Advising Customers in Online Shops: How to Generate More Sales with Digital Customer Service [5 Reading Tips]

Advising Customers in Online Shops Reading Tips — Source: Unsplash/LinkedIn Sales Solutions

Online shopping and individual consulting are no longer mutually exclusive. Live chats, video consulting, guided selling and the like support customers in selecting the right products. This leads to shop visitors actually completing their purchases and fewer orders being returned. One in five online shoppers has already made use of digital customer service offerings. Consulting via phone or e-mail is still the most popular.

Thanks to increasing digitalisation, however, there are also other methods such as chatbots, video consulting and guided selling that provide individual customer experiences, which are more familiar from brick-and-mortar retail, online as well. All it takes is a clear strategy that takes into account the product portfolio of the online shop and the requirements of the target audience.

Advising Customers in Online Shops: A Must

Especially when it comes to high-priced products that require intensive consulting, consumers still prefer brick-and-mortar retail. For half of them, in-store customer service is extremely important and product samples are very popular as well. Merchants with few or no retail stores particularly benefit from offering personalised and trustworthy advice online.

An undeniable advantage of online shopping is the wide range of products. However, this can also make it more difficult for shoppers to make a purchasing decision. As a result, purchases are not completed or incorrect purchases are made and later returned, which means additional costs and effort for shop operators.

Advising Customers in Online Shops Is Advantageous in Many Ways

Online, precise questions can be used to determine which specific product features meet the requirements of customers. The exchange takes place via different methods and consequently via different channels – in person via phone and video chat or AI-based via chatbots and guided selling.

Advantages of Digital Customer Service

More personalised shopping experiences for customers
Higher customer satisfaction
Shop visitors complete their purchases
Increased conversion rates
Lower return rates

Consulting Services Become Even More Individual

Messenger applications that pop up when users access a product area have become standard. However, if users have complex requirements or are still very unsure about which specific product they need, automated messenger tools reach their limits. This is precisely where video consulting comes into play. In B2B, the use of live chats has increased by almost 50 per cent in the last two years. Consulting sessions that can be booked in advance give sales teams the opportunity to prepare for the requirements of their customers. In addition, they can ask questions to better understand the customers’ needs and present products visually. Personal contact also strengthens trust in sales staff.

Guided Selling: The AI-Based Sales Assistant

Another very customer-specific, but nonetheless purely digital method is guided selling. It reduces staff costs and helps customers immediately, without them having to wait in a queue for a long time.

Guided selling means that potential customers are led through the product selection process. First of all, an interactive form is used to ask questions about the customers’ needs. For example, if someone is searching for skincare products that match their individual skin type, questions such as »What are the characteristics of your skin?« and »What are your skin goals?« can help them find the right products.

A major advantage of this consulting tool is that any number of customer enquiries can be processed at the same time. However, comprehensive and high-quality data is required so that the AI can learn to offer suitable products. Well-structured product data and good knowledge of the target audience provide the basis in this regard.

Successfully Combining Online and Offline Benefits: Download the Handelskraft Trend Book 2022 for Free Now!

Customers are channel hoppers. They expect the benefits of brick-and-mortar retail online and want digital offerings in store. Besides methods for advising customers in online shops, there are various concepts that combine online and offline benefits and provide your target audience with unique shopping experiences. Find out more about these concepts in our Handelskraft Trend Book 2022 »Digital Champions«. Fill out the form now and receive a free copy in your inbox!