Sighs of a Traditional Commerce And Ecommerce Store Bitten

Now, I have trust issues!

The credit goes to my worst experiences with traditional commerce and ecommerce store.

If you too own a store, get ready for the revelation…

This blog will help only if you are ready to listen to the bitter truth.

Ever wondered how many customers show a thumbs down to your retail or online store just because you fail to provide the right kind of customer service?

Oh, why would you?

Maybe you are too busy in transitioning from traditional commerce to ecommerce that you forget about

“Offline customer service is a thing for real.”

Or maybe you are so good at overlooking the customer reviews on your social media.

Trust me; you lose both ways if you don’t pay attention to your customers’ needs.

Today, I am talking from the standpoint of the customer (because I am the customer), so that entrepreneurs, budding entrepreneurs realize that they lose a massive chunk of profits by not addressing our pain points.

If you are on the verge of investing in an ecommerce/traditional commerce store or already have one, you need to read this blog.

P.S: I have quoted my recent experience here. (It’s better to read my sighs so that you improve for better, and the customers’ checkout happily from your online/physical store.)

Hear me out ecommerce store owners and retailers!

First of all, you need to understand that as a customer, we want 6 things from an online/physical store:

• Care for our time (as the hustle-bustle of life already gives us a nightmare.)
• Educate your sales staff about the products
• Be courteous when we come to you with the problems
• Focus on addressing our issue rather than bombarding us with another advertisement.
• Help us find the products real quick
• Deceptive advertisements do no good to us. We end up spending money, and your products fail to satisfy our needs.

What do traditional commerce and ecommerce store owners need to understand?

I will discuss each point one at a time. So freeze a few minutes and give it a read

Retailers! Please pay attention

Know the background first

Read a brief story that urged me to bring this blog to life:

I went to a renowned supermart (N*****) don’t want to expose the name here. So I was on the outlook for Stevia (a natural sweetener.)

As soon as I entered, 5 different salesmen and women guided in 5 directions…. (Clueless where to go)

So there, I was on my own….

Nobody was guiding me whether it is available or not. One of them said, “You will find it in the pharmacy section.” Like seriously, I wasn’t there to play the guessing game.

Finally, after inquiring from a good number of salespersons, I found what I was looking for. The story doesn’t end here.

The next thing I asked for- again, 5 different people showed me 5 different paths. Unfortunately, after wasting a huge chunk of my time, I got to know that the product wasn’t available.”

Note that the checkout lane was huge so that I couldn’t inquire about the availability of the product in the first place. Next, I was looking for ChapStick, but that came to my mind right at the time of the checkout. Alas! I couldn’t find it anywhere near to the checkout section. After the payment, I left the store with a bad impression of it.”

What do you feel, the store could have done to make my experience a lot better?

Oh, please, I am not someone who buys the tactic of complimentary gifts.

As a traditional commerce store, here are a few things they could’ve done. If you are someone planning to jump into conventional commerce, make sure that you don’t overlook the points mentioned below!

• Make the buying process easier

Don’t get your customers to fall into the mud of “let’s play a guessing game.”

I know that it isn’t easy to manage a big store. Instead of wasting your customers’ time, have kiosks. Just like you have the information about the inventory, let your customers have it.

Golden tip: I meant to say, have 1-2 kiosks in your store. Connect it to the center that has all the information about the available products. So that whenever your customer wants to find something, they directly go to the kiosk, see the availability of the product and get to know where it is situated in the store.

• Educate your sales staff

There is no point in selling the products when your sales staff don’t know what they are selling.

They end up recommending the wrong things and customers end up spending their hard-earned money.

For instance: When I went to the store, I asked the lady about the price as it wasn’t mentioned there. Instead of inquiring she relied on gut feeling and quoted the wrong price. I was all surprised that how come there is a vast difference in the price within a span of a month? I inquired 3 times and she gave the same answer.

To my surprise, when I asked another salesperson, I got to know that she was quoting the wrong price.

Now, see it from this perspective. Since I knew about the product, I opted to inquired more and chose to stay. If the same thing had happened to a new customer, the chances are that they would have opted for leaving the place. 

Golden tip: Train your sales staff before they start bidding farewell to your potential customers. Instead of playing the guessing game, ask them to convey the right information.

• Much-needed things should be near to the checkout

Trust me; nobody likes to go through long queues time and again. Play smartly here; instead of keeping all the things in their destined section, keep the #needed items near to the checkout.

For instance: It’s the winter season. You know that people usually face problems of dry lips. So when they are in need of a chapstick, make sure that it is near to the checkout so that they grab it without having to leave the queue.

Golden tip: Little things do count. Make sure that you keep “in-season” stuff near to the checkout lane. Moreover, this way you will not be missing a chunk of your possible profit.

That was all about traditional commerce.

Hola! Ecommerce store owners

Listen to the sighs of an ecommerce bitten now…

The word SALE is enough to entice ladies; I am not an exception. I bought from the store “Nazmina Clothing” and ended up wasting almost $30.

Now, it’s not about money, but the trust.

I thought that the fabric would be good and their products won’t give me a nightmare.

Well, I was wrong, and the product turned out to be A SHEER LOSS OF MONEY.

They failed to answer me!

Since I was so pissed, I sent them messages (which clearly show my disappointment.) With the word “HATE,” I got a bit cheesy so ignore that (but I know, you won’t and will laugh.)

A cherry on the top

Instead of addressing the problem, they turned deaf ears, and here we go! After some time, they sent me an advert (time to laugh.) I am not crazy enough to make the same mistake.

You listened to the sighs of an ecommerce-bitten, now, read what ecommerce stores need to do to offer a delightful shopping experience.

• Stop taking the help of deceptive advertisements

Customers’ money isn’t something to waste. Claim what your product can do, not what it can’t do. This is something small businesses need to understand badly. If you want to see your customers coming to you, time and again, always be honest with them.

Golden tip: Convey the right information about your products. Don’t hold the cord of false product descriptions.

• Be courteous – listen to the problems

When a customer comes to you with a question, address it, rather than ignoring it. This is how you place the first stone of trust that leads to a healthy relationship.

Golden tip: Having a healthy relationship with a customer is of the utmost importance. Make sure that you never neglect this point.

• Filters don’t only work on Instagram

If you know what I mean, you are a true Instagrammer. Well, coming to the point, make the buying journey easier for a customer.

Have filters on your website, so that customers find the products of their choice effortlessly.

Golden tip: It’s not only about having a product in your inventory. You need to make sure that the customer gets to it quickly.

• Sweetly bribe your customers

Send your regular customers delightful bribes; they won’t mind. (Neither would I.)

After all, when they show loyalty to your ecommerce store, you need to give them something in return. Don’t think that you have to go above and beyond for this; a few discount coupons would do. (Wink Wink)

Golden tip: Make a list of your loyal customers, make them feel special by offering special discounts.

I hope that this blog will help you in making sound business decisions. Focus on building a healthy relationship with your customers; rest of the things will fall into place.

Do you want to share your experience? We are all ears- comment below.