Experts weigh in on what makes customer delight click

Today e-commerce and technology need to go hand in hand for a business to truly thrive. Businesses need a variety of tools to design an operation model that can run the business flawlessly while also delivering moments of delight to every customer. 

Freshworks hosted an ask me anything (AMA) session to discuss the ‘essentials of customer delight’ with a panel of our partner and industry experts from Shopify, PayPal, and Parcelhub. 

During the hour-long session our panel of experts discussed: 

  • Latest e-commerce and hybrid retail trends in 2021
  • The secret sauce behind a great e-commerce business 
  • Necessities to create the perfect online store
  • Designing a service experience that surpasses customer expectations
  • How to deliver a great post-purchase experience and retain customers

The shift in customer behavior and industry perspectives
The inevitable transition from brick to click has led to the radical evolution of the e-commerce industry. With CX taking center stage in this super-cycle of growth, companies can no longer separate their product from the customer experience. 

Our new global survey reveals the complexity of consumer expectations in 2021, where only 14% of consumers expect to be wowed when interacting with brands. A unique opportunity lies ahead with a market that is ripe for a fresh approach to customer delight. Businesses need to focus on thoughtful, speedy, and personalized services that reflect customer values and offer a human touch.

While designing a new-age e-commerce experience, here are the 5 key things that our expert panelists urge you to keep in mind:

1. Be where your customers are

Accelerated digital growth instilled the urgency to have an online presence for retail businesses. Be it having an online storefront or providing customer support across multiple digital platforms, delivering an omnichannel experience has to be viewed as more of a strategy than a short-term solution. This not only helps in having unified communication, but also helps in tailoring products, offerings, and solutions that feel more personalized.

With over 67% of consumers using three or more channels regularly to interact with a brand and expecting consistent experience across channels, businesses need to ensure that they are at all the right places, at all times.

2. Find innovative, integrated, and intuitive solutions    
With the shift from legacy software to new-age SaaS, a digital-first approach comes with the added benefits of ease of use, agility, flexibility, and resource optimization. It also enables better change management, ensuring businesses are better equipped and empowered during times of volatility. 

Freshworks analyzed 107 million support interactions and it emerged that speed is the most important factor to improve customer satisfaction. The underlying aspect here is to value your customer’s time. Tech-savvy and proactive solutions such as AI, chatbots, gamification, and integrations offer the opportunity to rethink CX, by putting speed, simplicity, and smart support at the helm of your strategy. 

3. Bridge the expectation gap
There are several discrepancies between what consumers expect and what they actually experience. To help bridge this gap, all functions within the organization, from leadership to marketing to IT, need to have buy-in on the customer support strategy. Additionally, understanding the voice of your customers and being proactive can make a world of difference in winning customer trust and loyalty.

4. Deep dive into data, analytics, and forecasts 

Let data drive you forward. To provide exceptional CX, it is essential to quantify customer experience, set benchmarks, and track key performance metrics. Analyzing this gives a clear picture of whether you are meeting customer expectations and to what extent.

Apart from CSAT, CES, and NPS, have benchmarks throughout the many touchpoints in the online buyer’s journey. Look at the platform navigation from the customer’s lens, taking into account the different demographics. Understand how you can provide them with a smooth, seamless, and superior experience. Take the latest behavior trends and market forecasts into consideration. These analytics help you re-evaluate and rethink your processes going forward. If you get it right, it goes to show that you truly understand your customers. 

5. Leverage the right tech stack
Now more than ever, it is crucial to have the right technology solutions and tools in your armor. You can use automation, AI, bots, self-service, and knowledge bases, amongst others, as complementary resources, both in the front- and back-end store operations. It is also important to remember here that your AI and bots are strong only when deep-linked to knowledge bases with access to high-quality resources. Understand when, where, and how to deploy these bots. Having rich self-service solutions not only helps in providing speedy support but also frees up human resources for high-value tasks, optimizes the use of time, betters agent productivity, and enhances CX. 

What to look forward to in 2022?

In this cycle of click-cart-commerce, the biggest challenge is customer churn, and CX needs to be at the forefront to drive retention. According to our study, customer expectations have risen by 63% and churn by 58%. It is imperative to adapt, evolve, and innovate constantly to stay ahead in the game.

panel of experts

Make note of these words of wisdom from our panelists: 

“ Throughout the e-commerce cycle, from discovery to post-purchase, businesses need to bear in mind various aspects and key result requirements to become a differentiator amongst the rest of the pack. Right from understanding the industry dynamics and audience demographics to getting alignment from all internal departments and stakeholders.”
– Simon Johnson, General Manager UK&I, Freshworks

“Think strategically, over and beyond short-term solutions. Make e-commerce better for everyone. Think strategically, expand your online presence, and enhance the experience for both internal and external customers as you scale and grow.” 
Niuscha Ansari, Solution Engineer, Shopify

“Give your customers a satisfaction guarantee and the confidence that you are there for them. Considering you have customers across different demographics, optimize the user experience on your platform and provide them with the luxury of choice. Deploy multichannel strategies, test different marketplaces, and have stronger control of your processes and workflows.” 
Anthony Rafferty, Senior Director, Global Merchant Services, PayPal

“The e-commerce space is no longer built on transactional relationships. It is a missed opportunity if you consider it so. Invest in the trust your customers have in you, be a communication champion, and put effort to make them feel heard and valued.”  
– James Hayes, Director of Business Development, Parcelhub


You can watch the full recording of the AMA session here.