Why Your Customer’s Online Experience Matters
By Erica Chludzinski
Today’s brick and mortar stores can no longer stand alone without an online presence. Today’s customers are information-hungry researchers. They want answers to all their questions and they want them now. So how can your brand optimize it’s online presence to ensure a smooth customer experience – online and off? Read below for three tips to engage your customer online and improve your brand’s all-around customer experience.
- Make Sure You Can Be Found
The biggest mistake a business can make is ignoring their online listings. Instead of finding your address and phone number in the phone book, customers are turning to the Internet. They’re asking Google “Where is the best pizza place near me?” and they’re asking Siri “Where is the closest open coffee shop?”
If your business isn’t in the results, you may as well be closed for business. The fix? Make sure you are managing your listings across the Internet. This includes your business listing on Google, Yelp, Facebook and more. Having power over your listing means being found on the Internet and being able to provide customers with accurate information about your location, hours of business and more. It’s important to remember that sites can and will make a profile for your business with inaccurate information if you don’t claim and manage your information. Don’t force your possible consumers to look hard for your business – or worse, go somewhere else.
- Optimize Your Website for Search Engine Success
It’s important to make sure that your website can also be found when customers are looking for your business. Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Management are two important services to invest in if you want your business to be on the first page of search results. 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine and nearly 39% of all global ecommerce traffic comes from search. Don’t lose your business to another brand that make it easier for customers to find and do business with them! Ensure that your business is front-and-center in the search results by increasing your organic ranking with SEO and by serving paid ads with SEM.
Not convinced that you need to be in the search results? According to research, there’s up to 30% brand lift for brands that appear in the search results. Customers don’t want to have to work to find your brand. They want to find your business right in Google or Bing where they can click and come right to your brand’s site.
- Curate Your Website to Compliment Your Customer’s In-Store Experience
According to a Google study, mobile search queries that take place in a store have grown by 15% in recent years. This means that even when your customer is inside your store, they are still researching online. So what are they searching for? Studies suggest that your customers are researching your brand. Shoppers are 4 times for likely to search on Google for the brand of the store they’re currently in compared to the next highest competitor and 50% of shoppers use online video while in a store to learn about the product their looking to purchase.
So, how can this information help you to improve your customer experience? Ask yourself how you can aid your customer while they are physically shopping at your location. If you’re a hardware store, this may mean uploading videos, descriptions and inventory information about your products. If you’re a restaurant, this could mean uploading your menu and happy hour specials.
Want to improve your customer experience but not sure where to begin? Here at Connoisseur Digital, our team of professionals are dedicated to improving your brand’s online presence so you can increase your market share. Contact us today to learn more.
