Many Shoe Retailers spend a great deal of time and money investing in their brick and mortar presence. However, there is little attention given to their online store. It could be said that this is a big mistake, as Online Shoe sales in the US are set to grow at a rate of 9.2% by 2021 as highlighted in the IBIS World Report. Customers who become frustrated while shopping online are more likely to visit another site, leading to the loss of a sale. It is vital to have a variety of channels in place to support Online Shoe Shoppers. Here are 4 channels that every Online Shoe Retailers should be utilizing:
- Inbound call services
- Social Media
- Live Chat
The Channels in depth…
Inbound Call Services:
This is an extremely useful tool. It offers increased customer satisfaction for consumers who are not as digital savvy as others. Online shoe buyers can receive reassurance and guidance by speaking with an agent. This reduces the amount of items abandoned in the cart and overall increase sales. Furthermore, offering an inbound call service to shoppers creates opportunities to cross and up sell various categories of shoes. Online Shoe Retailers who fail to offer their customers an inbound call Customer Support service will be at a competitive disadvantage.
Email:
Email is an indispensable tool for running sales promotions. More specifically, it is a cost effective way of contacting large volumes of online shoppers. Customers can sign up to receive updates on sales and other promotions. The customer can be contacted regarding sales on categories of shoes which that have previously purchased or shown interest in. This allows for an element of personalization for the customer leading to increased satisfaction. Email is extremely beneficial for logistical information and order confirmation.
Social Media:
As the IBIS World report highlights millennial’s are a huge demographic for online footwear sales, making up 23% of the US population. In turn, it is hugely important to offer a channel that they frequently use and be where your customers are. Social Media is a growing channel for customer support as it offers quick response times to FAQs and an element of convenience for the customer. Additionally, Social Media can be used to thank customers for positive feedback, manage account difficulties and urgent requests. Social Media customer support can help Online Shoe Retailers to achieve a proactive approach to managing their public relations.
Live Chat:
Customer service and customer loyalty can greatly be increased by offering customers the option to use Live Chat. That is to say, it enables customer pain points to be highlighted and in turn improved. Most Live Chats have swift response rates, this can have huge benefits with relation to shoe sizing and logistical inquiries. More often than not, Live Chat provides faster problem resolution over other Customer Support Channels making it an extremely effective channel.
In conclusion….
Online Shoe Retailers who offer Inbound Call Services, Email, Social Media and Live Chat will have competitive edge in the industry. By offering customers an omni-channel approach to retailing, it presents them with the ability to choose a channel which best suits them. Offering such channels will overall increase customer satisfaction, drive sales and increase brand loyalty. Furthermore, this will allow for a more customer centric approach to Online Shoe Retailing to be achieved.
Find out more by downloading The Whitepaper Online Shoe Retailing and The Challenges of Customer Care (Find the link below). This Whitepaper features your Customer’s Online Vs Online Experiences, Channels to support your Online Shoe Shoppers and how choosing the right outsourcing partner will alleviate common problems faced by Online Shoe Retailers. This Whitepaper will allow you to gain a greater understanding into the solutions available to you, in order to deliver excellent customer care to your Online Shoe Shoppers.