Providing customers the opportunity to have a positive experience with your brand is essential for building your business. Your presence on digital and mobile platforms is where many are able to find more about the business and determine if it is one in which they want to interact. Mobile, in particular, is important in setting the tone for your company as today, people “have 2x more interactions with brands on mobile than anywhere else,” including on television and in-store. If users have a negative experience, Google has found they are over 60% less likely to make a future purchase from the particular brand.
Google’s Research on Mobile’s Impact on Brand Reputation
To help determine what was making customers feel the most negativity, Google partnered with a research firm called Purchased to help study over 2,000 smartphone owners through over 17,000 brand experiences. This research has found three top customer complaints that would hurt a brand’s reputation: slow loading or difficult navigation, unhelpful and irrelevant information, and being too interruptive.
Here’s a Look at The Offenders:
Slow Loading & Difficult Navigation
Searching on mobile generally means we’re on-the-go or looking something up quickly. If your webpage is not properly optimized for mobile or takes longer than three seconds to load, you may be losing 53% of site visits from potential customers. If you are unsure of your site’s performance, use tools such as Google’s Test My Site for a full report and optimization suggestions.
When customers do reach your site, make sure your navigation is setup in a way that is easy to use on mobile. Ensure you provide a functioning “search” option to help direct users to exactly what they’re looking for, as well as simple navigation layout. Making it easier for customers to find what they want will make them much more willing to complete a purchase. That being said, also be sure your site allows for users to have their information and preferences pre-filled or saves billing information via a third-party checkout service. And for those not quite ready to purchase, allow them to save the desired item in their cart so they can easily login from their computer at home.
Unhelpful & Irrelevant Information
According to the research, “nearly 9 in 10 smartphone owners who describe a mobile brand experience as helpful or relevant would purchase from the brand again.” But, being online, how can you be helpful? Make fast, friendly customer service available through chats that allow users to receive a response right away (or within minutes). If you carry an inventory of products, set up your system so customers can see if you have a particular item in stock at your location. The more helpful you are, the more customers will be comfortable buying from you and recommending your brand to others.
It’s also important to make everyone’s experience relevant. With the plethora of data available regarding search behaviors and more, you can deliver a message that makes the most sense for a particular customer at a particular point in their purchasing journey. Customers also don’t want information that does not pertain to them, such as an individual searching for flights to Florida being advertised flights to Mexico.
Don’t Interrupt
While your basic goal is getting your brand out there in front of potential customers, doing so in a way that interrupts their experience will do more harm than good. In fact, “46% of people say they would not purchase from a brand again if they had an interruptive mobile experience,” which includes pop-up ads blocking content, or full-screen ads forcing users to scroll through to the content.
This interrupting behavior makes customers feel like they don’t have control over the interaction, and much like an in-person interaction, too much pressure is intimidating and can be a turn-off for many.
Solving your Digital Brand Issues
Thankfully, with the right strategy, it’s easy to give your brand a better digital reputation. It can take some time, especially if your website needs to be optimized, or you need to set up specific advertising rules and goals. That’s why we are here to help. Our experienced team will help you find your potential problem areas that could be hurting your brand’s performance, help you make any recommended changes, as well as set up, optimize and maintain an effective digital advertising campaign.
If you’re ready to let your brand make a positive impact, contact Amplified Digital Agency today!