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Instant gratification continues to be a top priority for online shoppers. Today’s consumer craves convenience—one of the many reasons Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer. Though, we see this in many aspects of daily life, from streaming movies to ordering food and goods online to pick-up in person. Now that this has become an expectation of today’s customers, especially post-pandemic, brands need to offer an overwhelmingly positive customer experience that attracts, converts, and retains customers wherever they sell their products.

The Primary Challenge

Creating a positive customer experience has become easier said than done. In the past, D2C websites used to be the only medium that brands had to be concerned about. Now, brands and advertisers are forced to be everywhere all the time. This includes D2C websites, online marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and Target, and the sprawl of social media platforms. Making sure shoppers have a streamlined and consistent experience across channels can be a challenge. At Marketplace Strategy, we work in conjunction with our colleagues at Code3 to ensure our clients’ strategies aren’t siloed. When this isn’t a focus or priority, brands can lose credibility, frustrate customers, lose sales, and experience more negative implications. 

How Changes in Online Shopping Paved the Way 

Putting some data behind this, a recent study shows brands are increasingly putting customer experience at the forefront of their strategies. In fact, 45.9% say it’s more important than product or pricing. 

Today’s customers have unlimited options at their fingertips. This evolution of e-commerce and shopping behavior has spurred the proliferation of digital customer experiences. As a result, many brands’ audiences have expanded. Competition has grown, too, putting extra pressure on brands to focus on building their unique selling propositions on experience elements like convenience and engagement.

Customer experience is a clear path to your bottom line. It’s up to you to decide whether that experience will help you—or cost you.

Why Customer Experience Matters 

It all comes down to the perception shoppers have of your brand. When they have a positive experience, it leads to greater engagement levels. A poor experience leads to the opposite. Feedback from your customers, whether it be via reviews or word-of-mouth, carries a lot of weight when it comes to gauging whether your customer experience meets their expectations.

That’s why it’s not enough to simply create an online experience and let it ride. Customer experience should be an ongoing top priority for brands and advertisers—something companies consciously think of and work to tweak and shape alongside their audience’s feedback. Whether a customer shops in-store or online, each customer interaction should be considered an opportunity to make your brand memorable for the right reasons. When you’re memorable in a way that the customer values, their engagement will have a direct correlation to your conversion rates.

How to Improve Your Customer Experience

First and foremost, we recommend finding a strategic partner that offers solutions to create a unified approach. For years, Marketplace Strategy was an Amazon-only and Amazon-first agency. As the digital landscape progressed, so have we. Seamless cross-channel alignment and stronger performance are key to creating the convenience shoppers have come to expect. We help brands do just that with our Amazon and online marketplace expertise, paired with the best-in-class skills of our partners at Code3 who specializes in media and creative. 

This has become increasingly important over the years. And, since human connection has been lacking, now more than ever it’s crucial to tap into a shopper’s needs. Shoppers that feel catered to during their experience are more likely to engage, convert, and become loyal customers. 

Last but not least, to offer a tangible suggestion, consider customer feedback in every phase of your experience strategy. Whether it’s something you’re doing well or an area you can improve upon, addressing feedback will make shoppers feel seen, heard, and respected. Apply these improvements across the board, not only on Amazon but across marketplaces and social platforms, too. 

Marketplace Strategy and Code3 operate with next-level collaboration that gives our clients meaningful consistency. Please reach out to us with any questions or to discuss how we could work together.