In this piece, Naomi Rozenfeld, head of strategic marketing, Wix Answers, tells RetailTechNews that it’s no secret that technology is fuelling a completely different retail industry – especially as mobile apps, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality become common features in the e-commerce experience. She writes that as the number of retailers adopting new technologies rises, competition is getting fiercer.

For example, the availability of 24/7 purchasing and marketplaces selling personalised goods has made standing out even more important. So, how do retail brands build brand differentiation in this crowded market? Good customer experience is the key to success. A retail brand may have a flashy app, but if it fails on offering a good customer experience it can kiss customer retention goodbye.

Picking the perfect channel

One of the challenges retailers face is figuring out the best channel on which to communicate with customers, one that will provide a good ROI and also allows for a high level of service. The simple answer? Selecting the channel that the customer is already on – which may be a lot of them.

The range is extensive to choose from these days, with web chat, phone calls, email, or social media – to name a few. Picking the right channel can seem like a mighty task for a retailer, but actually it’s simpler than it may appear. The best solution would be selecting a platform that can deal with all of these elements at once, in an efficient way. This way, customers are happy and they can engage in the way they prefer that makes sure queries are dealt with swiftly. The result is not losing repeat customers or failing to capture potential customers with questions.

Be the helping hand

So, you’ve got a request in from a customer, but where does it go? Ticketing systems can be a great help in answering customer queries, but it is also a chance to build on good service as you can direct the query to the most relevant department/member of the team. A thorough ticketing system would allow customers to request information and your agents would easily be able to send them an article explaining in detail how to rectify an issue.

Plus, there’s an additional bonus. Not only can retailers use a ticketing method to help manage queries, but the information learnt from the interaction can be used to improve the experience further. Tracking important information in the system and analysing consistent issues that customers have faced over a period of time and sentiment about certain channels – good or bad – should be used to tweak the way a retailer works. For example, if customers are having issues with responses on social media, or are constantly finding issues in receiving a refund, look to the root of these issues and addressing them will fix the glitches, rather than put a plaster on them.

Owning your online presence

It’s not news that a business will meet prospective customers before a brand does, but it is still often overlooked by retailers. Creating a blend of branding and functionality is vital. All design and no content is a recipe for disaster. The core elements of what makes a good website – about the brand, contact information, FAQs – are so important. This is where a focus on self-service and a help centre is important. Empower your customers to solve their own problems. It’ll make their lives easier and lessen the work support agents will need to do. But, for when customers do want to get in touch, make sure there are multiple easy channels where they can – whether that’s chat, email, phone, or social media.

What’s next?

Take time to remove any gaps in the customer experience. Make sure to have a strong analytics platform, so it is possible to see which articles are working and which are not. This will also help to judge response time and see if it might be worth investing in another support agent. Ensure that each touchpoint with customers has a strong level of service that will help customer retention and, ultimately, make a difference to the bottom line.