How E-Commerce Startups can Solve these 7 Recurring Problems

E-Commerce_Startups

India’s e-commerce market is likely to touch $38 billion mark by the end of this year – that is a massive 67% jump over $23 billion revenue it had clocked last year. For those who are tied to this industry, the abovementioned figure means a lot in terms of new opportunities, fresh initiatives and brand new experimentations.

It also means that India is en route for a colossal boom in e-commerce startups. The time is now for e-commerce startups to make it big and get a chunk of the $38 billion that we are talking about!

However, e-commerce startups can’t hope to be in the big league without overcoming some most recurring problems and challenges. The most recurring problems encountered by e-commerce companies in our country include:-

  1. Lack of Verification Measures
  2. Order & Shipment Issues
  3. Lack of Integration
  4. Unnoticed Customer Issues
  5. Appalling Mobile Experience
  6. Low Customer Loyalty
  7. Inconsistent Experience across Channels

Thankfully, there are ways e-commerce startups can expect to rise above these problems and taste success. Read on to know how:-

1. Verification Measures

While acquiring new customers, e-commerce portals are often unaware about the customer, except for the information entered by him/her. This results in a significant problem when a customer requests for a COD (Cash on Delivery) as it is pretty tough to confirm whether the customer is genuine.  E-commerce players often have lost a lot in revenues due to this reason. This problem can be overcome by sending out a SMS or/and email message to customers to validate the identity. For COD, an automated call or IVR message can be sent to the customer to validate the delivery address.

2. Order & Shipment

While shipping customer orders, multiple problems regularly crop up, such as non-compliance with cash collection or on-time delivery, selection of a third party logistics vendor, route planning/consolidation of shipments, and vendor payments based on shipments. These problems can be best beaten by providing an estimated time of delivery to customers, increasing notifications sent about the orders and delivery over SMS and using in-app features because Millennials prefer to use mobile phones to check for updates.

3. Integration of Systems

The entire customer experience involves numerous systems at work which include – order management system, customer support system, dispatch system, order tracking system, and others. However, enough problems can arise these systems are disparate. This will also result in wrecking customer experience. Here, a contact center technology can work wonders by integrating the disparate systems, synchronizing available information across all systems, and displaying it at a single interface. At present times, contact centers also have the ability to integrate social media, chats & messaging, mobile, and all other mediums to provide a rich and unique customer experience.

4. Customer Issues

Customer service is of paramount important in an industry where an existing customer can choose to buy from your competitor at any point. E-commerce businesses receive considerable inbound interactions with more than 75% of them being complaints or concerns. If these concerns are not attended properly, the quality and reputation of the brand automatically deteriorates, along with public opinion. Nevertheless, with proper ticketing solutions and easy to use interfaces, brands can cater to every customer ticket generated at any channel. Furthermore, prioritizing tickets also goes a long way in ensuring efficiency is not bargained with.   

5. Amazing Mobile Experience

These days, 50% of customers visit e-commerce websites on mobiles and apps, and hence, customers want personalised service on mobile. Successful customer-centric businesses assign a live customer service representative to interact with customers. This can be done with the help of advanced features like in-app chat support, and missed call solutions. When customers aren’t satisfied with static support and help pages, operators often divert call center traffic to more-cost-effective solutions, such as web chat or WebRTC.

6. Customer Loyalty

E-commerce startups need to ensure customer service is always a priority and a part of the customer retention policy. This is because 86% of customers stop doing business with a company because of poor customer service. Therefore, companies need to provide the best of customer service, better discounts/offers, and consistent experience across all channels of interaction to drive higher customer loyalty. A great CIM (Customer Interaction Management) technology ensures every customer is under the radar. Customer loyalty can also be achieved with effective customer nurturing technology tools and multimedia integration.

7. Seamless Experience across Channels

The emergence of mobile, chat, SMS, and social media have given businesses unprecedented opportunities to drive quality customer experiences that promote loyalty and increases revenues. Customer interactions and behaviour can be mapped with the help of Sentiment Analysis, which helps brands to foster customer experience. Furthermore, an effective Omnichannel solution allows e-commerce companies to engage customers for the long-term with profitable relationships, while containing costs and ensuring consistent quality improvement.

Ameyo Emerge is an all-in-one solution for Startups to ramp up their offerings and improve Customer Experience.

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