Digital Customer Centricity: Sales Opportunity for Online Shops

Since digitalisation is advancing faster than ever before, many companies are increasingly facing greater challenges. High customer expectations, increasing competition and digital retooling are causing headaches for entire departments.

But effective reorientation does not have to be so complicated. An important approach to this is customer centricity in online shops, also known as customer centricity. But how does customer centricity manifest itself in digitalisation, what are the possibilities and what do concrete measures look like?

But effective reorientation does not have to be so complicated. An important approach to this is customer centricity in online shops, also known as customer centricity. But how does customer centricity manifest itself in digitalisation, what are the possibilities and what do concrete measures look like?

What is customer centricity in online shops all about?

With customer centricity, online shops focus on the needs and expectations of customers with the aim of retaining customers and increasing sales.

Today, it is all about inspiring customers with their products, creating real added value and solving problems of the target group. You could say “back to the roots”, because the approach of customer centricity is not a new invention, just adapted to today’s conditions.

Customer Needs: Significance for Customer Centricity in Online Shops

Today’s users are better informed than ever before, have more choice than ever before and expect more than ever before. If you want to prevail over your competitors in the market, you have to know exactly what your target group wants so that all steps of the customer journey can be optimised in terms of customer centricity in the online shop. Therefore, the question arises: What do customers expect from an online shop nowadays?

Fast processes, functionality and user-friendliness

From the loading speed of the website to the operation in the shop, the one-click checkout to fast delivery times – time is in short supply today and so online shopping has to be as fast, convenient and simple as possible. It is not uncommon for bumpy navigation to lead to shopping cart abandonment – and thus to missed sales.

High-quality information and presentation of the products

Good and comprehensive information about the offer is important, because this is one of the bases for the decision to buy. Customers want to be well informed before they make a purchase and like to compare with their competitors. The more the online shop quenches the thirst for knowledge, the more trust is built up and the higher the chances of a purchase.

Flexibility, choice and services

Customer centricity in the age of digitalisation ensures that customers are always met where they are. It is important that they always have a choice. One example is payment methods: 16% of customers abandon a purchase if they do not find their preferred payment method. You can find out which payment methods customers prefer to use in our blog article The payment methods in e-commerce: Standard Payment vs. Quick Payment. Even more dramatic: a good 59% of customers would abandon a purchase if the shipping costs were too high. This also includes the fact that customers can decide for themselves where the order should be sent. Free return shipping is also important for many.

More self-direction

Power to the customer! Customers not only want to have many choices, they also want to take many things into their own hands. Keyword: self-service processes. Instead of talking to service staff, bundled information already has all the answers at hand. Advantage for companies: Services are available 24/7, relieving customer service. Nevertheless, it is important to pay attention to the high quality and personal customer care when resorting to customer service. With proactive customer service, online merchants are able to automatically approach those visitors who are obviously having problems.

Merging online and offline

Today, customers expect that a stationary company also sells goods via an online shop. Conversely, it is assumed that ordered items can be delivered to and collected from the retail shop and can also be returned there. For this purpose, smaller businesses resort to packing stations, which are being built on an ever-increasing scale.

Short response times

When customers contact an online shop with a concern, they expect a quick response. Patience is no longer a virtue and there is a certain urgency in every contact, so that many customer services today have to cope with an immense volume. In addition, accessibility across all channels is elementary – from the online shop itself to all social media platforms.

Mobile accessibility

In a survey, around 53% of men and 51% of women say they have made purchases via smartphone. For companies, this means that they have to create a comprehensive optimisation of the design, the user interface and the ease of use for mobile devices.

Personalised address

In bricks-and-mortar retail, personal contact is unhindered and this generates a high level of trust and a feeling of appreciation among many customers. However, customer centricity in the online shop is also implemented today with a personalised approach. At uptain, we have tools that automatically ensure digital customer centricity. An intelligent software recognises the reasons for a cart abandonment and shows situationally appropriate and personalised exit intent popups as well as abandoned cart emails. Around 30% of shopping cart abandonments can be prevented in this way.

Social media presence

For many customers, social media serve as the first port of call for gathering information about a particular product or brand. Around 46% of German consumers form an impression of the company through comments and reviews on social media platforms. The presence and strategic support of the channels are an important tool in the customer-centricity of online shops. This is also a way to distribute messages and offers, increase reach and create an individual approach.

Transparency for Customer Centricity in the Context of Digitalisation

When asked why customers buy from an online shop, the majority of consumers say “I trust the brand”. Security, knowing how the company works, seeing where the products come from, a clearly communicated price structure – creating trust is essential for customers to buy with a clear conscience.

How to implement Customer Centricity in Online Shops?

Knowing the customer’s needs is particularly important for the implementation of customer centricity in the online shop. It is important to find these out according to the target group. In order to efficiently implement customer centricity in the online shop, there are a few methods that have proven their worth:

Create Buyer Persona

This involves creating a fictitious customer who is equipped with characteristics from real data that ultimately represent the demands of the target group. Based on the buyer persona, companies can always use the customer’s profile as a guideline for customer centricity in the online shop.

Understand Customer Journey

The customer journey is an important starting point for customer centricity in the online shop. Only by understanding the journey from the creation of a need to the purchase and beyond to customer loyalty, analysing touchpoints and optimising them, can you truly create a centred strategy for customers and respond to their needs.

User Customer Feedback

He who asks, leads! Instead of just relying on ideas of what customers might like, the direct approach is usually the most efficient. In order to establish customer-centricity in the online shop, it is advisable to find out what customers want with the help of surveys and to initiate measures based on the results. For example, if the majority say that they prefer to pay with PayPal, the online shop should revise its payment methods.

Ensure Customer Communication

Customers want to stay informed. One way to communicate with customers is through newsletters. With situationally appropriate and personalised newsletter pop-ups for online shops, interested target groups are generated into e-mail leads quite automatically without any effort. Furthermore, real-time communication via chat will become more and more important. In order to act in a customer-centric way, the implementation of different communication channels is important.

Use Intelligent Tools

Especially for online shops that have a large customer pool, automating customer communication with the help of intelligent algorithms is indispensable to achieve reliable and professional customer communication. This way, every customer and prospective customer can be addressed personally despite a large number of users. Use uptain for excellent digital customer centricity as well as targeted customer approach in the recovery of your shopping cart abandoners.

Those who understand customer centricity in the context of digitalisation will be able to position themselves better and more sustainably. Customers have high expectations and you should fulfil them in the best case. It is by no means a question of neglecting the entrepreneurial goals, but rather of achieving them even better with customer centricity in the online shop.