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While the title of this post may be a little sarcastic, the truth is not far off the mark.
None of us need to be convinced that the world is facing a lot of problems, and the world is made up of individuals. Each person has a list of personal problems, some longer than others.
Contrary to what you or your organization may think, your store does not exist to “make money.” It exists to solve people’s problems—one person at a time. When it does that successfully, the result is money.
A Couple of Real-Life Problem Solvers
I think of one of our longtime clients, AdaptiveMall.com. Family-owned and operated, this store’s mission is to positively impact the lives of children with special needs. The COO, Katie Bergeron Peglow, is a licensed Pediatric Physical Therapist who uses her knowledge and experience to ensure Adaptive Mall is a trusted resource. Families that need counsel as well as the products to help their special-needs children rely on Adaptive Mall. Katie and her team solve problems.
We all admire the pursuit of a company like AdaptiveMall.com, but you might think your product line doesn’t exactly solve problems in the same noble fashion. Think again!
Another family-owned operation that I greatly admire is ScaleTrains.com. The world’s foremost authority on collectible train products, Scale Trains solves problems by making people forget about theirs!
Words cannot express how impressed I was with how Scale Trains handled themselves throughout the pandemic. Scale Trains President, Shane Wilson, made sure that his team was tuned in to the emotional needs of their customers. While fear and anxiety gripped the hearts of so many, this is a brand that replaced dread with joy.
As the world got darker, Shane’s focus was on keeping the trains running.
But what about you and your store?
No matter what your store may sell, it’s important to key into the specific emotions of your customers. Buying is an emotional process. Even if you sell something that engages the brain, the heart is still connected.
To connect with customers’ emotions, you must do more than just list row after row of product thumbnails. You must tell a story through merchandising.
Merchandising is much more than communicating what’s on sale. The “story” should involve how your product will solve problems. Here are eleven ways you can do that:
1. Include blurbs in your larger graphic ads that describe the specific value that the product brings to the customer.
2. Look beyond the homepage to interior pages that could benefit from the “story” about your products. This includes category and sub-category pages, not just your product page.
3. Make brand promises that your company can solve problems, from the products themselves to shipping and customer service. When you make good on those promises, it boosts your credibility for subsequent purchases.
4. Consider how visuals and short verbiage can help differentiate your own products, even on a thumbnail level. For the uninitiated, the focus should be on replacing confusion with clarity.
5. Ensure that your product descriptions are easy-to-read, with clear benefits that stand out. Break up the monotony of longer descriptions with blurbs, images, and videos.
6. Feature prominent contact methods for customers that need even more personal interaction to solve their product-related questions.
7. Craft intuitive call-to-action buttons that make it obvious what customers should expect on the other side of the click.
8. Zero in on the most common questions and pushbacks your customer base has about your products, then make sure they are prominently and intuitively addressed on the site.
9. Be sure to think about the experience your customer has as they get ready to check out — what problems could they still have before completing a purchase?
10. Get personal by communicating your and your team’s passionate expertise. When customers see that you care about the same things they care about, they feel like you can solve their problems.
11. Show how you’ve been successful in solving other customers’ problems by displaying testimonials, reviews, and social media proof.
Problem-solving is what makes eCommerce fun. We can become so wrapped up in the “commerce” side that we can lose track of the customers themselves. When our mission is to impact their lives for the better, this becomes an unlimited source of creativity and inspiration. It’s a true “win-win” for both you and your customers. Have some questions about improving your merchandising? Reach out to EYStudios.
