Without happy customers, you will struggle to stay in business. So how can you use their data to create a seamless experience?
In the newest episode of The E-commerce Toolbox: Expert Perspectives, host Kailin Noivo sits down with e-commerce consultant Tyler Sperry. Together, they explore how and why you should collect data to uplevel your personalization and omnichannel experiences, as well as the key to site merchandising.
All About Site Merchandising
Tyler defines site merchandising as being all about how customers navigate your site, i.e. what they see and the path they take to checkout. Thus, your primary goal should be to make their experience as smooth and seamless as possible. To do so, you need to understand your target audience. Everything from their needs, through their frustrations, to their preferences. Then, you can base the site flow on your customer insights,
Tools like heat maps will allow you to understand consumer behavior and identify the areas for improvement. It is also crucial to conduct regular testing to ensure everything is optimized.
Make sure your brand, colors, and photography standards are consistent across all platforms, and make sure sites are optimized for mobile devices as we live in a mobile-first age.
Seamless Omnichannel Experiences
At BJ’s, Tyler found transitioning the company from their brick-and-mortar focus to a significant e-commerce presence incredibly challenging.
Fortunately the company had a membership-driven model, which allowed them to collect extensive first-party data on customer behavior both online and in-store. This data could then be combined to create personalized shopping experiences for customers, such as showing relevant coupons when they visit the online site.
“Being able to integrate that behavior, the purchases, and overlaying that between the two experiences [online and offline] is really key. You’re giving a personalized shopping experience, some way of being able to connect those dots.”
For any brands looking to follow suit, you need to determine what data to use, how to store it, and how to manage it effectively to enhance customer experiences.
Combining Customer Data and AI
America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) used a subscription-based business model, collecting large amounts of customer data.
Tyler envisioned that this could be used alongside AI to personalize customer experiences based on their search and interaction data.
For example, if a user was searching for recipes, the site could suggest related products like roasting pans to enhance their experience. This would be beneficial as the company often doesn’t have user cross over from the shop to the subscription and vice versa.
Tyler also emphasizes how important it is to target new, organic traffic and personalize their experience, as this will give them a positive view of a brand they are unfamiliar with. AI could be used in this, tailoring experiences based on how often a user interacts with the site to enhance the overall e-commerce experience.
Listen to Customer Feedback
At ATK, customer feedback was used to shape decisions.
They have a dedicated research team actively surveying customers and testing new ideas with them. For example, they have a recipe testing program, in which a group of volunteers test new recipes and provide feedback, directly influencing the decision on whether a recipe is developed further or discarded.
ATK also uses customer feedback to improve their digital experience, such as search functionality. To do so, they maintain Facebook groups for each brand, collecting feedback continuously to influence site and product improvements.
Listen to the Full Episode Below!
Listen to this episode of The E-commerce Toolbox: Expert Perspectives with Kailin Noivo and Tyler Sperry to learn more about using data to uplevel your e-commerce offering.
👉 Spotify
