Power to the People for eCommerce

Gone are the days where you think you can rely solely on your brand to drive online purchases. There are myriad of distractions that bestow a browser while online shopping that inhibits the completion of the buying process. The answer to this ongoing struggle is not far fetched, but rather simple— personal "word of mouth among friends and family drive more purchases than any other purchase influence."

A retailer’s dream should look like an online channel given its immense amounts of traffic and conversion rate of 1% on average. The question should not be how can your company look more appealing online but how to fuse both virtual and actual reality. The answer is in making the impersonal personal. Shopping online can be a rather lonely experience, sorting through hundreds of products, relying on a vague blurb to guide them in the buying direction, and lacking guidance about the product. Remember the saying that one’s weakness can be to their greatest strength? This setback is exactly that.

It is time to create, foster, and encourage real relationships in the digital marketplace. Take for instance Amazon, who has experienced exponential growth since that have integrated their notorious recommendation algorithm, integrating recommendations into almost every aspect of the buying process. The combination of such recommendations have found their customers, myself included, asking myself “Well, it is just a few extra dollars. Why not?” Magic.

That is how consumer magic happens. The subtle and crucial implementation of personal recommendations, whether it be from other dedicated customers or friends and family, evokes a bond, a sense of trust between your prospect and your brand. They are inevitably creating and partaking in something larger than just a shopping experience; they are a part of your brand’s story.

So why ask friends and family and not an “expert”? Would having omnichannel associate suffice in rising to opportunity? More often than not, when seeking advice, experts are still overshadowed by friends and family. This is because we value the opinions of those we trust. We want someone who has a connection to us, not someone who is only interested in appealing to a buyer for buying purposes.

When a potential buyer asks their friends or family about a potential purchase, they usually fall under the same target audience thus amplifying the possibility of them liking the product and recommending a purchase. Also, this opens doors for your company to gain more traffic in an already penetrated audience base.

Be sure to create opportunities to create a connection through the screen and into face-to-face interaction. Appeal to prospects by expressing that they are a vital piece to the puzzle that is your brand.  Make your products the topic of conversations that sway the way in which your potential browser becomes a loyal buyer.