Latest / The Confident Entrepreneur With Jennifer Ann Johnson / Click, Connect, Convert: The Art of Making Customers Feel Valued Online With Veronica Cornish
Transcript
- 0:37Jennifer Johnson: In today's world, customer loyalty has shifted dramatically.
- 0:40Jennifer Johnson: Gone are the days when a friendly smile and a firm handshake were enough to win a customer's heart.
- 0:45Jennifer Johnson: Now we're faced with the challenge of providing exceptional customer service through screens and across time zones.
- 0:54Jennifer Johnson: But here's the million-dollar question how do we translate the warmth, efficiency and problem-solving prowess of a great in-person customer service to the online realm?
- 1:06Jennifer Johnson: That's exactly what we're diving into today.
- 1:09Jennifer Johnson: In this episode, we're welcoming back into the studio Veronica Cornish of VC Creative, and she is, like I like to call her, the queen of websites and the queen of e-commerce, and she has actually helped take our business to the next level because she has helped implement so many of these strategies into our business.
- 1:32Jennifer Johnson: And we're going to talk today all about how we are able to translate great customer service to our online website.
- 1:41Jennifer Johnson: So welcome Veronica.
- 1:42Jennifer Johnson: Hi Jennifer, how are you?
- 1:44Jennifer Johnson: I am doing awesome.
- 1:47Jennifer Johnson: I can't wait to dive into this topic because, even though something is online, people still want to have that feeling of I matter, right, I matter to this business, I'm important to this business and they're just talking to me, kind of thing.
- 2:06Jennifer Johnson: So how do we do that?
- 2:09Jennifer Johnson: How do we use our website to build or start building those relationships that know like and trust factor with our customers?
- 2:19Veronica Cornish: Right, okay, so one of like the little things that people can do, which is very simple, is to do the chat little box that you can put on your website and you can train that chat to respond to a certain amount of questions.
- 2:38Veronica Cornish: Now, if you're lucky and you can have somebody that is managing your website, that chat can become a live thing because you can start replying in real life, and that's very valuable.
- 2:48Veronica Cornish: When somebody wants to purchase something, they might want to do it right away, but they're like doubting on something.
- 2:55Veronica Cornish: Sometimes they send emails.
- 2:56Veronica Cornish: I'm not sure if you see like, yeah, shopify emails where a customer has a question about something.
- 3:02Veronica Cornish: Is this size extra large or large?
- 3:05Veronica Cornish: Because the picture says L but the description says XL.
- 3:11Jennifer Johnson: How many times has that happened?
- 3:12Jennifer Johnson: Right, it was a mistake, right?
- 3:13Veronica Cornish: So the person who was entering the item made a mistake and then they want to verify it so that they can complete the purchase.
- 3:20Veronica Cornish: So you see how a little mistake from the beginning creates like a whole situation where and then if you don't answer that, then, boom, you miss on that sale, right?
- 3:29Veronica Cornish: So if you have somebody who can That'll be like an ideal situation monitor those messages and that's great, because it's like eliminating a bunch of like questions that can be answered and then they translate on a cell.
- 3:47Veronica Cornish: Another way to be very intimate with the customer is that.
- 3:51Veronica Cornish: And then these you can like actually implement in an automated way when you're building your website and in the product section you can add a section called related items so that people are shopping to.
- 4:07Veronica Cornish: You know they're clicking, let's say, they're clicking on skirts that have flowers on it and that's kind of like the pattern, because she's maybe looking something floral for a festival.
- 4:16Veronica Cornish: Then that automation is going to show her underneath.
- 4:21Veronica Cornish: This may be, you may like this or you can call it whatever.
- 4:26Veronica Cornish: You may like this and then it suggests all of those little recommendations.
- 4:30Jennifer Johnson: I think we've all been there where we've seen that and it gets us into trouble because we go down a rabbit hole.
- 4:36Jennifer Johnson: We're like oh, I like this.
- 4:38Veronica Cornish: I like that too, I like that suggestion, and it can get really smart because if you have it by default at the beginning, it's just gathering data from the browser of that specific person that is going to start collecting data from past visits, all this stuff, and it becomes super personalized.
- 5:08Veronica Cornish: So that's another great thing.
- 5:09Veronica Cornish: Another way to have great customer service and trust is being very clear with your policies, very clear.
- 5:19Veronica Cornish: Where are you adding those?
- 5:21Veronica Cornish: I know, like you love to have on the product pitch, on the products a little disclaimer saying if you're going to return, this is how you do it, you know.
