As ecommerce grows in popularity, so does the likelihood that a customer will learn about a product digitally before experiencing it in-person. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Every digital touchpoint (whether it be an email, a Facebook ad or a blog post) represents another opportunity to convert the customer or move them down the funnel toward a purchase. But to make the best of omnichannel shopping behavior, all your online assets should be cohesive with your wider brand, presenting the customer with a seamless experience.

Gone are the days when people visited stores with zero knowledge. Shoppers today do their own research before they check out, and 52% feel they are more knowledgeable than a store associate. Where do you as a business owner fit into this journey? Your job is to develop the right content and sales resources that provide all the information customers need to make a final purchase decision, whether in-store or online.

Shoppers used to have to tell Sales Associates what they needed before they were provided with personalized suggestions. But now, through site visits, clicks, and cart abandonment, your ecommerce experience can get to know customers better than they might even know themselves. Cookies track sessions and follow shoppers across the web to offer them tailored suggestions. Now a modern ecommerce website is expected to deliver the right message to the right customer at the right time.

Shoppers are faced with endless product choices online. The advantage to the consumer is that it’s easier than ever to find the same product for the lowest price.

There was a time when people felt the need to hold and inspect a product for themselves before buying it. While that is still more common with pricier items (e.g. cars, houses), it’s a declining trend (just as Carvana). 360º videos, augmented reality and virtual reality are closing the gap between the online and offline world. You can now overlay 3d models of furniture in your home to see if it fits your aesthetic. Companies like Zeekit are even developing ways for us to virtually try on clothing, eliminating the need for fitting rooms. All these developments have had a growing impact on foot traffic at retail stores.

Your marketing team has no doubt done an incredible job bringing a new audience to your ecommerce site thanks to the power of social media and SEO. But if we compare all of that marketing to a beautiful storefront that catches a customer’s eye, what happens once the customer "walks in the door" for the first time?

Ecommerce sites face an uphill battle when it comes to actual on-site conversion – the typical ecommerce site has a 2.4% conversion rate and a cart abandonment rate of about 58%. If either of those numbers were to improve, revenue overall would soar.

Just like in a store, a digital sales team can be counted on to actually initiate a conversation with a potential customer, taking the time to look into the data you’ve already collected, and deliver a personalized, informative message that boosts the customer's confidence about purchasing. A strong sales team empowered with tools like Endear can do much more than a chatbot can, by sparking conversation and continuing to engage with this customer one-on-one over any channel she wants – livechat, email, text or anything else. Better yet, all communication gets consolidated in the form of a helpful human who knows the brand's products inside and out. Through outbound outreach backed up by real-time data (also known as clienteling), a sales team can turn potential customers into actual buyers.  

Once a customer has purchased, the name of the game is retention and lifetime value. All the money your marketing team spent on acquiring that customer is measured entirely on how long she sticks around and how frequently she spends. A sales team can help dramatically increase customer lifetime value through clienteling and making each customer feel special and unique. Especially for customers who only have access to your brand online, providing them with a point of contact who they can speak to and rely on for information helps to alleviate concerns about future purchases and also ensures that these customers have the most relevant info shared with them directly (rather than through a generic marketing email). Every time a customer purchases, your business is collecting additional data. A salesperson is in the best position to incorporate this data in an ongoing basis instead of lumping this customer in with the rest of your marketing subscriber list.

Over time, you may notice that some customers stop purchasing as often or as much as they used to. Most marketing that targets this group is all about discounts – we’ve all gotten the “Hey Name, here’s 40% off just for you!” email. But rather than trying to win back customers with discounts, a sales team can help you pinpoint exactly what would motivate one customer to re-engage versus another. The answer might be changing up which products to recommend, or which channel you use to contact them. But a sales team can more quickly adjust the strategy in order to change a customer’s mind when armed with the right details.