Narvar ebook Keep Em In the Know: How to Communicate Throughout the Customer Journey

Transcription

1 Narvar ebook 2017 Keep Em In the Know: How to Communicate Throughout the Customer Journey

2 Table of Contents Introduction: Your Customers Want To Be Kept in the Loop The Current State of Communication How to Proactively Communicate At Each Phase Discovery Consideration Purchase Shipment & Delivery The Start of the Path The Happy Path The Sad Path Returns Closing the Loop with Good Communication

3 Introduction: Your Customers Want To Be Kept in the Loop These days, the ideal customer journey looks a lot less linear and a lot more like a repeatable loop. Customer retention is just as critical (if not more so) as acquisition in fact, according to Bain and Co., a 5% increase in retention can increase a company s profitability by 75%. Keeping your consumers happy so they continue to come back is more important than ever. Especially in these interconnected and always-on(line) times, consumer expectations are high and tolerance for screwups is low. 2

4 One often overlooked way to improve the customer journey is with proactive, frequent, and honest communication. Your consumers want to stay in-the-know at every step of the way, from searching for the right product to returning a wrong fit, and this presents an opportunity for you to show them how much you care about their experience across touchpoints. Today s consumers expect reliability, consistency, and transparency, which makes proactive communication table stakes for retailers. If you can tell your customers what they need to know exactly when they need to know it, you can foster more consumer confidence in and ultimately loyalty for your brand. There are several touch points where you can use communication as a tool to keep your customers in the loop and ensure their satisfaction: Discovery: Communicate clearly about product and service offerings to enable smart research and attract your best customers off the bat. Consideration: Help potential customers clearly understand what sets your brand apart from the pack. Purchase: Create a seamless shopping cart experience and be transparent about what customers can expect during and after checkout. Shipment & Delivery: Let customers know where their purchases are, when and where they will arrive, and if there are any delays or disturbances along the way. Returns: Help customers feel more comfortable with returns by communicating policies upfront, and letting them know when you ve received a return. In this ebook, we outline how you can communicate better at each of these touch points, give you the tools you need to implement an excellent communication plan throughout your customer journey, and help you close the loop to drive more loyalty and repeat sales. 3

5 Chapter 01 The Current State of Communication There s no doubt that this is a time of great change and a lot of uncertainty within the retail industry. Ecommerce is growing rapidly, but consumers still want to spend time in physical retail spaces. Consumers expect personalized, unique experiences that follow them across channels and touchpoints. And in the age of Amazon, when convenience and transparency rule all, retailers must do everything they can to close the experience gaps that threaten the continuity and flow of the customer journey. Where do you even begin?! 4

6 61% of customers say a simple thank you from a retailer will make them more satisfied with their purchase. There are a few brands that stand out amongst the crowd when it comes to great customer communication. At the consideration phase, for example, communication around loyalty programs from retailers such as Madewell and Saks Fifth Avenue offer proactive incentives for consumers to keep coming back. Post-purchase, Nordstrom keeps customers in the loop by sending out an alert if a delivery is delayed, and Crate & Barrel will show its appreciation by following in-store purchases up with simple-yet-sweet thank you s. And these little notes can go a long way Narvar has found that 61% of customers say a simple thank you from a retailer will make them more satisfied with their purchase (Narvar, 2017). and touchpoints, and this can result in a multitude of customer service issues and lost revenue. Retailers spend a lot of time calming frustrated consumers down via s, WISMO (Where Is My Order) calls, and social media messages and that s no fun for anyone! For today s retailers, as with consumers, time is a precious commodity. Isn t your time better spent curating unique brand experiences than on tracking down orders? Wouldn t you rather focus on more personalized s and recommendations than on refund status updates? But putting the right communication system in place is easier said than done, and there are a few big challenges that can stand in the way. Currently, a lot of brands struggle with how to effectively communicate across channels 5

7 Sure, with these big hurdles, there are The challenges that stand in the way of good communication: plenty of excuses for being wary of change. But these days, it s imperative for retailers to think about what s best for consumers and Limited visibility into carrier operations: If you don t know where a delivery or return is or when it will arrive, how are you supposed to communicate that to your customer? Mapping carrier data feeds is a huge challenge for retailers because there are few (if any) uniform systems and processes. Lack of internal resources: The operational costs of proactive communication are high and you only have so many employees and hours available. The threat of over-communicating: Your customers want to hear from you about certain aspects of their journey, but how much communication is too much? If you bombard your customers with too much or irrelevant (or both) messaging, you run the risk of scaring them off completely. hence for the bottom line. And luckily, there are ways to get around these challenges and succeed at every step of the way. 6

8 Chapter 02 How to Proactively Communicate At Each Phase Discovery We could write a whole book about how to communicate with the customers you don t yet know and haven t yet acquired. From paid social media campaigns to syndicated content and SEO, your ultimate goal at the very beginning of your buyer s journey is to help them find you as quickly and easily as possible. 7