- 5:30Veronica Cornish: You know, or this is not valid for returns or you know.
- 5:33Veronica Cornish: All that specificness of it is very it helps the customer makes an informed decision and that coming later and saying I didn't know that you didn't do returns and you can see it, you're like it's right here, yeah, but so it's important to be very transparent with those policies so that you don't get as much as those questions, even though people sometimes don't read or they're looking, they're scrolling quickly, but you're like being transparent and showing that up there, right, you, quickly, but you're you're like being transparent and showing that up there, right?
- 6:06Veronica Cornish: You know the inbox communication on shopify too.
- 6:07Veronica Cornish: That's like.
- 6:07Veronica Cornish: Another thing that you have, which is within the chat box, is that you can, as a store owner, if you download the app, you can have in real time people with those messages and then you can in real time, also reply.
- 6:22Veronica Cornish: Another way of having and building relationships is rewarding them for shopping with you, which I know you have to, it is my love.
- 6:32Veronica Cornish: Yes, a loyalty rewards, and then they can collect points and then they can spend them later.
- 6:40Jennifer Johnson: Now that you're mentioning that, I have a thought.
- 6:42Jennifer Johnson: How important is it that you have?
- 6:53Jennifer Johnson: How do I want to say this how you take what happens in the store and you mimic it on the website.
- 6:56Jennifer Johnson: So I'm going to go back to the points, okay, okay.
- 6:58Jennifer Johnson: So let's say you have a reward system in the store.
- 7:01Jennifer Johnson: Okay, I'm assuming it's very important that you mimic the same reward policy on your website, so it's they're both cohesive so that the customer is not confused, because when they're confused, then they're done.
- 7:15Veronica Cornish: And then also, if you also, if you have rewards in one and not in the other one, then they will feel left out from whatever situation.
- 7:22Veronica Cornish: So if I'm shopping in your store but I can't have rewards here, then why come here if I can have rewards in your online store?
- 7:30Veronica Cornish: So it's very important to be cohesive with both.
- 7:32Veronica Cornish: Now, sometimes it's really hard to mimic the same exact loyalty reward program Right, but you can get it as close as possible.
- 7:42Veronica Cornish: Loyalty, right, but you can get it as close as possible.
- 7:46Veronica Cornish: And then maybe the perks of one and the other, you know to kind of like maybe, you know, bring it to to the different.
- 7:49Veronica Cornish: You know, if you want to bring it to the store these week because you're having a sale, then you can tailor that reward, I don't know, like, but they should be cohesive overall.
- 8:00Jennifer Johnson: Right.
- 8:01Veronica Cornish: Email marketing is still a great asset.
- 8:04Veronica Cornish: You know a great way of keeping in contact with your customers.
- 8:08Veronica Cornish: It's something that, yeah, I might get also the text message right away.
- 8:12Veronica Cornish: But sometimes I like going to my email and looking at what they're sending me and I love, if I am a mom going to different like emails from kids and seeing what I like there.
- 8:23Veronica Cornish: So it's also I mean, email marketing is not going anywhere and it's like the most basic.
- 8:28Jennifer Johnson: A lot of people kind of fell away from that for quite a few years in here where they're like, eh, people aren't, and now it's really made a return.
- 8:37Veronica Cornish: Yes, and then the fact that now these email marketing companies are because, like before, it was more like a very informative thing, but now it's very tailored to your products, where you can insert your products in there and then you can.
- 8:49Veronica Cornish: And then you can also, with email marketing segment, do segments of whoever likes this, my VIPs, or my birthday emails, you know.
- 11:25Veronica Cornish: So every month you send birthday emails to your July.
- 11:28Veronica Cornish: You know contacts, so that's another way of keeping like really personal and, you know, having great relationships.
- 11:37Jennifer Johnson: Going back to the email thing, I mean and I feel I know maybe why because everybody thought well, social media, everybody's on Facebook and they're on Instagram and they're on TikTok.
- 11:47Jennifer Johnson: But people quickly found out once Facebook or whatever platform it is started blocking accounts, deleting accounts, suspending accounts.
- 11:56Jennifer Johnson: Oh my gosh, I have no way to connect with my customers.
- 12:01Jennifer Johnson: And if you have that email list, it's a very intimate way.
- 12:05Jennifer Johnson: Right, it's not as big of a deal.
- 12:07Jennifer Johnson: I mean it's a big deal, but it's not, as at least you have a way to contact your customers.
