Web apps: how can you reach your customers and serve them best?

Emotion and customer satisfaction are really hot topics for 2021. Companies are keener than ever to know the emotional positioning of their customers and identify the reasons they buy on the web. They also want to know what makes them loyal and the reasons that lead them to buy from the competition. Improving understanding of customers makes it possible to better meet their expectations and requirements.

The key to understanding your customers is meeting them where they are.

Understanding begins with listening. The best way to listen is to put yourself in your customers’ shoes, and to fully comprehend exactly where they’re “standing” and digitally “present”.

This article aims to detail various tips that will help you:

• Meet your customers where they are.
• Transform your digital communication channels into practical listening tools.

Understand your customers’ goals at each stage of the purchase funnel

Customers typically expect consistent value from your product offering, and every behavior in the customer journey is typically driven by a common goal. Below is an example of a customer journey, with the customer’s goals highlighted at each step.

Step 1: Discover

At the start of the journey, the customer has a specific objective to fulfill. To achieve it, they will search for information – usually on the Internet – that can ensure they are making the best choice according to their expectations, in particular according to their purchasing criteria.

To learn and discover the purchasing possibilities available, they will use the following digital means and support strategies:

• Read blog posts.
• Discover product / service case studies.
• Obtain information from the press.
• Watch webinars.
• Attend online conferences and virtual events.
• Etc.

Step 2: Compare

After getting enough information, clients tend to make a list of the companies they think are best. To choose between their purchasing options, they will compare the best offers.

Following the comparison, the client will be able to choose which offer appears to be the most interesting to them. To stand out from the competition and be among the possibilities that the customer considers, you must, at this stage of the purchase funnel, be present and active on the following digital media:

• Detailed descriptions of the product or service offered.
• Customer testimonials.
• Case studies.
• Detailed list of features.
• Price catalogues.
• Demonstrations of products / services.
• Etc.

Transparency and communication of these aspects will be an important point of consideration for the customer.

Step 3: Selection

On the third step, the customer will choose the solution that seems best to them. In order to be the solution that is selected, we advise you to be present at the digital contact points below, and to carry out appropriate digital actions such as:

• Organizing a telephone meeting between a salesperson and the client.
• Sending a contractual offer.
• Communicating the conditions of the contract or commitment.
• Beginning the Set Up phase (i.e. gathering the elements needed for a kick-off meeting).
• Etc.

Step 4: Purchase

Once they’re convinced by your offer, the customer will likely buy your service / product. Well done! However, it’s not yet time to relax. The purchase step is also very important, and it is all about fully satisfying the customer during purchase process. The customer should remember their shopping experience as a unique and very positive experience.

Do not hesitate to use the following tools and approaches during this phase:

• Purchase contract.
• Additional documents, to support the purchase.
• Set up a kick-off meeting (project launch meeting).
• Provide telephone customer support via a chatbot on the website.
• Provide easily accessible technical assistance.

Step 5: Build Loyalty

Finally, the last step of the customer journey also needs to be considered and fine-tuned. Your customer has made their purchase from you. Now you need to make them want to come back and buy from you again. In other words, now that you have established a relationship, you can build loyalty, or up-sell. Design a program that will strengthen the bond between you and your customer, and make them want to come back and buy from you.

Many tools are at your disposal to encourage your client to stay loyal to you and what your offer, including:

• Loyalty cards
• Promotions
• Email updates
• Newsletters
• Etc.

Proactively request feedback on the buying experience

Across industries, consumers are drawn to highly personalized experiences, and not just those based on what they clicked, viewed, visited or purchased.

As long as you have customers, proactively ask them for feedback, insights and comments on their shopping experience on your web or mobile app. This very valuable information can help you to improve your shopping funnel considerably, and to better tailor your presence on its various different stages.

To get customer feedback, you can:

• Send a customer satisfaction questionnaire.
• Call your customers to ask them about their shopping experience with you.
• Etc.

The most important point is to avoid abandoning your customers, and to use the insights they can give you wisely. As consumers, we expect the brands we love to deliver the right message to the right person, using the right medium, in the right place and at the right time, across all their digital experiences and also in physical stores. That’s why it’s absolutely pivotal that you don’t miss a chance to collect and use customer reviews to improve your business.

Interact with your customers at the right time: keep the dialogue going

To get started, think about the message you want to convey and communicate on your web or mobile application. Also, determine when exactly you want this message to appear.

To make your message as effective and proactive as possible, it should be sent as soon as the customer has taken an important action on your web app (such as completing a purchase or requesting a quote or price catalogue).

If you are asking your customers for feedback as part of a research initiative, the request for information should take place at a non-disruptive time, rather than interrupting the specific action the customer is taking. Most importantly, your message should never prompt the customer to leave your app.

By identifying who to talk to, and where in the app to approach them, you can improve your experience by avoiding boring, impersonal, and irrelevant messages.

Understand the emotion behind the customer’s actions

In order to truly measure your client’s emotions, you need to identify and understand them. What motivates my customer to buy from me? To answer this question, ask your marketing team to create personas (typical of a person who purchases your services / products) of your various customers.

Capturing and analyzing customer emotions is central to understanding, measuring, and improving customer relationships. And this is the key to making informed and constructive decisions when considering or planning a digital transformation. Once you have this emotional data, you can scale your business, product or service to truly meet the needs of your customers.

If you have a web or mobile application project to realize, entrust it to our teams of IT development experts. We will be able to accompany you step by step towards your goals.