Adopting a customer-centric view for your ecommerce site

In an effort to recruit and retain valuable consumers, ecommerce retailers develop a number of different strategies. Yet, one of the most important is often overlooked: See it from their point of view. To keep clients satisfied and loyal to an online brand, leaders should create an experience that aligns with customer expectations. Taking a walk in their shoes will help web-based companies understand where their site falls short and how to improve both flair and function.

Here are some customer-centric ideas ecommerce organizations should consider introducing on their platform:

Invest in necessary software
Developing and fostering strong consumer relationships should be one of the primary goals of online retailers. Keeping the Pareto principle in mind – that 80 percent of revenue comes from 20 percent of clients – ecommerce companies should take necessary steps to improve retention rates and the customer experience as a whole, Forbes suggested.

Customer relationship management software can help, according to Ecommerce Consulting. This type of system stores detailed client histories, contact information and more that businesses can use to tailor an individual journey for each person. By investing and implementing this solution, web-based organizations can ensure they spend their marketing efforts on viable clients and that outreach invites people to actively participate instead of tolerantly consume.

Speed it up
We've all experienced it before. We're searching for something on Google and it takes forever to get to the results page, or we're finally ready to check out on an online site only to have the payment page crash. These situations are incredibly frustrating for consumers, so ecommerce companies will want to ensure they are few and far between.

Clients want speed and efficiency when they're browsing and buying online, according to Kissmetrics. As a result, ecommerce retailers have to make a concerted effort to improve their site's load times to avoid losing consumers' attention and revenue. To pair with this focus, web-based organizations should also make their online stores responsive so consumers accessing the platform on various tools have a similar and streamlined positive experience.

No-stress returns
According to Invesp, 30 percent of products ordered online are returned. The reasons vary from item damages, getting the wrong item or differing appearance between website and reality. While companies take active steps to ensure their customers are satisfied and events like the ones listed above don't occur, clients will always want to make returns for one reason or another.

To keep consumers happy – despite their disappointment about having to send something back – ecommerce businesses need to make their returns process as stress-free as possible, Entrepreneur recommended. Including a free-shipping label for this exact purpose as well as notifying people when their return has been received and processed are two smart actions that can encourage customers to make purchases in the future.

SFG can help ecommerce retailers create a customer-centric approach to their online store by providing a variety of helpful tools, resources and consultations.