- 12:12Veronica Cornish: Yeah, that's why I always say don't put your eggs on the same basket, because people love to.
- 12:20Veronica Cornish: They hopped on Facebook and they put all their energy there.
- 12:23Veronica Cornish: It turns out that they can ban you, they can take your account, they can restrict you, they can take your account, they can restrict you, they can do, they can do whatever they want, whereas you have the control of your list because it's yours, it belongs to you, exactly you.
- 12:37Veronica Cornish: You, you got it, you earned it.
- 12:39Veronica Cornish: You know you earned that trust.
- 12:41Veronica Cornish: That's true, and then that's why they gave you your email, right, so that.
- 12:45Veronica Cornish: So that's also very, you know, a great, a great way.
- 12:48Veronica Cornish: Another great way to keep your customers happy is hey, give me your feedback.
- 12:53Veronica Cornish: Yes, surveys, right, right.
- 12:57Veronica Cornish: Or how do we do today?
- 12:59Veronica Cornish: You know, if you, if you have somebody in your, in your, in your store, how do we do today?
- 13:05Veronica Cornish: Do you mind leaving us a review?
- 13:07Veronica Cornish: It's because you know that went really well.
- 13:09Veronica Cornish: You know You're so right.
- 13:11Veronica Cornish: Yeah, so, so, so that's another great way to you know, keeping that like connection with them and, of course, always incentivizing with a little special here, a little VIP here, a promotion, something that grabs their hook, because we all love to have a perk.
- 13:35Jennifer Johnson: We do and you know what.
- 13:36Jennifer Johnson: On that note, do you think it's always important?
- 13:37Jennifer Johnson: Again, going back to making sure that it's cohesive between store and online.
- 13:39Jennifer Johnson: So let's say you're running a sale in the store, do you always think it's appropriate to run that same exact sale on your website?
- 13:46Veronica Cornish: Not always, not always.
- 13:48Veronica Cornish: I think, like, sales can be very can vary, and I think, like you like, for example, I love to shop online and but, but if I want an immediate thing, I want to go to the store, and if I go to that store and they're having a sale that is not online, cool, am I lucky today?
- 14:08Veronica Cornish: Yes, so it doesn't mean that you always have to be like a mirror between one and another.
- 14:16Veronica Cornish: So, like, I think, for sales, it can work if you guys have your own little thing on in store, because that also brings in traffic.
- 14:23Veronica Cornish: If you are, if you, if you're feeling like you're low in traffic foot traffic then let's do something for a store, right?
- 14:30Veronica Cornish: So I think, but for loyalty, like, I think it should like be very kind of, like, similar, so that they're both very like engaged to both.
- 14:40Veronica Cornish: Right, blogging Blogging is another way of having an intimate, more relationship with your customers.
- 14:47Veronica Cornish: You may want to give them ideas about how to dress for Valentine's, so they're feeling, oh, if I come here, I'm going to feel inspired, and not only are they giving me ideas, but they're showing me the product that I can shop and then, if I shop it today, it's going to be here in four days because I just checked their policy, which I saw there, and it's going to be in time for my Valentine's dinner.
- 15:12Veronica Cornish: You know what I mean.
- 15:13Veronica Cornish: So you're being transparent because you're showing your policy.
- 15:16Veronica Cornish: They're trusting you because they know that the shipping is going to be accurate.
- 15:20Veronica Cornish: You're inspiring them to dress certain way and then boom, you're offering the product because it's right there.
- 15:28Jennifer Johnson: Right.
- 15:29Jennifer Johnson: So you know, there's so many ideas, there's so many ways that this can actually work for businesses that people may not even think about.
- 15:38Jennifer Johnson: And then they're like, oh my gosh, how do I do all of this?
- 15:41Jennifer Johnson: They hire someone like you to actually do it because, again, we can't be good at everything, right.
- 15:46Jennifer Johnson: And then you?
- 15:47Veronica Cornish: know what like, for example, pinterest.
- 15:49Veronica Cornish: It's a great way of inspiring people something how to dress and then, if you have the link to the product, well, and Pinterest is creating, creating SEO, you know, for your website.
- 16:01Veronica Cornish: So it's a great art marketing asset too.
- 16:04Veronica Cornish: So I mean website, so it's a great art marketing asset too.
- 16:08Veronica Cornish: So I mean there's like a lot of little things that you can do, with many platforms all coming into your website that are going to create that relationship with your customer.
- 16:17Jennifer Johnson: So, as a follow-up to all of this, so we create all of these channels, channels to create great customer service.
