The right connection to the customer
Rudimentary information
Does the shirt run small or large? How does the feel and texture of the fabric feel? How does it feel to sit on the sofa? Is the couch rather soft or hard upholstered? everyone who stores online knows these or similar questions. As a rule, they are only answered once the product has been delivered. However, if it then turns out that the product does not meet expectations due to inadequate product descriptions, the item is returned. This is a bitter transaction with serious consequences for the retailer. The return is expensive, the customer is dissatisfied and the retailer must also expect negative reviews. And all this "only" as a result of inadequate or missing information on the product detail page. Many online retailers feed their (potential) customers with rudimentary information about the product: size, material, width, height and depth.
The gap between experiencing and describing
Insufficient product information often deters customers from making a purchase. The sticking point: the gap between being able to experience the product in bricks-and-mortar retail and simply describing the product in online retail is difficult to close. "Despite all the connected commerce efforts, many online retailers fail to bridge this digitalization gap," says Philipp Kruse, Unit Director for Digital Content at the digital agency hmmh. "We prepare the product data and describe how the fabric feels, how it is finished or how it feels to sit on a couch," says Kruse. "Our task is to digitally convey and make tangible exactly what a shopper does when inspecting the product in a brick-and-mortar store." After phone calls with product managers, buyers and photographers, sober product sheets are transformed into product detail pages with emotional added value.
Product detail pages as a core aspect
Online retailers invest a lot in usability, conversion rate optimization and design, but the design of product detail pages is often a marginal aspect. Wrongly so, because the best marketing strategy is useless if the goods are returned at a high price due to inadequate product descriptions and the buyer has become an unsatisfied customer. although the peripheral topic of product data is becoming increasingly important in the context of advancing customer centricity, many retailers still need to be made aware that the quality of product data has a direct link to sales. "The most important piece of advice to our customers is: don't rely on the often rudimentary manufacturer data," says Kruse, "but think about how you can prepare your content in a customer- and product range-specific way. "What is important to tradespeople when they want to order their tools online? What information do they need? It is also important that product data can be found via Google and other search engines and that content is unique and does not appear at different retailers. "It's no longer enough to produce media-neutral content," warns Kruse. "Information must be prepared for the respective touchpoint in terms of layout and design, structure and depth of content." Users have a different clicking behavior on a smartphone than on a large screen. "Developing a touchpoint strategy is one of the biggest challenges. In the end, it is crucial that the right content is displayed in the right depth at the right time on the right device. "This is when an online retailer has the right connection to its customers. And the digital gap will narrow a little.
