How to Communicate Throughout the Customer Journey

These days, the ideal customer journey looks a lot less linear and a lot more like a repeatable loop. Customer retention is just as critical (if not more so) as acquisition—in fact, according to Bain and Co., a 5% increase in retention can increase a company’s profitability by 75%. Keeping your consumers happy so they continue to come back is more important than ever. Especially in these interconnected and always-on(line) times, consumer expectations are high and tolerance for screwups is low.One often overlooked way to improve the customer journey is with proactive, frequent, and honest communication. Your consumers want to stay in-the-know at every step of the way, from searching for the right product to returning a wrong fit, and this presents an opportunity for you to show them how much you care about their experience across touchpoints.Today’s consumers expect reliability, consistency, and transparency, which makes proactive communication table stakes for retailers. If you can tell your customers what they need to know exactly when they need to know it, you can foster more consumer confidence in—and ultimately loyalty for—your brand.There are several touch points where you can use communication as a tool to keep your customers in the loop and ensure their satisfaction. Below, we run through what retailers should be talking about at each of those touch points:

1. Discovery: Communicate clearly about product and service offerings to enable smart research and attract your best customers off the bat.
2. Consideration: Help potential customers clearly understand what sets your brand apart from the pack.
3. Purchase: Create a seamless shopping cart experience and be transparent about what customers can expect during and after checkout.
4. Shipment & Delivery: Let customers know where their purchases are, when and where they will arrive, and if there are any delays or disturbances along the way.
5. Returns: Help customers feel more comfortable with returns by communicating policies upfront, and letting them know when you’ve received a return.

Find out the steps you can take to better communicate at each of these stages in the customer journey by checking out our latest eBook, Keep ‘Em In the Loop: How to Communicate Throughout the Customer Journey.Want to learn more about customer communications? Watch retail executive Michael Scharff weigh in on the future of retail.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1z4JJgT7mo&feature=youtu.be