When setting up your WooCommerce store, you might have done everything from creating a great product gallery to adopting advanced marketing strategies. But do you have an effective eCommerce Communication plan for your business? If not, there is still a huge gap, which is going to affect your business gradually as you proceed. The nature of communication in eCommerce business can be classified chiefly into the following categories:
Pre-sales Communication
All elements on an eCommerce website are different components of communication. As a WooCommerce storeowner, it may be easy to expect that the customer will place an order online after visiting the product page and make a payment online expecting the delivery. When the concept of online shopping appeared, it was very hard to even think of making a payment in advance and wait for the product to appear at the doorstep. It took a long time for the people to accept this system. An effective eCommerce communication system builds trust and helps to win the confidence of the visitors to the website to influence the purchase decision. The pre-sales communication is therefore a determinant factor to convert a visitor into a customer.
Post-sales Communication
Many sellers might think that accomplishing the sales process successfully is where the communication ends with a customer. There is no need to have a post-sales communication strategy. If you are also on the same boat then think again. Making a sale is not the end of the journey but only a part of it. eCommerce business success is not about making one-time sale. It is all about building loyal followers on the platform, retaining customers who will return repeatedly for more purchases.
eCommerce Communication Platforms and Tools
Your success in establishing an effective eCommerce communication system lies in your ability to understand the preferences of your buyers. All buyers are different and so are their preferences when it comes to interacting with the sellers. For instance, some people are more confident to purchase a product when they are able to talk to a customer care executive over a phone call. They feel easy when they get answers to the question in the mind from a person on the other side. Similarly, some people prefer to contact the customer care on a live chat while others may want to receive answers to their questions via a personalized email. Having a comprehensive communication system running effectively will help you to cater to various types of preferences. This urges the need to have an understanding of the trending eCommerce communication tools and methods.
Live Chat
The most advanced communication system, it is quite common to find chat bots on almost all eCommerce stores today. There is a representative from the company to answer all queries within a few minutes.
This is becoming hugely popular among people who do not want to dial numbers or keep holding a phone for long to get a response. Often people don’t mind if they have to wait for some time to get an answer as they can simultaneously keep working on their system or even keep browsing for other information in the mean time.
Contact Form
What if the client does not want to wait for too long to get a response on a live chat? First time buyers often have some presales queries. This is an effective mode of communication; they may like to explore to check the responsiveness of the seller before proceeding with the cart checkout.
Some people use email accounts actively and login several times a day for personal and professional purposes. These people too busy to wait for the customer care representative to answer on a phone call or live chat. Since they read the emails too often, they find it convenient to receive a communication via this platform. Hence providing email contact information on your WooCommerce store is absolutely essential to address the needs of this section of buyers.
Support Tickets
Having an email communication on your WooCommerce store is mandatory. But, how to handle client queries when they need to send multiple emails on the same issue? The support ticketing feature on your website eases the job. The buyers can submit a message and leave their contact information so that you can get back to them with a solution. This is also beneficial to handle multiple emails from the same customer getting back to the person quickly to address the particular issue. Support tickets system is highly recommended for an eCommerce business. It is easy for the seller to recognize a case by its ticket number and handle it efficiently and quickly using this mode of communication.
Voice Call Support
One of the traditional modes of communication, the phone call support is still popular among a huge section of customers. This is why you cannot afford to avoid providing this resource-intensive mode of communication on your online store. Having an operational phone number available for calling also helps to build the trust among new buyers.
Product Descriptions
Unlike other modes of eCommerce communications, product descriptions are not personalized for any particular buyer. It is a general and widely target audience-centric information on the product page. Despite all these, this is most space-consuming chunk of content on your website to impact the purchase decision of a visitor. Duplicate content matching that on the other online stores or manufacturer’s website, it is recommended to create original high-quality descriptions for all your WooCommerce product pages. Having original content with adequate information is impressive for raising conversion apart from the added benefit of succeeding with website optimization for search results.
Marketing Campaigns
The bulk share of budget on communications is leveraged on advertising and promotions. This is why; you need to do the calculations from time to time to control your expenses on pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. It is also essential to run advertisements that communicate your brand message.
Blogging
When it comes to finding a solution, people largely follow popular blogs on regular basis. Blogging is an eminent platform for the sellers to converse with the audiences on an ongoing basis. This gives you an opportunity to establish a relationship with your audiences who visit your blog periodically to read newer posts. Apart from offering freshness with emerging posts, a high-quality running blog helps to build credibility placing you much ahead in the competition.
User Content
You can see various types of user-generated content on the popular eCommerce stores. Encouraging the buyers to add content on the website is a great way to engage your audiences, build trust on the platform at the same time build confidence of the new visitors about the products and services. User reviews, questions and answers, comments, discussion boards, shared videos/images are some forms of user content on eCommerce websites. This is one of the most dependable form of content only next to the product description, people often read on your website.
Wrap Up
When it comes to exploring the emerging eCommerce communication trends, there is virtually no end to the opportunities to try out. It is not just limited to increasing sales on your WooCommerce store. It is all about building relationships for long-term, building your credibility and most importantly making the customers confident in choosing your products over others and keeps returning. Amid everything else, it is vital to recognize the importance of having a robust eCommerce communication system for your business to succeed in the competitive market.