How To Provide An Exceptional Customer Experience During BFCM

It seems like the holiday shopping season begins earlier every year. With excitement over the upcoming season’s new arrivals from our favorite brands, it’s time to consider how our customer service teams can provide an even better BFCM customer experience for the hoards of customers heading our way in the coming months.

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Last year, online shoppers in the United States spent $9.12 billion on Black Friday alone, which was already up 2.3% from 2021. Considering that we expect this year to increase yet again during BFCM 2023, it’s crucial to ensure your brand is set up to earn record-breaking sales and loyal customers. 

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What Matters To Online Shoppers During BFCM 2023 (And What Your Brand Needs To Do To Meet Customers’ Needs)

Just like in a physical store that has signs marking clearance & sale items, cashiers, a customer service counter, and clearly defined departments, your online store must have these same features in place to ensure your customers have a seamless, enjoyable shopping experience.

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To help you prepare your customer service team, we’re diving into what matters most to online shoppers (particularly during busy shopping seasons) and how to meet their needs by optimizing your website and processes before the BFCM rush hits.

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1. Fast, Intuitive Websites

Over 70% of online shoppers will admit that a slow-loading website impacts their likelihood of purchasing from an online store. What can we say? We’re busy folks, especially when it comes to taking advantage of great deals and snagging new products from the digital shelves of our favorite online retailers. 

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In Deloitte’s Milliseconds Make Millions report, it was found that with just a 0.1s improvement in site speed, retail consumers spent almost 10% more. Additionally, luxury consumers engaged more in website content, leading to a nearly 8% increase in page views. With these findings in mind, one second could either be positively adding to your bottom line or costing you thousands of dollars a day. 

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Here are a few suggestions to help you optimize your online store’s site speed and page speed:

• Start by testing your site speed (for Shopify websites, you can use the online store speed report).
• Compress and resize your images to improve page speed.
• Offer “quick view” options so users don’t have to wait for another window to load to view products.
• Enable browser caching for return visitors.
• Reduce the number of banners and pop-ups that may disrupt or slow the customer experience.

2. Simple Navigation & Customer Journeys

For most online shoppers, simplicity is key. A disorderly or cluttered navigation system that doesn’t make logical sense can overwhelm or stress out your customers. To avoid losing customers due to a disorganized online store, we recommend designing a simple header that categorizes your products into clear hierarchies. 

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Take Walmart, for example: starting with Departments, Walmart’s navigation system breaks down items into clear categories.

So, if you’re searching for matching holiday pajamas for your whole family, you can start at Clothing, Shoes & Accessories and easily locate Family Pajamas just underneath in the Trending section of that department. It truly couldn’t be more streamlined.

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Here’s how you can make it easy for customers to navigate your online store:

• Include important details like your address, how customers can contact you, and your hours of operation in either the header or footer navigation.
• Organize your resource articles, FAQ pages, & knowledge base so they’re easy to find and address the most-asked questions from your customers.
• Create more internal links to make it easy to hop from one page to another.

3. Thorough Product Pages & Streamlined Checkout Processes

There’s truly nothing more frustrating to online shoppers than a bare, disorganized product page.

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After all, many shoppers do a LOT of research before making a purchase, and if a product’s page lacks the information they need to know to make a decision, it’s game over for your conversion rate.

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In addition to strategic product pages, you’ll also want to ensure that your checkout page is optimized for speed and is easy to use on both mobile and desktop devices. At least 18% of customers will abandon their cart if the checkout process is too long or complicated, as found in a 2023 study by the Baymard Institute, and another 11% will abandon a purchase if there aren’t enough payment methods available.

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To avoid losing customers due to poorly constructed product pages or an overly complicated checkout process, implement these tips:

• Make a list of everything your customers need to know before making a purchase (such as a description, sizing/dimensions, fabrics/materials, care instructions, ingredients, etc.), and ensure the information is available on every product page.
• Feature clear, high-quality photos & videos on your product pages to give customers a better understanding of your products.
• Include information about shipping and returns for your products either directly on the pages or through internal links.
• Offer various payment methods for checkout.
• Enable auto-fill to reduce time spent on the checkout page or reduce the number of form fields that customers must fill out.
• Give your customers the option to checkout as guests or make an account.

4. High-Quality Support On Multiple Customer Service Channels

In the E-Commerce industry, we know all too well that customers have their preferences when it comes to reaching out to customer service. It’s exactly why we often encourage our readers (as well as our own clients) to offer a variety of customer service channels so that customers can contact you however they feel most comfortable.

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But the truth is, offering support on every channel imaginable doesn’t mean anything to customers if the actual caliber of support is subpar. Before the hustle and bustle of BFCM kicks in, ensure your customer service team has the bandwidth, knowledge, and skills to offer an elevated level of customer service on every single channel. 

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If your team needs additional support during the busy season, hiring customer service agents may be the way to go. At the end of the day, the brands that perform the best during BFCM are the ones that attract even more customers (who spend more money) with their dedication to providing quality service.

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Here’s how YOU can elevate your brand’s customer service before the busy season begins:

• Implement a helpdesk like Gorgias, Zendesk, or Gladly to streamline communications across all customer service channels in one platform.
• Use chatbots and canned responses to answer FAQs from customers without pulling team members from other areas.
• Create & update SOPs, processes, and cheatsheets to make it easier for your agents to respond accordingly and multitask throughout their day.
• Encourage your customer service agents to go above and beyond for customers when the situation calls for it.

5. Excellent Post-Purchase Communication

Have you ever felt that post-purchase panic after you’ve bought something online and heard absolutely NOTHING?

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Yikes – we definitely have, and it’s not a feeling we encourage you to inspire in your customers, especially while they’re likely shopping for family and friends this BFCM season. In a time where people want to be constantly “in the know,” post-purchase communication is essential for cultivating trusting, loyal relationships with customers. 

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Here are a few ways we recommend communicating with your customers after they’ve purchased from you:

• After a purchase, your online store should redirect customers to a thank-you page with their order confirmation number and information about tracking and next steps.
• Your customers should also receive a post-purchase email from you confirming their order has been placed and will be on its way to their doorstep soon. We also recommend notifying your customers via email when their package has been shipped and delivered, as well as if they should expect any delays.
• Once their order has been received, follow up with your customers to ask them about their experience and their product. This is an excellent opportunity to ask for a review, helpful feedback, and perhaps offer an incentive for their next purchase or upsell them on another offer.

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Maximize Your BFCM Profits With An Elevated Customer Experience Through TalentPop

BFCM is the busiest time of year for most E-Commerce businesses, and TalentPop is here to help you nail your customer experience during this crucial season. With our scalable and affordable customer service solutions that start as low as $8 per agent, partnering with us to optimize your customer service processes and max out your KPIs this holiday shopping season is a no-brainer.

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Plus, with our dedicated Customer Success Managers by your side throughout the process, you’ll always have the support you need to make big moves in your business. Schedule a call with us today to learn more about how we can support your brand during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday season.