Well, we made it – Q2 is here and if you’re reading this article, that means you likely work in the ecommerce space and Q1 went from zero to one hundred real quick. When 2021 kicked off, customers and society as a whole hit the ground running as we slowly but surely start to move past the COVID-19 crisis. However, COVID-19 has forever influenced how consumers browse and shop for products.
Here are two areas to focus on as you begin Q2 based on what we’re seeing in the commerce space.
Re-evaluate Product Experience Pages
If you’ve read some of my previous blog posts, you’ll know that product experience pages (PEPs) are extremely important to conversions as well as customer retention. The start of Q2 is the perfect time to revisit these pages and look at some historical data and what might have changed. Here are some ways to do that today:
- Q1 2020 vs. Q1 2021 – Take a look at your analytic data from Q1 2020. Focus on your product pages and compare some of your top-selling items to Q1 2021. Are there any anomalies like higher bounce rates? Higher exit rates? Increased time-on-page? If so, your customers’ expectations may have changed.
- Demographics – If the answer to the above was “yes, something is wrong,” take a look at your customer demographics. It’s possible that your customer base has changed, or at least their expectations have.
VOC/VOE
You may have seen this one, and if so, kudos. Even if things are looking peachy within your commerce site, you should always be evaluating both your employees’ and customers’ feedback as it pertains to their shopping experience. However, when things aren’t looking so good, this is the first place to start– and not just to fix “what’s broke” but to strengthen your relationship with your customers. Here’s how:
Ask What’s Changed
There’s no point beating around the bush here, take the initiative and ask your customers what’s changed between this year and last. Have a conversation. See how their expectations or experience needs have been altered by COVID-19 or other external reasons.
Have Screen-Sharing Sessions
Ask if some of your customers would be willing to have a screen-sharing session in which you can record and see where some of their struggles are firsthand. Invite some of your sales and customer service teams to the call so they have a chance to hear the feedback as well.
Map Out Feedback
Take the feedback you receive and build out a future-state feature map to help set priorities and determine which features will actually make the cut and go into production.
Again, if you’ve been following my blogs, I likely sound like a broken record with some of this, but it’s for a good reason: It’s really, really important to sustainable success. In fact, 52% of the Fortune 500 Brands that were listed in 2000 are now extinct. Let that sink in for a second. Why you might ask? Well, I’m sure there are many reasons, but I’d go all in and bet that failure to meet customer expectations is near the top of the list. Failure to stay close to your customers and their expectations is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.
So, as Q2 starts, make sure you’re keeping close with your customer, or as Henry Ford would say… “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success.”
Come together and work closely with your customers and your employees. If you do, I promise you’ll lay the foundation for a successful 2021 and beyond.
