The Internet has enabled customers to gather product information quickly and easily. Whether through e-Commerce web sites, online forums or third-party review sites, customers can find out exactly what they need to know about a product before considering a purchase.
During a recent webinar, titled: CoffeeForLess.com Solves Customer Engagement Challenge With Social Q&A, Zachary Ciperski, VP of CoffeeForLess.com, explained how the online coffee shop implemented the TurnTo platform to improve customer engagement and replicate in-person coffee shop interactions.
“Coffee happens to be an emotional product, and oftentimes coffee drinkers don’t like to try new things,” Ciperski said. “Over the years, customers would ask us which coffees they should try and what we would recommend. That worked alright, but the challenge is that a lot of coffee drinkers don’t want to take that risk of buying another box of coffee without actually having some subjective knowledge.”
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Now, shoppers who read Social Q&A feeds on product pages convert at a rate 300% higher than those who do not, Ciperski revealed. Additionally, 91% of questions posted on the Q&A receive a social answer, with an average of 5.5 social responses per question.
But perhaps most importantly, Social Q&A helps the eTailer stand out from competitors. “There are a lot of different coffee shops coming into market,” Ciperski said. “Many have been around for quite a while, and we sell a lot of the same products.” He added that CoffeeForLess.com regularly asks shoppers: Why would somebody want to shop with us versus another competitor? “We really strive to provide a better user experience and offer additional value as customers shop.”
Ciperski noted that product reviews available via Social Q&A help boost SEO results for the CoffeeForLess.com web site. The Social Q&A section of each product page includes a how-to page, which illustrates the steps to asking and answering questions. As a result, first-time Social Q&A visitors can easily learn the process. Questions can surround either the product (reviews and advice) or a customer service issue (shipping, pricing, site concerns). Responses can then be rated for their overall helpfulness.
“It’s not always about the answers,” Ciperski said. “A lot of times it’s just about knowing what the questions are.”
Click here to access an on-demand version of the webinar.
