Regardless of the shape or form it takes, an outstanding customer experience can produce a loyal customer base that in turn produces solid and consistent returns, not to mention word of mouth growth.
While this truism has always been recognized in the brick and mortar world, it is sometimes overlooked in the online world.
Once a potential customer clicks on your URL from the search results, the customer experience immediately begins.
1) Load Time: Web pages that are slow loading due to excessive code, poor code layout or heavy imagery predictably have higher bounce rates and lower conversions. This is especially important for mobile shoppers. Wouldn’t you chose to shop at a store with shorter lines than longer if the price were the same?
2) Appearance: Whether online or in a strip mall, a welcoming appearance that lets the consumer know they’ve come to the right place contributes positively to the user experience.
3) Navigation: We all hate walking into a store and not being able to find what we are looking for in a quick and efficient manner. Your website is not different. Uncluttered pages with intuitive navigation help lead the user quickly to the product or service that they are looking for. For a mobile website, not only must that navigation be intuitive, but consideration must be given to font size and distance between navigation links due to the smaller screens. People who can’t readily read the screen or have trouble navigating due to the size of their fingers could abandon your website for another.
4) Descriptions: Adequate descriptions allow the consumer to “read the label” of the product they are interested in. If the consumer is not satisfied by the description that the product or service will meet their needs, many will move on without making a purchase or filling out a contact form.
5)Shopping Cart: If you are selling products on your website, the checkout process needs to be quick, easy and secure. Think of the last time you were annoyed by a slow checkout process at a brick and mortar store.
6) Forms: If you are a service provider, then the contact form is your shopping cart. Our experience has shown that the shorter the form, the more likely a consumer will complete and submit it. Give the user an option to be contacted by phone or email, but don’t require both as different people have different comfort levels when it comes to this process. This is why some folks prefer to shop for a new car when the dealership is closed, to avoid pushy sales representatives.
Need help improving your customer experience? Contact Search Marketing Corporation today and we’ll perform a free audit of your website and help you identify areas for improvement.