In recent years, retail and eCommerce businesses have adapted to the increasing influence of digitalisation. Customers now demand user-friendly digital interactions, with little tolerance for inconveniences. Surprisingly, 86% of customers are willing to abandon a brand after just two negative experiences.
Regardless of your product’s success, the quality of customer interactions takes precedence. Each interaction contributes to a customer’s perception of your brand and their overall shopping experience. Every touchpoint holds significance. The key is to identify and optimise them to meet digital era expectations, ultimately boosting conversions and improving your bottom line.
Defining customer touchpoints
A customer touchpoint is any interaction between a customer and your brand that shapes their perception of you. This could be seeing an advertisement, engaging with customer support, or downloading your app. These touchpoints are strategically placed throughout the customer journey, offering insights into how customers engage with your business. Each touchpoint presents an opportunity to impress and satisfy customers, enhancing their overall shopping experience.
Touchpoints exist at every stage of the customer journey, from pre-purchase to post-purchase. It’s essential to map out all interaction’s customers have with your brand to determine their value or if they’ve turned into pain points.
Some typical retail touchpoints:
| Pre-purchase | During purchase | Post-purchase |
| Social media post Advertisements Online reviews Word-of-mouth Blog |
Making and account Website or app browsing Checkout process Customer support Targeted ads |
Re-engagement campaigns Promotions Billing Delivery Feedback Returns and exchanges |
Identifying touchpoints involves putting yourself in the customer’s shoes and pinpointing every point of contact with your brand. Utilising feedback surveys and reviews can help determine the emotions associated with each touchpoint and reveal hidden pain points.
Case study – Petpetgo
Consider Petpetgo, an eCommerce retailer that discovered that Facebook ads and general email campaigns yielded a low Return On Advertising Spend (ROAS). These touchpoints were detrimental to customer relationships, impacting their bottom line. By identifying these ineffective touchpoints, Petpetgo reduced advertising spending by 10% and doubled their purchasing frequency.
How did they achieve this transformation? They adopted a combination of…
Isaac Akanni | Customer Growth Manager | Africa | Infobip Nigeria | mail me |
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