9 Your next loyal customer is out there somewhere. How do you communicate with her so that she discovers your brand? What do you say, and where do you say it? These key questions will help you figure out your brand s initial communication strategy. What you can do: Let s say you re a retailer who sells baby clothes. Potential buyers are scouring the internet for answers to questions such as, What clothes do I get for a newborn? or What do I put on a baby registry? The way you succeed is by communicating the answers to those questions in the right place at the right time. You could start a blog that focuses on clothing and care for babies or create an infographic that tells readers how to plan the perfect baby shower. You ll help your future buyers discover and crave your products in a non-aggressive way and meet their specific needs. This will inspire trust, and trust inspires loyalty. Consideration Why should a buyer choose your brand over others? What is it that really sets your products apart? Let s say our mom-to-be has completed her Google searches and read up on the kinds of clothes she needs to get for her newborn. Now, she s moved to the next step and is deciding which outfits to buy. Cotton or wool? Blue or green? Dress or leggings? There are a heck of a lot of options out there for her, which means you need to be as crystal clear as possible about why yours is the best choice. What you can do: One way to sing your brand and product praises is by letting your happy customers do it for you. Incorporate ratings and reviews on your product pages, or implement a user-generated content strategy and let your buyers show their purchases off on Instagram and other sharing platforms. Did your brand win a Best of Baby award? Let shoppers know in an marketing campaign or retargeted ads. Were your products featured in the glossy pages of this month s Parenting? Make the most of it by sharing the article on your social channels. Toot your own horn, but focus on sharing content that positions you as an authority on all things baby. The key to customer loyalty is trust, and if shoppers feel they can trust your brand, they are more likely to choose your products over your competition s. 8

10 The key to customer loyalty is trust. If shoppers feel they can trust your brand, they are more likely to choose your products over your competition s. Purchase An average of 69.23% consumers abandon their shopping carts online (Baymard Institute). That means that over half of shoppers have considered a retailer s products, even made a decision about them, but then hit some sort of snag in their journey that prevented them from actually checking out. How should you communicate with shoppers on your site to make sure they follow through with their purchases? What you can do: One place to start is at customer account creation. Instead of requiring buyers to input all of their information upfront, ask them what they prefer. Give them the option to a) create an account to make future purchases faster, or b) skip account creation and go straight through to checkout. Some customers would rather simplify their future experiences and others would rather simplify the current one. Leave it up to them to decide. Another place to communicate expectations upfront and encourage a purchase is by clearly surfacing delivery options along with clearly articulated delivery dates (EDD). Maybe a customer wants to know that she ll receive the gift she s chosen before the baby shower, or our new mama needs to be sure she ll be home when her package is delivered. Whatever the reason, customers are more likely to buy if they know what they can expect with their purchase. The same is true when it comes to your returns policy, which can also make or break the checkout experience for consumers. In a 9

11 consumer study about returns, it was found that 48% of shoppers say they check a returns customers back into a repeat purchase and loyalty loop. policy before making a purchase with a Another place to communicate expectations upfront and encourage a purchase is by clearly surfacing delivery options along with clearly articulated delivery dates (EDD). retailer (Narvar, 2017), and this presents an opportunity for you to communicate with them about this extension of your brand experience. Let s say, for example, that one of the baby shower guests wants to know that if the outfit she s about to buy doesn t fit, she can return the purchase without any hassle or extra cost. If you tell her clearly upfront that you can offer that guarantee, she ll be entering her credit card info and clicking buy in no time. Shipment & Delivery A customer s journey doesn t end after they ve made a purchase. In fact, the post-purchase leg might even be the most important part, as it offers retailers the opportunity to pull their By keeping consumers in the loop, you can keep them satisfied with their purchase and ensure they re able to enjoy the feeling of anticipation. What you can do: The big challenge for retailers who want to communicate with customers about a package s path is that it s hard to marry the data sources across order management and carrier systems to offer accurate and timely delivery notifications. One way to solve for this challenge is with a post-purchase platform, which not only extends the brand experience beyond the buy button, it can also connect these disparate sources so that you can deliver the right message about a delivery at the right time. 10

12 98% of consumers agree that even if it s bad news, they feel better about a company if it notifies them as soon as possible. Another hurdle is the hesitancy that a lot of retailers feel towards giving their customers not-so-pleasant news. But even if retailers don t always want to deliver that news, customers often want to hear it. A recent study of over 1200 consumers revealed that 98% agree that even if it s bad news, I feel better about a company if it notifies me as soon as possible. If our shopper s intended gift won t arrive until after the baby shower, for instance, an alert gives her a heads up so that she can find an alternative, or print out a photo of the item to include in her card. When it comes down to it, there are two distinct paths that a package can take: the happy path and the sad path. The paths may start out the same way, but they each require you to engage your customers with distinct and timely messaging in its own way. The Start of the Path: Thank you for your purchase! Your order will be shipping soon. Shoot your customer a note to let her know her order went through. It s also a good idea to give her an accurate estimated delivery date so that she knows when she can expect her order to arrive. Your order has shipped! Let your customer know that his package has been dispatched and is on its way. This is another great place to surface an EDD and remind your buyer when his package will arrive. 11

