ngDesk CRM: How to Transform Uncertain Prospects into Brand Advocacy
Marketers often see the customer journey as a linear progression of these four stages:
- Awareness
- Interest
- Consideration
- Purchase
But one thing that everyone forgets is that the customer journey is no longer a linear procedure, and those were the days when agents could walk along with their customers and guiding them all the way to check out different web pages. Prospects can unexpectedly jump in or out at any point in time, as it doesn’t mean that the framework of the customer journey is no longer relevant, one should think of those as different stages, but approaches will automatically change at once. The ultimate goal is to provide a cohesive multi-channel customer experience that proves your business is professional and trustworthy at every stage of the customer journey, thus, to change things up, let us look at these four stages from different angles of building customer trust. Every customer has varied expectations and needs, so none of the suggestions are set in stone and some can find certain things important at the awareness stage, whereas some consider it in the consideration stage. That’s why you need to consistently adjust and test your efforts keeping your target audience in mind.
1. Awareness Stage:
In the awareness stage, building trust becomes the first stage of a buyer’s journey, as a particular organization likes to capture attentions of a customer for some time with their brands and make them stick around it for a little longer than just one click or a tap, as to do this, one needs to pay close attention to a few things.
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The Visual Appeal of the Brand:
When a customer comes to know about a brand regarding which they are unaware, it is through the visual appeal of the landing page of a website through which customers choose a particular brand because it looks attractive and professional. Studies found that website design and navigation play a crucial influence on a person’s first impression of a particular brand and it means that one should choose website image, color, fonts, and schemes wisely, and the website should load smoothly and be functional at all stages. Recent studies also show that 55 percent of customers often discuss new products and brands through social media, so one should go the extra mile to make their brand’s visual identity aesthetically pleasing and cohesive across all communication channels.
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Domain Name and Social Media Handles:
Most e-commerce platform comes with a default domain name along the line of your store name. Platform.com, while there may not be anything worse about a particular URL, one would probably agree that they are rather wordy and impersonal by nature, thus, default domain names work just fine for getting your store up and running. However, if an individual is serious about their business, one should invest in a custom domain that will make their brand appear more professional and trustworthy, as ideally, everyone wants their store and domain name to be identical and their social media handle should also match. Customers are likely to remember one brand name than several others. Thus, consistent branding across different channels makes you look more professional.
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Business Emails:
While as an individual still on the subject of a custom domain, let’s touch on the importance of having professional business emails which are easy to get from the ngDesk CRM platform. When you communicate with your customers, you want a business email alongside a CRM system like ngDesk to maintain professional and consistent branding, and one should set up a branded email through ngDesk for your unique domain name and opt for reliable business email providers like G-suite and office 365 for business purposes.
2. Interest Stage:
A good impression about your brand lets the customer browse through the website, and scroll through the social media feeds, or check out your YouTube videos, and here one should take care of the next steps.
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Product Descriptions and Photos/Videos:
An e-commerce user experience study found that 20 percent of purchases got abandoned due to missing or unclear product information, as it proves that you need to provide detailed product descriptions for all the confused buyers. Good product descriptions include important product details and explain why the product is unique? They should be attractive to appeal the attention of your target audience, thus, photos and videos of your products are equally important. The shopping experience in online is quite one-dimensional, so it can get impossible to grasp the feel and fit of a product, as It’s good to use photos, and videos that show your products from different angles, emphasizes various details, and have at least a few close-up shots. One should also think beyond their website and take diverse product pictures and videos that you can share on your social media channel and emails.
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Shared Values:
Recent studies show that customers trust a brand if they share the same value, for instance, if someone is environmentally conscious, they are more likely to shop at eco-friendly stores. Take some time to define or review your brand’s core values, and what as a company do you believe in? What’s the bigger picture of what you do? Once you have all the answers, make an effort to articulate what you stand for as a brand to attract a customer who shares your beliefs. Start by incorporating it into your:
- About Us page
- Marketing and Advertising Campaigns
- Product Descriptions
Generally, brands aim to inspire people to enhance and celebrate their natural beauty rather than concealing it, from product description to emails, social media updates, as the brand always stick to their beliefs. One should speak loud and clear about the core brand values and mission at every touchpoint of their customer journey.
