The Modern Era of Sales and Marketing: Online Shopping

The era of online shopping. What a great time to be alive, isn’t it? Whether you are hungry, need a new pair of shoes, Christmas decorations, or the perfect present for a special one, online shopping has got you covered. And it even seems like they always know what you are looking for…

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Indeed, sometimes online shopping can seem and feel like a cold warehouse where you are on your own, looking through the endless possibilities and products for your desired purchase. But online shopping is more than that; it is more than numbers and clicks, and it is certainly more than just a target and complicated graphs.  

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Behind every colorful screen sits a person wondering whether or not they are making the right decision. Is it a scam? How can I return it? Do they accept only card payments? Is this the right size? These are just a few thoughts we are experiencing when purchasing something online. So, how do online shops make us feel safe and make that uneasiness go away when tapping the go-to payment button? 

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And behind that buy now button sits a long list of people who made it happen, starting with the designer, the developers, product managers, copywriters, and researchers all the way to the marketing team, which has the responsibility of sparking emotions and transforming the experience from an impersonal to a tailored one.

Feel what your customers feel!

When clicking on a new website and browning through the platform, the experience is the one that earns the customer’s trust. Is the one that makes them feel like they are in an actual store or that they are making the right choice? Imagine a situation where you have just arrived in a new town, and you see a tiny corner bakery. Your first impression would be avoiding it and avoiding possible food poisoning. 

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However, in online shopping, you don’t know all the circumstances. Usually, you don’t know their physical location. You are not greeted by a nice old lady, and you are certainly not taken down by the strong smell of the melted chocolate chip cookies that are almost ready in the oven. 

In the online shopping journey, we are alone and wondering whether or not we get scammed. 

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So, offer your audience the feeling of comfort. 

The online shopping industry is the future, and as marketing and salespeople, we need to find our way around it. We need to understand stories and create comfortable environments where our users and possible buyers feel safe. 

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Anticipate the questions and find the correct answers. 

Make your customers feel like they matter. Think about how you may be crossing sides with one of your friends, and they will act like they don't see you. This happens more than you think in the online retail market when customers enter the web or app platform and are ignored and greeted with no empathy. 

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With this task, we not only have the ability to create a space where our customers feel safe but also make sure that they receive the expected experience. And in order to do that, we need to become best friends with UX design and see if the site checks all the right boxes. Even more so, we need to leverage the law of emotional design. This principle pinpoints that we should switch the focus to the mechanism behind the transaction rather than the actual transaction. This makes us split the thread into four and take a hard look at the emotional phases of users when they enter our website.

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The Discovery Phase 

This stage marks the beginning of the journey. It’s the moment when first impressions are made, and customers are absorbed by curiosity and many options.  Everyone knows that feeling we used to get when entering a toy store. Now, that adrenaline rush can be sparked by different subjective situations, such as entering a bookstore or pastry shop with all our guilty pleasures. To ensure that customers stay with us for over a few seconds, we must recreate the atmosphere in an actual store.

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Comparison Phase

This next stage is where Hick’s Law intervenes. The principle states that offering too many choices can feel overwhelming or even spark doubtful thoughts among our users. So, reassure your clients that they are doing the right thing.

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Add to Chart

At this stage of the process, the client might still be hesitant. So, we can integrate options like the save for later button and integrate reviews and testimonials from other customers to wash off doubtful thoughts. 

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Checkout

Sharing our payment details might gut us with double-guessing the process. So, make the process seamless and as transparent as it can be. Add messages about data protection and integrate the option of a safe full refund.

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Post-Purchase 

After the online purchase is finalized, our users might feel a mixture of relief and anxiety, wondering whether or not the product is what they expect. This is where follow-up emails intervene and prepare our customers with the needed information about the arrival of the product. 

Online shopping is the future, and we need to make sure that with the change of scenery, customers will still feel safe and reassured about the decisions that they are making. 

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Create a Successful Strategy with Traction Keys

Are you ready to take your business to new heights through ongoing collaboration? Our dream team focuses on building a successful strategy for your online business that can improve help your business growth. Whether you’re looking to launch your business or rebrand your existing company, we provide top-class solutions that will set you apart from your competition.

Contact us today to get a personalized quote for your business needs, and let’s start building the path to your next level of success together!