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The new furniture retail buying journey is one that takes place both online and in-store. Today’s furniture shoppers want limitless access to product information, customer service, and interactive experiences. Whether they are on their electronic devices or visiting the store, consumers expect to be able to engage with brands, manufacturers, and retailers.
From the minute they land on your website, your customer should understand what you sell and how they can make a purchase. The first step is to create an online shopping experience that matches what customers expect from shopping in-store.
Digital tools can make it feel like your website is staffed with a full set of furniture experts. From personal shopping tools to live chat software, you can continue to build onto a strong digital foundation that makes shoppers feel like they’re getting a customized experience.
Here are the stages of the omnichannel buying journey you can refine to make online and in-person shopping cohesive for your customers.
Congratulations! You made a sale. Time to start the cycle all over again, right? Not exactly. Customers who have already made a purchase from your business can become repeat customers — one of the most valuable assets a business can have. Increasing your retention rate by just 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%.
It’s also much cheaper to market to existing customers, since you already know what interests they have and the type of products that interest them. This helps you target their future needs. If a customer purchased a patio set from you during a previous visit, you can send them deals on outdoor furniture and accessories that could complement the first purchase.
Once you acquired a customer, your re-engagement campaigns were simple. Hand-written holiday cards were common, so were event invitations for customer-only, in-store events. Maybe you even called to get a review from the customer a few weeks after delivery.
It’s critical to keep in touch with customers after the purchase. An omnichannel strategy is the best way to approach this stage of the buyer’s journey. They’ve made the purchase. But now, you have to make sure you’re continuing to delight them through engaging emails, retargeting ads, social media posts, and more. Why? So your store stays at the top of their minds for future purchases or referrals — not to mention collecting customer reviews. Technology makes re- engagement easy to do.