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Grammar and Spelling:
Everyone makes mistakes, and one typo here and there won’t ruin your brand’s image. However, if incorrect spellings or punctuation is a pattern rather than an accident, one might hurt their chances of making more sales. Think about it. Why would customers trust you with their time and money if they see you are not taking your business seriously? Thus, following simple grammar rules and knowing when to use the right words can help you avoid looking unprofessional, and if you are not sure what you are saying is grammatically correct, write in different words, or hire professional help.
3. Consideration Stage:
At this point, a customer is interested in your products, but isn’t quite ready to take the plunge and avail it, as they are uncertain, evaluating available options like comparing prices and determining whether your products satisfy their needs or not. While one can’t constantly lower their costs, or adjusting their products to individual needs, here is something you can do to ease the anxiety of decision making.
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Social Proof:
As an online business owner, one needs to provide social signals to their customers that their store is legitimate and trustworthy. One has plenty of those in real-life-an empty restaurant somehow seems to be a potential hazard, whereas a line in front of a movie theatre is intriguing. Thus, depending on one’s social goal and industry specificity, one can build social proof around their brand through:
- Case Studies
- Product Review
- Testimonials
- Influencer Marketing
- Data and Numbers
- User-Generated Content
The more content you have about your brand, the more popularity your products gain at once.
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Clear Return Policy:
Shopping online appears to be a tricky process, as customers don’t get a chance to see the products in real life before opening their wallets. A clear and well-structured return policy does help a particular brand to gain the trust of its customers, especially when they are considering purchasing more expensive products. Always go over your return policy and double-check.
- whether it explains the procedures for return?
- What items can be returned?
- The number of days the customer has to return the order?
- Who pays for shipping charges?
- Will you get a full refund or store credit
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Personal Data Protection and Online Payment Safety:
No matter how often people shop online, the question of payment security is never off the table. Nobody wants their personal and financial information getting exposed, let alone used without any permission. Always go through the payment process on your website to identify any possible payment security concerns for your customers. Are you sure your audience is familiar with the payment method you accept?
For instance, customers from the USA use PayPal and Google wallet because they are familiar with them. You can make your customer feel more comfortable by giving away their personal and credit card information is to permanently display SSL certificates and third-party logos on checkout pages of your website. Believe it or not, those badges can boost conversions!
4. Purchase:
A customer that decides to make the purchase has to take the plunge. At this juncture, a smooth shopping experience is crucial. After all, you don’t want to lose a customer at the last stage.
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Smooth Checkout:
Once the customer reaches the check-out page, the goal is to keep them there until they click on the confirm button, and it means all you need to do is reduce the item that distracts their attention or omit unnecessary information. Thus, it’s not the time to surprise them with popups or product recommendations, and also, you want the check-out process to be smooth and quick. An overcomplicated check-out process may raise several queries, and do take a good look at your check-out process and see that it is simple by nature. Ideally, it should have no more than three steps:
- Delivery Details
- Payment Details
- Order Review and Confirmation
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Keeping Your Promise:
Sometimes business owners tend to forget that the customer journey doesn’t end once the order gets confirmed. The post-sale customer experience is very crucial just like the shopping experience. Unless the product gets delivered to your customer, you are still fighting for a successful sale. During this moment, customers compare the promises you made to them and the service they received from you at the time of delivery. Always remember that every broken promise hurts your reputation. All knows, that regaining customer trust is very challenging than building it in the first place, so never jeopardize the respect that you have earned and always make promises that you can keep.
In conclusion, one can say that customers are more careful than ever before, especially when it comes to trusting an online business. Thus, building a credible persona of your brand is crucial if you want your business to succeed and thrive. In the last couple of years, the way the customer interacts with the brand has completely changed. Through ngDesk, it is easy to master the art of multi-channel customer experience that will transform uncertain prospects into a brand advocate.