13 The Happy Path: The Sad Path: The Happy Path: Your order will arrive tomorrow! Build on your customer s sense of anticipation while reminding him or her that the order is just about there. Double whammy! This touchpoint will also remind the customer about where the delivery is arriving, and even what time she should expect it. Your order has been delivered. Let your customer know that the order has arrived! Maybe she answered the doorbell and already has the package in hand, or maybe it s waiting at her office s front desk. Either way, informing her about the actual delivery will keep her in the know. We d love your feedback about your delivery. Ask for feedback when the customer s experience is still top of mind. Whether it s good or bad, it can be helpful to see where you re doing well and where you can improve your efforts. The Sad Path: Your delivery has been delayed. Okay, okay it s not ideal. But updating your customers about delays doesn t have to be a bad thing. By proactively communicating about disruptions, your customer will know she can trust you to keep her in the loop about her purchases, present and future. 12

14 We missed you. Your customer should get more from you than a carrier s note on the door. Shoot him an to show that you weren t able to deliver the order, let him know when you plan to try again, and give him the option to update his delivery location if need-be. Your order has been damaged. If an order was damaged on its way to your customer, let her know about it ASAP and let her know how you re working to resolve the issue. By proactively communicating about damaged goods, you ll show your customer that you care about her and her purchase. Your order has been redirected. Your customer wants her delivery to be as seamless as possible, but if this isn t the case and a package needs to be sent to a carrier location, let her know so that she can come up with a new plan for pick-up. Again, it s not ideal, but letting her know as soon as you can will go over much better than leaving her in the dark. It s also important to keep in mind that although the sad path is the least desirable of the two, it has the potential to turn into a happy one if customers are informed of mishaps at every step of the way. Returns 53% of people end up keeping products they don t really want because they think it s too much of a hassle to make a return (Narvar, 2017). The thing is, that kind of brand experience doesn t leave a very good taste in that customer s mouth. When returns are the new normal, what can you do to make sure every customer is comfortable coming back to you time and time again? As we said earlier, you can let them know upfront what your returns policy is, but in addition, you can make their returns experience as seamless and straightforward as possible. How do you do that? By communicating with them at every step of the way, of course. What you can do: Once a customer has initiated a return, let him know that it s on its way and you re anticipating its arrival. You can even go a step further to tell your customer how much he 13

15 should expect to get back with his refund. Once you ve received the return, contact your customer again to let him know that the refund has been issued. The big challenge that can stand in your way here again stems from trying to marry disparate data sources. You need to be able to deliver the right message at the right time, but triggering those messages at scale is With 40% of shoppers now bracketing their an immensely complicated task. purchases (buying multiple versions of an item 40% of shoppers are bracketing purchases. This presents another opportunity for good customer communication. with the intent of returning at least some of them), the return touchpoint also offers you another opportunity to please your customer by proactively communicating with her. If your baby shower guest purchases multiple versions of the same baby shoes in multiple colors, for instance, you might want to prompt her to send items back as her return window is coming towards a close. This will show your customer that you truly value her business, and since this will help her trust you more as a retailer, she ll likely feel comfortable coming back to you for future purchases. As with the initial delivery, a solution to this problem can come via a post-purchase experience platform. This will connect your order management and carrier data systems to make sure your customers receive timely returns updates that will help put their minds at ease. 14

16 Chapter 03 Closing the Loop with Good Communication Now that you know how to communicate with your customers at each stage, it s time to hit the ground running by developing a solid strategy that s tailored to your business. By investing in more effective communication across touchpoints, you ll enable smart research and relieve your buyer s purchase and post-purchase worries. And ultimately, you ll alleviate your own pains by acquiring more customers and inspiring more trust and loyalty from them down the road. 15

17 Unsure of where to start? Here s the plan of action that we recommend: 1. Do an audit of everything you re currently doing to communicate with your customers across all touch points. 2. Identify the process gaps that exist and use what you ve learned in this ebook to pinpoint opportunities for optimization. 3. Use data wherever possible to confirm the impact of proactive comms (or lack thereof) on your customer journey. 4. Connect with your customer comms and experience teams and clearly explain the value that proactive communication could have on your business. 16

18 Narvar is on a mission to simplify the everyday lives of consumers. We help the most admired brands and retailers build lifelong relationships beyond the buy button. As an enterprise-grade SaaS platform serving 400+ retailers like Sephora, Neiman-Marcus, Crate & Barrel, and GameStop, Narvar drives brand loyalty at scale by enabling immersive and emotional post-purchase customer experiences. From effortless order tracking, proactive communications, and seamless returns, Narvar applies machine learning across billions of interactions to simplify the everyday lives of consumers. To learn more, visit