Do you walk your customers’ journey regularly?

Or compare it to what your competitors are doing to see who’s best?

Do you ask for feedback from your customers so you can see what they think of you and your competitors?

And do you act on that feedback to pre-empt potential issues before they cause a problem?

This Christmas one online retailer lost:

1. a £50 transaction
2. one customer and their goodwill - forever.
3. …all of which very avoidable

Think of this multiplied thousands of times when you’re looking at the varying results from retailers for Christmas 2018.

Great products get you so far – simple friendly experience gets you further. You need both.

Here's the story…

I forgot my login password at checkout with a basket of items while shopping for presents online before Christmas. Halfway through trying to sort it out I remembered I’d had exactly the same experience with this company at the same time the previous year. They make wonderful products – evidently why I gave them another chance and returned to them – but they’re really not making it easy either to transact or to sort issues. A few simple disconnects in their customer journey ruined what should have been a seamless experience – and have also now broken up our beautiful relationship because I won’t bother again.

£50 of products in my basket at the checkout didn’t get sold and that £50 instead went to a competitor – who now has a place on my roster / in my email / on my phone – since they too have lovely products – but they also have a fully functioning site.

Here’s the melodramatic note I left on the company’s contact page after they’d wasted my time and made me look elsewhere.

“I'd consider having a phone number on your site - this is a seriously unhelpful website.

You promised to send me a new password - most websites in 2018 send this through immediately - but not yours. I'm impatient - like most online customers. If you haven't sent me a new password within a minute or so I assume you're not going to and your system doesn't work - and no it's not in my junk mail. And no I haven't received it within 15 minutes now either.

Just a little CX feedback for you - but this is part of my general xmas shopping hour or so - Not on The High St has also featured - they DID send me an instant reminder – so I shopped with them. You won't let me progress to the checkout with the products I want to purchase from you because your system recognises my email but I can't remember which password I used several Xmases ago when last I bought from you. Which means I'll have to find somewhere else to spend my £50 with. I seem to remember the same experience happening to me on your site last Xmas too.

And so you promise to get back to me via email within 24 hours! Wow! Again - that's not much of a claim in 2018 - if I were you I'd check out what other retailers are doing - to benchmark yourself against the kind of features and benefits they offer their customers. The ones that make it easiest for their customers will be getting most money. It's Darwinian.

I get that you're a small business - but perhaps you should be more accessible to your customers - they have the money - times are tough in retail as I'm sure you realise - don't be erecting barriers between them, their money and you. Goodbye!”