In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- Why customer experience is vital to e-commerce success
- How to find your best customers
- Content should be audience-driven, authentic and accessible in multiple formats
The Power Of Positive Customer Experiences
Kristen is an expert at grabbing customer attention in the DTC (direct to consumer) e-commerce space. She helps companies reverse their churn — the number of customers a business loses in a set amount of time — and believes that the customer experience is the most important part of DTC business.
While brick-and-mortar businesses have the benefit of interacting with customers face-to-face, e-commerce functions with near-anonymity. As a result, e-commerce businesses have to work hard to connect with customers in a human way.
“A good customer experience comes from feeling a good connection to a brand, and good connection comes from human to human interaction.”
Find Your Best Customers
In order to create a good customer experience, you first need to know who your customer is.
Kristen says if companies want to create excellent customer relationships, they must take time to lay the groundwork.
She recommends companies use their own data to answer the following questions:
- Which of our existing customers are most profitable in the long-term?
- When we acquire new customers, which ones act quickest?
Kristen challenges businesses to go a step further: Talk to your best customers, really try to understand them and get a sense of their bigger picture. It can seem scary, but Kristen has seen how a simple phone call can provide valuable customer feedback.
These conversations are perfect for building new content and upcycling existing pieces to directly target your best customers. If you focus on making these conversations impactful and personal, you will retain customers and build a community.
“[W]hen we invest in community, we get to also invest in ourselves and our best customers.”
Make Content Audience-Focused
In podcasting, it’s hard to measure repeat-listener retention. Kristen urges podcasters to create their content around what the audience wants to hear rather than just what the host wants to know. She says a good way to retain listeners is also to invite them to be guests on your podcast.
Being audience-focused also means making content available wherever the consumer wants to access it. Create occasions to communicate with people through multiple channels and types of content.
Authenticity Resonates
For Kristen, authenticity is fundamental to customer retention.
“If I make all my content perfect, then I’m not only setting an unrealistic expectation for my listeners and my customers . . . but also an unrealistic expectation for myself.”
Kristen reminds that it’s ok to give yourself space to be imperfect. Remaining curious, open to learning and proud of where you are in your journey are acquired skills — the more you practice them, the more you will be able to connect with your customers and community through authenticity.
