RETAIL ADVICE | PET GAZETTE | 29
ARE YOU MAKING THESE COMMON
MISTAKES WITH YOUR ONLINE SHOP?
Nicola Ravensford, founder of Ravensford Consultancy Ltd explores
the points to take note of to ensure your online presence allows for
seamless ordering and aligns with your store service
I
t has never been easier for companies to have
an online presence; many would argue that it is
essential in today’s developing marketplace if your
business is to thrive. Without a doubt, the internet
has not been a playground of positive development
for many retailers. Price wars exist; overheads climb while foot trade
falls, consumers are savvy to what they pay, what they can get, the
deal, and the follow up a company can provide. As with everything
business, you must be able to adapt and keep the forward
momentum or face the hard
realities.
The most important thing to
keep in mind is focus on the
user. The main needs of the
consumer from both online and
in-store shopping experience
were as you would expect.
Price, followed by speed of
delivery and ease of returns
were top of the list. The human
interaction and personalised
shopping experience scored
much lower. This was in a 2016
consumer trends report. A 2018
study (Statista 2019) found that
consumers’ main reasons for
choosing online shopping was an ability to compare prices, a wider
range of products and comfort of shopping from their own home.
The market is changing, is your business taking these fast paced
changes into account?
Service - Clarity of information and amazing follow up on returns
and complaints wins. If you have both an online presence and
a store, can the customer return or swap items at either? This
is straightforward if the online admin/ordering and physical
store operates from the same premises; but from a customer’s
perspective, it makes no difference. Same company, same rules.
Some do this exceptionally well, which means that to compete, you
must follow suit. Do in-store pricing and online offers match up? Save
embarrassment by staying on top of what the customer sees as the
price to pay, regardless of what media they use.
Updated – If it is out of stock then make sure the system recognises
it and let the customer know. Better still; suggest an alternative, a pre
order and an expected time of delivery. This will keep customers on
your site and not send them looking for someone who has it in stock.
Even if something is not immediately available you can save the sale
with clear information as to when it will be sent.
Information – One of the biggest unrecognised costs to a business
is paying staff to answer the same questions over and over again.
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Produce a good FAQ, detailed product information or even make a
regularly updated product video user guide that can be downloaded
from your site. It’ll save you time and money in the long run, and
allow your online ordering to be bringing in sales 24/7. I find this
especially important in our industry. So many pet products exist
because they have a specialist sales point to them. An automated
way of communicating this to the consumer is as close as you can
get to a 1-2-1 sales pitch.
Efficiency – I shop online from a well known feed company. The
online ordering process is one
of the most complicated things
I’ve encountered on the internet!
I can tell the company would
rather not deal directly with the
customer, so are almost obtuse
in their ordering process. This
would be okay, but for the fact
I cannot seem to buy the feed
from any local retailer either.
So there you have it, I end up
shopping elsewhere, for other
products, where I can select
a card I have used before, my
address is pre populated and
it even remembers my past
orders and delivery details.
Deals – everyone loves a great deal online. It’s the new expression of
rummaging through the bargain bin of CDs at the service station and
finding one that isn’t Queen's greatest hits. It’s a direct way to keep
people coming back to check in with you, as well as somewhere to
mark down your clearance stock to a wider audience. So long as you
keep on top of your email list, your contacts and pricing in-store, it
can be a very successful way to gain new unique hits to your site.
It is a worthwhile task to spend some time on looking at your
customer purchasing journey to make it seamless, memorable and
efficient.
Nicola has spent the last 13 years working in the pet retail
industry and is the founder of Ravensford Consultancy Ltd, a
company dedicated to helping businesses in the pet trade.
“I really love coming up with ideas for creative incentives for
a team. Please feel free to contact me if you would like a little
inspiration for your next company incentive.”
[email protected]
077770 546275
June 2019