.

Integrating your ecommerce store with Dotdigital allows you to seamlessly implement these strategies and personalize the customer journey for maximum impact.

Remember, an effective marketing automation strategy is about more than just generating sales – it’s also about nurturing relationships and creating a seamless experience that encourages repeat business.

5. Streamline your checkout process for effortless purchases

A smooth and efficient checkout process is essential for converting website visitors into loyal customers. Here’s how to optimize your checkout experience:

• Multiple payment options: Cater to a wider customer base by offering a variety of secure payment gateways. This includes popular digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay), credit cards, and local payment options relevant to your target audience. Providing these choices builds trust and makes the checkout process more convenient.
• Flexible payment: Consider incorporating flexible payment options like Klarna and PayPal. By allowing customers to split their payments into installments, you can increase their purchasing power and encourage them to finalize their purchases.
• Guest checkout for impulse buyers: Allow customers to complete their purchases without creating an account. This caters to those who prefer a faster checkout experience or those making impulse purchases.
• Transparency builds trust: Display all shipping costs upfront, including any taxes or additional fees. Eliminate hidden surprises and ensure a predictable checkout experience that fosters trust with your customers.
• Mobile-friendly optimization: Optimizing your checkout process for smartphones and tablets is essential. This includes offering one-click or guest checkout options and streamlining the entire process for a quick and painless purchase on the go.

By implementing these strategies, you can create a seamless checkout experience that keeps customers happy and coming back for more. Remember, a frictionless checkout process is an investment that pays off in increased conversions and customer satisfaction.

6. Enhance customer support with Dotdigital Gorgias integration

Dotdigital’s integration with Gorgias, a leading helpdesk solution, enhances your customer experience capabilities. With this integration, you can:

• Sync customer data: Synchronize your Gorgias customer data, including support ticket information, into your Dotdigital account. This centralizes data collection, enabling you to segment and personalize your communication effectively.
• Trigger ticket creation from SMS replies: Use SMS to streamline communication and improve response times. Configure Dotdigital to automatically create support tickets in Gorgias based on customer SMS replies. You can choose which phone numbers trigger ticket creation, assign tickets to specific teams, set tags, and define subject lines for new tickets – all within Dotdigital.

This powerful integration streamlines communication, personalizes support interactions, and empowers you to efficiently resolve customer issues.

Create long-lasting relationships by providing an exceptional customer experience

An exceptional customer experience is the key differentiator that sets your brand apart. By implementing the strategies outlined in this blog, you can transform every touchpoint into a positive interaction. Remember, happy customers are loyal customers, and loyal customers are your brand’s strongest advocates. So, prioritize your customer experience to build lasting relationships.