- 16:24Jennifer Johnson: How are we able to effectively measure what's not working, what we can stop paying for?
- 16:35Veronica Cornish: Yes, so okay.
- 16:36Veronica Cornish: So Shopify has inbuilt analytics that if you know how to use, they're very powerful, and if you connect also your website to Google Analytics, they will go in way more depth.
- 16:50Veronica Cornish: Okay so, like, you can grab that information and you know, reshape what's not working.
- 16:57Veronica Cornish: Am I getting traffic from Pinterest?
- 16:59Veronica Cornish: Yes, no, then let's not put that much energy on Pinterest.
- 17:02Veronica Cornish: Yes, it's bringing a lot of traffic from pinterest.
- 17:04Veronica Cornish: Let's put energy on pinterest.
- 17:06Veronica Cornish: You know what I mean.
- 17:07Veronica Cornish: It's like knowing how to read this analytics.
- 17:10Veronica Cornish: And then also, I know shopify came came out not too long ago with a more robust analytics and reports, so now you can do reports of all sorts and on top of it, I know we're talking about connecting another app that may cost, but if you really want to be aggressive, there's AI apps that connect to those analytics and then they give you all kinds of like.
- 17:34Veronica Cornish: You know data.
- 17:36Veronica Cornish: So I think data is important.
- 17:37Veronica Cornish: Data is important.
- 17:39Veronica Cornish: It shouldn't be overlooked.
- 17:40Veronica Cornish: You should be able to go monthly.
- 17:44Veronica Cornish: Look at your number of sales, your number of traffic, your traffic, your orders.
- 17:50Veronica Cornish: Look at your Google my Business profile.
- 17:52Veronica Cornish: How many visitors am I getting?
- 17:54Veronica Cornish: How many calls, how many directions Are you optimizing your Google my Business profile?
- 18:00Veronica Cornish: Do you know that before it was super hard to add the icons for social media and now it's easier?
- 18:06Veronica Cornish: Go to your Google my Business.
- 18:07Veronica Cornish: Make sure that your Google, your social media profiles are underneath.
- 18:12Jennifer Johnson: And if you're like, what is Google my Business, then you need to talk to someone.
- 18:15Jennifer Johnson: Yeah, it is.
- 18:16Veronica Cornish: Yeah, exactly.
- 18:20Veronica Cornish: But yes, I mean there's.
- 18:21Veronica Cornish: I know it's a lot and it can be overwhelming, but start with something right, exactly do it start with?
- 18:32Veronica Cornish: something and then read a lot of like shopify has great blogs for information.
- 18:38Veronica Cornish: You know, I read a lot all the time, all of this stuff.
- 18:41Veronica Cornish: It's not that I know these because I went to school and they taught me this.
- 18:45Veronica Cornish: No, this is new.
- 18:46Veronica Cornish: This new, this comes out every day.
- 18:48Veronica Cornish: I am designing on Shopify today and I come tomorrow.
- 18:52Veronica Cornish: The things are in a different place.
- 18:55Veronica Cornish: I don't know where these disappear.
- 18:58Veronica Cornish: These became content, so it's just like you have to keep up with it and if you don't, then you're left behind Right, always be learning.
- 19:07Jennifer Johnson: That's a saying that I have, and it doesn't matter what genre you work in, for sure and the good part is like you can learn.
- 19:15Veronica Cornish: You know, if you're passionate, the content is there for you to learn.
- 19:19Veronica Cornish: It's just you need the time to sit down, read process and then go and try and replicate.
- 19:25Veronica Cornish: You know, do it?
- 19:26Jennifer Johnson: Right.
- 19:27Veronica Cornish: And see how it goes.
- 19:28Jennifer Johnson: Yes, yeah Well.
- 19:30Jennifer Johnson: You have shared so much awesome information.
- 19:32Jennifer Johnson: Again.
- 19:33Jennifer Johnson: If our listeners want to get in touch with you, or maybe want to work with you, how can they reach out to you, veronica?
- 19:39Veronica Cornish: They can reach out to my website it's good, bccreativestudiocom.
- 19:43Veronica Cornish: They can email me at VC, at VC creative studiocom, or they can call me 404-539-5123.
- 19:52Veronica Cornish: They can even ask you for the information and it I'm on all social media Facebook, instagram so you know there's there's a way to reach out to me Fabulous.
- 20:04Jennifer Johnson: Thank you so much, Veronica, for being on today.
- 20:06Jennifer Johnson: Thank you for having me.