It’s Saturday afternoon, your second cousin's wedding is fast approaching, and you still don’t have a dress. Mall or couch? It’s raining; pick the couch. Twenty minutes of surfing, ad for dream dress pops up on feed. It’s sexy and cheap; you order and lean back.
Three days later the package arrives. Fingers fumble as you rip it open, just dying to feel the silky fabric in your hands. But then that vision of your slinky self crumbles as you pull out the ugliest dress you’ve seen since your third cousin’s hen party.
“This is not what I ordered!” you scream, but no one hears you.
You go back online and try to get in touch with the company. No contacts anywhere on the website. You look for instructions on returning the dress and getting your money back. All you see is a lousy notification in fine print that return shipping fee is $65 — more than you paid for the dress!
Oh! And that’s when you notice some more fine print: allow three to four months for standard delivery; rush orders available … but obviously not for the dress YOU want!
So it’s down to the mall after all! So much for that experience! NEVER AGAIN!
Trust is essential
“Experiences like these not only give online retail a bad rep; they’re the best way to lose customers forever,” says Rui Botelho, SVP Strategic Industries at SAP Brazil. “The right solutions can give every company what they need to win customers for life.”
Rui goes on to explain that companies should start by rethinking their business model. “Every online experience should leave the customer with the feeling they can trust the retailer, so they won’t hesitate to come back,” he says.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with charging a return shipping fee, but it’s not right to hide the information. There’s nothing wrong with charging extra for faster delivery; just make sure the customer understands that they may not be getting the product they are ordering. And it’s absolutely crucial to provide an opportunity to communicate with the retailer, especially in this day and age of chat bots and other online options.
Doing the basics
Botelho outlines the essentials for a good customer experience. It starts with a core solution — SAP C/4HANA — that enables the retailer to manage processes and collect data — and includes the SAP Commerce module to transform the way the company engages with customers.
“This combination enables a retailer to transform the front office into a customer-centric, data driven business,” says Botelho.
The solution provides omnichannel services to give the customer those key communication channels, and gives the retailer a complete, robust view of the customer interactions. The data provides better insight into the customer’s needs and is integrated with back office functions to make sure sales, marketing and supply chain are fully aligned to deliver personalized digital commerce experiences and avoid catastrophes like sending the wrong dress.
“Being upfront goes a long way to win customer confidence — and that’s how you create lasting connections,” he concludes.
The bottom line
Experts like Maria Morais, Global Industry Principal SAP CX, believe that if a fashion retailer is not ready to respond to the high demand of customers and the business supply networks are not prepared with clear, data driven allocation and replenishment plans at a reasonable price, it may be best to refrain from trading at a global scale or even advertise in multiple channels.
“Advertising can help sell more but if the product or services are not good, the retailer should invest that money in improving the product instead,” says Morais. “One disappointed customer is one that will never trust the brand again and will make sure all her friends know about it!”
Visit us at NRF: Retail’s Big Show, SAP Retail to learn more about Experiences You Can Trust.
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