The first impression is the last impression-the same goes for your Shopify website. If you want your website visitors to make a purchase, you need to make sure that they have everything they need there. Including a hassle-free way to communicate with you.
You can always have your contact number, email, or other means of contact. But you know what will be the best option?
WhatsApp. Here’s why -
Almost 2 billion people worldwide use WhatsApp. And out of Internet users aged 16-64, WhatsApp reigns supreme, beating out Instagram and Facebook to the top spot of the most popular social network. So more often than not your customers would be more comfortable with using WhatsApp.
If you want to make your Shopify website more convenient for users with WhatsApp, then keep on reading.
How To Install WhatsApp Chat to Shopify Website
Step 1: Install the app in Shopify
First thing first, you need to find a suitable app to integrate WhatsApp chat with your Shopify website. For that, log in to your Shopify dashboard and go to Apps from the left-side menu bar. Then click on the ‘customize your store’ button on the top right corner. You will then be directed to the shopify app store.
From there on, click on the search bar and search for ‘WhatsApp chat’. You will be introduced to a number of Shopify apps that work with WhatsApp chat. But for this tutorial, we will stick to the ‘WhatsApp chat+Abandoned cart’ app. It’s a free app that has a hassle-free process to install WhatsApp chat along with other features. Click on the app and click add app. Go through the permission screen and click on install app. Once it’s installed you will be automatically redirected to the app's dashboard.
Now you just need to configure the app’s settings as per your liking.
Step 2: Modify the app’s settings
Now that you are at the app’s dashboard, you will now start configuring its settings. You can scroll down to see multiple options to customize your chat widget.
Update WhatsApp account number
The first thing you need to do is update your WhatsApp account number. For that, you need to click on the first option which is ‘Mobile No. & design+ profile picture’. Here you need to add your WhatsApp account number that your website visitors will reach out to. So when they click on the WhatsApp chat widget and send a message it will be directed to that specific number.
If you have multiple agents looking over your WhatsApp channel then you can also modify the settings so that they can access the WhatsApp chat widget at specific times of the day. For that just scroll down and set the timing. If all of your agents are offline at the same time then the chat widget will go off mode and won’t show up on your website.
You can also change your WhatsApp chat icon’s avatar and WhatsApp chat name in the ‘Mobile No. & design+ Profile Picture’ option. Once you’ve brought these changes click on ‘save’.
Modify font and text
The next option is ‘Colors, Fonts Configuration’ which will allow you to change the background color of your WhatsApp chat widget. You can stick to the classic green shade or you can pick any color from an array of options to match your website’s color palette. You can see the real times changes in the widget on the bottom right corner of the screen.
You can also change the font from all the available fonts in that section. This font is for the text that is displayed with the chat widget. Like - chat with us. Right below that you can change the font size and the font style (bold, italic, and bolder).
On the text configuration option, you can edit the pre-fill text, offline text, and welcome message that your customers will see when they see the chat widget, click on it, and continue the conversation. You can also add the tracking order parameters for your customers right below that. Which allows them to see where their packages are at the moment.
Modify the position of the chat widget, call to action button, and email
In the ‘Button Display & Position’ option, you can change where your chat widget is seen on your screen.
In the enable call to action button you get to enable or disable the call to action feature for the chat widget. If you decide to enable it, you can bring further changes to the feature. You can change the animation, time duration, and the text that will be displayed with the call to action button.
Finally, if you want to collect the email of your customers enable the ‘Email Popup in Chat’ option. This will allow you to notify your customers about offers and discounts through emails when needed. Edit the header text, button text, placeholder text, etc as needed.
Once you’ve done all of the above changes click on save. And now you’re good to go. You have now successfully added the WhatsApp chat widget to your Shopify store.
End Note
Making your store's website more user-friendly should be your top priority. It's fantastic to have email and contact information. However, many of your clients will not bother to email each member of your staff individually for a single question. And that's a possible sale lost.
As a result, having a WhatsApp chat widget on your website is always useful. You should be set to go now that you know how to install it on your WordPress website!
Do you find yourself chasing down new customers because current customers aren't sticking around, and you need to keep your eCommerce business afloat? Is it a sustainable strategy to run your eCommerce business?
We hear you saying no because it actually isn't. It's time you need to focus on Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).
In this competitive narrative, you can't really go far by keeping on investing in getting NEW customers rather than keeping your OLD customers. What you really need to concentrate on is maximizing your revenue from your present customers. And this is where customer lifetime value comes into play.
According to Tim Cameron Kitchen- CEO of Exposure Ninja, "In order to increase your customer lifetime value, you need to pull two levers. One, increase the number of purchases. And two, increase the purchase value of each customer. And of course, a good business will have a combination of both of these levers."
We want your business to have high customer LTV. So we noted down a series of pointers that you could follow to increase your customer lifetime value and higher profits. Before we dive into the strategies, let's start with the basics.
What is Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)?
