The 7 Levels of E-commerce Customer Experience

    

The 7 Engagement Levels of E-commerce

  

 In order to truly develop your e-commerce or business website, there are components that need to be fully developed and optimized to ensure the best possible user experience while on your site. If all of the following 7 levels of customer experience are well developed and navigated by users on your site, you will maximize conversion rates and returning customers.   

Level 1. Website Entrance   

This may sound like an overly obvious component of user experience – I mean, duh, right? You can’t do anything else without first entering a website. Remember, though, there are different ways to enter a website. Not every user enters a site through the homepage, nor does everyone enter a site with the same intention. Some are looking for information only, and some are looking to buy. As simple as this level of e-commerce sounds, it is one that many websites get wrong. 

Here are a few common mistakes:   

Too much written content 

 

   

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

   

  

 Too much visual content and not enough written 

I have no idea what you call this

  

 

 

Ugh, it’s like the world’s ugliest pop-up ads threw up all over the page.   

   

   

   

   

   

 

 Weak landing pages that sell too hard - or have no call to action. Imagine the basic formula for a new breakthrough weight loss product: paragraph after paragraph of sales pitch screaming at you with 8 exclamation points at the end of each sentence as you scroll down one very long single page, which inevitably includes 15 “testimonials,” yellow-highlighted paragraphs, and 50 places to “click here” to fork over your credit card.  

Like this one: 

What NOT to do on your landing page

  

 

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

 

 

 

 

Unclear navigation –  or worse, an unclear purpose, demonstrated brilliantly in the example below. 

What are you supposed to do here?

  

 Not only is it unclear exactly what this website is about, but the giant “Imprint” logo button at the bottom .. a link, maybe? Nope – its actually just the contact email. Two of the four tabs read “Glass Foils” and “Matte Foils” – if you know what either one means, hats off to you. And what about that “Homepage” tab? Isn’t THIS the homepage??  

  

  

  

   

 

 

Level 2. Browse 

 Some may argue that this stage of CEL (customer experience level) is the most crucial. If the customer doesn’t find anything that sparks interest, satisfies information-seeking, or entertains, they will leave. This is why browsing experience for visitors must offer value in every way possible, even if it does not immediately lead to a conversion.         

Level 3. Shop     

 Others would argue that Shopping is the most important stage of CEL, because it is what determines the value of the conversion. Shopping must be navigated easily, with things such as “add to cart,” item descriptions, availability, pricing and the like – all being readily available and easily identified by the website customer. Any major interruption, malfunction, or unavailable necessary information can easily lead to the shopper exiting the site and disrupting the check-out process.    

  

Level 4. Purchase     

 The conversion ultimately happens here, and can be the purchase of products or services. For the purchase of services, it is even more important that the purchase process is accompanied by available customer service and human contact options. It is going to be off-putting to any website customer who has just paid a hefty retainer fee for business services, to only have automated messages, responses, and emails as points-of-contact. Not to mention, it can easily make a customer feel uneasy not to have any kind of humanized interaction or confirmation after purchasing services. Customer service is extremely important, both during and after the purchase process.     

Level 5. Register     

 This stage can happen before or after the purchase process, depending upon how the website is set up. Many websites give the option to register after a purchase, some require it preceding a purchase – and some allow for guest or visitor purchases (most websites should do this, if at all possible, in order to maximize conversion rates). Page loading times can be critical in this stage of CEL. Site visitors get easily annoyed and will exit a site in the middle of registration if page downloads are stalled, or if web forms do not function properly. It has happened to all of us, at some point, when all information on a web form is filled out, and for whatever reason, the web page gets stuck and refuses to move on to the next step in the process, or confirm registration.     

Level 6. Get Support     

 This stage of CEL goes hand in hand with customer service. Not all conversions and website purchases or customers will seek out customer support – but if it isn’t there when they need it, you’ve probably lost a returning customer. Even if it is to handle a complaint, allowing an upset customer to vent over the phone at your CSRs is better than reporting your business to the BBB, or having several bad reviews written.     

Level 7. Participate     

 This is often the most difficult for businesses and e-commerce to get their customers to do. Even customers pleased with products or services do not want to take time to fill out a survey, respond to satisfaction email questionnaires, or even comment on the company blog page. This is why it is so important to use social media in this day and age. Participation with a business website or e-commerce is done much more easily with the use of social media. It’s also a fantastic multi-tasking tool, serving other highly useful business strategies and goals, such as branding awareness and micro-marketing. 

   

 Related articles 

• Best Practices Improve Customer Experiences (ghazzpro.wordpress.com)
• Disambiguity: Customer Experience vs. User Experience (usabilitycounts.com)
• Online Checkout: A Huge Market for Customer Experience Improvement (customerthink.com)