Year after year, CX (customer experience) is gaining traction as one of the most important aspects of an ecommerce brand’s website — and everyone is beginning to take note. A recent survey found that nearly 46% of business professionals are prioritizing CX over product and pricing.
This comes in reaction to outspoken customers: 32% of users are willing to drop a brand they once loved due to just one bad experience, and an overwhelming 62% state they will share their bad experience with others.
Mitigating CX problem areas is now a prime motivator for brands that want to stay ahead. The following obstacles are a few of the major CX mistakes from the past year that companies should avoid to maintain longevity in a competitive landscape going into 2023.
An overall poor UX (user experience): 70% of online businesses fall through because of bad UX. A brand’s interface must be clear and concise for every customer. Pages should be clean and clearly marked to allow journeys to be easy to use. Bad load times, dead clicks, confusing layouts and more can damage the goodwill of a shopper. 84% of customers say a brand’s UX is as important as its products or services.
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Allowing siloed channels: Customers are going to journey across several pages under the brand umbrella in a variety of different ways — and 75% of consumers expect consistency across all sectors. Ensuring that every site and page that falls under the brand’s moniker is consistent is key. Since 58% of customers feel as though they’re communicating with separate departments instead of one company, brands need to prioritize universal uniformity.
Ignoring mobile users: While online shopping used to be primarily carried out on desktop, customers are turning to the mobile alternative for their needs: 59% of shoppers say the ability to purchase from a mobile interface is important when deciding who to buy from, and 61% of internet traffic is done from a mobile phone. Plan accordingly to make sure that the mobile version of every page supports customers entirely.
Limited customer service options: Customers should feel comfortable knowing how to best solve any issues during their shopping experience. Some companies make the dire mistake of burying their contact information or simply leaving customer support in the hands of a bot. It’s important to implement solid CX digital analytics capabilities to reduce channel deflection, especially today when it’s so important to reduce operational costs. As 86% of surveyed customers list positive customer service experiences as turning them into long-term brand champions, providing a web-based self-service model to easily access FAQs, chatbots and brand contact information can go a long way in keeping customers satisfied.
Lacking personalization: Customer personalization is the new normal: 91% of users are more likely to shop with brands that recognize them and supply relevant recommendations. Providing shoppers with the ability to have a customized journey means they will experience what they want, how they want it. Brands are less likely to make an impact on the customer experience if they’re less personalization-focused than their counterparts.
Concealing data collection information: It’s never been more important to be forthright in how customer data is used: 81% of users believe the potential risks of data collection outweigh the potential benefits. Being clear and concise on how data is utilized can lessen the anxiety of data collection for shoppers. Being transparent establishes trust — and going as far as allowing customers to opt out of tracking or data collection will make them feel safe. As collecting all data is essential, being explicit in why it’s necessary can put restless minds at ease.
Remedies for Next Year and Beyond
CX is becoming increasingly important for every brand to consider, as it carries significant weight to the life of a company. When all it takes is one bad experience to turn away a potential lifelong customer forever, prioritizing a great CX should be at the top of every brand’s 2023 to-do list. While the ecommerce landscape continues to become more competitive, targeting these problem areas will allow any brand to stand out.
Yaron Morgenstern is an experienced CEO, advisor and board member, having been part of several financial, data analytics and customer experience organizations. He has been the CEO of Glassbox, a leading provider of digital experience analytics, since 2015, where he is well versed in digital strategies that companies in industries from finance to travel should implement to optimize their customer experience.