According to Omniconvert, "customer lifetime value (CLV) shows how much revenue a business can expect from one customer compared to how long the company predicts that customer will stay."
Customer lifetime value is an important metric for eCommerce brands to measure the average accumulating total of their purchase for some time.
Lifetime value helps you determine if your business will scale the ROI from marketing. It also helps you evaluate the retention strategy depending on how low or high your LTV is.
How To Increase Customer Lifetime Value
You can increase your customer lifetime value by either increasing your Average Order Value or Average Purchase Frequency. An increase in either of these metrics will rise Customer Lifetime Value. Apart from that, let's take a look at the other ways to increase CLV.
— Improve Your Customer Support
Treating your customer right is the core to increasing customer lifetime value. According to Tim Han, an international speaker and author from success insider - "treating your customers like family is the key to recurring customers."
Now we're not telling you to turn a blind eye to their red flags and keep on supporting them. But we definitely recommend you to go a bit above to give them special treatments. In fact, according to research from PWC, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience. So enhancing your customer support is an absolute must.
A solid customer support strategy includes attention to the customer pre, mid and post-sale. Your customer support should cater to your customer at every stage of their buying journey. A great way to make sure your customer's queries are always answered in no time is by using an AI-powered chatbot. Having a live chat available can turn a customer question into a sale or complaint into a resolution. We recommend you check out MyAlice as their chatbot can actually automate your entire selling process from start to finish. And the best part is, MyAlice is completely free to sign up!
You need to make sure your customers are returning again and again for the delightful experience you provide.
— Send out occasional gifts
Who doesn't like free stuff? Especially when it comes as a surprise from a place you shopped from. We find ourselves leaning towards shops that offer great discounts or free goodies in most cases. And that's because this is a psychological trick that all of us fall for.
Lippincott's creative consultancy provided a scientific and psychological-based study called the "Happiness Halo" - proving exactly that. In the "Happiness Halo," the author stresses, "Appeal to customers' reason and they're yours for a day. Appeal to customer's emotions, and they're yours for a lifetime."
And nothing is more solid than sending gifts to appeal to your customer's emotions. It shows them that you care about them more than just a means of getting some sales.
We're not telling you to send out gifts 365 days a year to every customer for every purchase. But rather, identify your loyal set of customers and potentially loyal customers, and then send out occasional gifts to show them you care.
— Nudge Your Customers into Subscriptions
One of the most popular ways (that works) of increasing the number of purchases of your customers is by bumping them into subscriptions. They're one of the new trends of e-commerce. And they can be lucrative enough that we even see big names like GoPro getting into the subscription realm they previously didn't opt for.
You can nudge them into a subscription by displaying a subscription-biased pricing option of your product.
This basically means you will show the pricing option of a one-time purchase on one side. And on another, the pricing option is based on subscription. However, you need to show your customers how the subscription pricing will be more effective and profitable.
This will incentivize them to opt for the subscription rather than going for a one-time purchase.
Another way of getting your customers into subscriptions is by showing the subscription as the default purchase method. And if customers want to go for a one-time purchase, they need to click on that purchase method.
You can do to level up the subscription game by giving them an option to allow your customers to customize the time frame and the amount of product for the subscription. This way, they will not have too much stock of the product based on their lifestyle. And they are less likely to cancel the subscription altogether.
— Integrate Add-ons and Upsells
Another great way to increase the average order value of your customers is by adding add-ons and upsells. Big names like GoDaddy GoPro have been using this pricing strategy for years now, which has helped them generate more sales.
Everything that you throw at your customers before and after purchasing the products is for one thing - increasing the order value.
And therefore, there's an increase in customer LTV. Some of your add-ons and upsells features may seem annoying to your customers. But it's a genius idea for your business.
Since you are competing in a very competitive and price-sensitive space, If you want to maximize your customer acquisition, you need to maximize the value of every customer you get through the door.
By doing so, you can save the money that you would have otherwise spent on getting new customers. So you can now invest it in other business activities. Like - marketing. Which will help you build market share without increasing the price of their core product.
— Introduce Premium Versions
Introducing a line of premium versions of the same product can incentivize your customers to opt for better options. But, you need to make sure you can present it in a manner that demonstrates why the premium versions are better than the regular ones.
That way, customers who always want the best of everything are more likely to opt for the premium purchase. The pricing of the premium product will also be higher than the regular, which may be a problem for some of your customers. In such a case, you can introduce split pay for that.
Now split pay is absolutely everywhere and another massive trend of e-commerce over the last few years. One of the biggest players in the split pay market -Klarna, claims to increase the average order value by up to 58%.
Split pay will help you get more sales for your premium products and end up increasing the average order value for your customers.
Drawing Conclusion: Loyalty Brings Revenue
The right customer lifetime value model can boost your company's growth and progress in many ways. It puts more money in your business's wallet by lowering customer acquisition costs and saving money on marketing and sales activities.
Delivering a great deal of value, understanding the customers being in their shoes, prioritizing customer service are what they need to come back to you again and again.
