The buyer expertise must be on the heart of your social media technique

Not surprising, social media Channels are important to attract new customers.

In the past, however, the role of the social network was primarily to bring the consumer to an external shopping platform (e.g. in 2020.

It’s about social trade, facilitated by tools like Instagram shopping and TikTok shopping.

According to a recently from Emplif. conducted study (a customer experience platform), the discovery and purchase of products via social media channels is expected to increase by 31.4% annually between 2020 and 2027.

Businesses and consumers see positive results in the buying process on social networks: the same survey shows that 83% of companies in the B2C market invest in two or more social networks as direct sales channels.

For brands, social commerce offers the ability to attract customers, provide a fast shopping experience, do assertive segmentation, build and maintain a close relationship with audiences, and get relevant data from consumers.

At the same time, this scenario is also favorable for the consumer: it is possible to easily analyze and compare the most diverse offers on the market, search for reviews, talk to other consumers and make the purchase easily and quickly – all with just one few clicks. As a result, we have a more active and independent consumer.

Beyond the sale

Despite the advantages and facilities that trading on the networks offers, it is necessary to pay attention to the complete strategy.

The same Emplif study shows that the main goal of the executives surveyed is revenue generation: less than 30% prioritize aspects that are directly related to the customer experience.

In this sense I would say: be careful! A strategy that primarily focuses on increasing sales can be doomed to fail.

The primary prioritization of sales generation means that a critical success component is overlooked: the added value for the customer along the journey. So all of your efforts will only be aimed at selling and not selling with a focus on the customer. That’s a problem.

When Customer experience is not prioritized, sales can stagnate. You need to understand the customer’s needs and provide an experience to match.

Increasing sales shouldn’t be the strategy, but the result

As a Global Customer Experience Analyst at Rock Content, I usually say that our customer is our biggest (and best) seller.

A satisfied customer buys more often from the company, stays longer (e.g. for recurring services), gives good reviews in social networks and above all provides new customers.

On the other hand, a customer with a negative experience can do exactly the opposite: not only do they not make new purchases, but they also rate negatively and influence other people not to buy (especially when it comes to a social platform as a vehicle for that purchase).

And one thing is certain: consumers trust other consumers.

According to a GlobalWebIndex poll, 54% of users use social media to search for products and services, and 71% are more likely to buy based on reviews.

A negative customer review can have a bigger impact than a good marketing campaign.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be aiming for sales growth here, however Structure your strategy around just the is not profitable in the long run.

Efforts should be focused on delivering appropriate customer experiences considering their needs and expectations. As a consequence, the increase in sales follows.

Experience is the result of customer interactions with the brand

Thinking about the customer experience is worth considering her entire journey – from the discovery of the brand to the subsequent purchase.

When we talk about a social commerce strategy, it includes a good social media shopping experience, but also some other aspects like content, service, delivery, product quality, and delivering on your brand promise.

However, it is important to take a holistic view of the entire journey to ensure that all sectors and processes are aligned towards the same goal (this should be customer-centric).

When planning your Black Friday and holiday campaigns, put the customer experience first

Imagine the following scenario: You create a strategy in Live shopping on Facebook to publish your Black Friday promotions. Your strategy is assertive and luckily you are selling a lot.

However, the high order quantity overwhelms the team or results in inventory not meeting demand. Your customer does not receive the product on time. He tries to get in touch with your brand, but to no avail: Your team was not prepared for the high volume of calls.

How is the perception in the end? What is this consumer going to say about your brand?

In such situations, the same customer can use social media to describe the negative situation they experienced with your brand. How many future opportunities are you missing out on because of this feedback?

Or, in another case, you’re planning a campaign to qualify your followers and increase Christmas sales, but don’t take into account the real needs and expectations of your audience. The result is a low liability rate and little turnover. In fact, according to the Emplif study, 47% of companies have difficulties converting followers into customers.

Often brilliant Marketing strategies end in a failed experience due to a lack of vision of the entire consumer journey and a lack of coordination between sectors and processes. Negative interaction with your brand can ruin your entire strategic effort.

The focus must be on the customer

Social commerce is a reality and is expected to continue to grow. However, there is still a long way to go if we talk about prioritizing the customer experience.

Maintaining a customer-centric mindset, involving the entire organization, and placing the customer at the center of your strategy and decisions is essential assertive and profitable.

And deep down we all know. I don’t know your job (maybe social media, marketer, customer success manager, etc.), but I’m sure of one thing: you are a customer.

Long before you took up your current position or decided on your profession, you were already consuming. We are natural customers and we know exactly when we are having a good (or bad) experience.

So I ask you to think about it: if you were a customer of your own company, would you be satisfied with your social experience?

If you would like to learn more about CX strategies and their application in social commerce, I also invite you to subscribe to our newsletter belowto get the best trends from marketing, CX, sales and technology straight to the point via email.