Geoff Galat argues that online retailers and apparel manufacturers can deliver bottom-line growth by responding to shopper needs with real-time customer experience management (CEM)
Geoff Galat argues that online retailers and apparel manufacturers can deliver bottom-line growth by responding to shopper needs with real-time customer experience management (CEM)
Retailers and apparel manufacturers are painfully aware of the challenges associated with creating a seamless online experience for customers.
“In fact, according to a recent survey conducted with Harris Interactive, we found that the potential online shopping dollars impacted by transaction problems rings up at $44.7 billion [£27.7bn],” said Geoff Galat, worldwide marketing vice president for CEM software provider, Tealeaf.
The trouble is, according to Galat, this is nothing new. For years, online retailers and apparel manufacturers have been tasked with figuring out new tips, tricks and technologies that will help them deliver superior experiences for their customers who shop online and ensure that the "simple" task of making their purchase is unabated.
Designer clothing company, Bluefly retroactively discovered that an online transaction issue that was impacting international shoppers existed for more than a year. The company tallied the potential losses resulting from this problem in the millions of dollars, and turned to customer experience management (CEM) software to promptly rectify the issue. Today, they're delivering a more seamless online experience than ever before and are able to quickly recognise and resolve problems as they arise.
While every online apparel manufacturer and retailer likely has a story similar to Bluefly's, Galat said the important thing for companies to recognise is that the online customer experience is not static – solutions to challenges that persisted years ago are not the same solutions that will fly with consumers today. One of the main reasons is that issues with online customer experiences are compounded with the advent of social technologies.
Real customer expectations, in real-time
“Ten years ago, for example, we might gripe to a family member or friend about not being able to complete a purchase online, and that company would suffer the loss of our shopping cart and maybe even our loyalty. But the digital footprint of that experience would stop there – today, it's a much different story,” he said.
“Add up the following and you get a dire equation: widespread use of social technologies creating an echo chamber effect, and the competition a mere click away,” he continued. Galat said retailers need to adopt a new toolset of CEM technology, so that they can act fast and efficiently when it comes to optimising online stores, and retain customers in a highly competitive online environment.
“What's important to emphasise here is that traditional CEM and behaviour analysis technologies haven't always been available in real-time. The advancement of real-time customer experience management is a reaction to industry need; CEM technology has gotten much more sophisticated over time in order to keep up with the real-time web and fiercer online competition,” Galat stated.
Your customer experience checklist
He advised: “First, ask yourself, are you able to measure and assess the online customer experience on your apparel site? Further, can you identify – in real-time – patterns of behaviour that signify areas of the website where site visitors tend to struggle most?
“Next, establish your own innovative warning system. What are your highest-impact customer- facing issues? What I mean by this is, when do usability issues most often occur? Do the majority of site issues happen when customers checkout at a certain time of day or with a certain online form?
“Be proactively on the lookout for these issues to recur again, whether or not you've been told the problem was an isolated one. This will enable your business to respond to issues customers are encountering as they occur, rather than relying on after-the-fact analysis.”
Galat concluded: “Finally, are you able to ‘score’ customer struggle, pinpoint the source and quantify the business impact? Do you have a plan in place to emphasise and hone in on the most pressing issues that impact the most customers?
“Focusing on minimising sources of struggle opens the door to customer-centric change at your organisation. And ultimately, it will improve the business performance of your website.”
