What Your Customer Wants From You
They are your bread and butter, the people who keep the servers humming. Do you
know what your customers find important about their online shopping experiences?
Based on a report done by About.com¹s Melody Vargas called "What Every Retailer
Needs to Know" ask yourself if your web store meets the following criteria.
Do you have a clear privacy policy for customers' personal information? Customers
want to know that their personal information will be protected from unethical people.
Do you have a product return policy? Is it easy to find on your site? Displaying
a product return policy inspires trust in your customers, and saves all of you from
nasty surprises and arguments later.
Do you have a clear explanation of shipping and handling fees? Is there's something
unusual about the cost of shipping your products, let your customer know why.
Do you offer online support? Customers want to know that you'll be there if they
have questions or problems. This is especially important for online stores, since
there is no physical address that a customer can visit if he or she needs help.
Is it easy for customers to sign up and check out? Making these processes can cost
you sales. If it's too difficult for customers to buy products from your store,
what's to stop them from clicking elsewhere?
Do you offer a variety of payment methods? Most online stores today accept a variety
of payment methods, and customers now expect them.
Roxanne Grandis is a Creative Director with BV Software, makers of the award winning BV Commerce Shopping Cart Software and other ecommerce related products. Roxanne has created content for some of the largest online stores including Godiva.com, Carolee.com and Ragu.com.
She holds both a Master of Teaching and Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
from NYU.