Lily Of The Valley Designs

First, I like the fact that there is no left navigation menu but the top menu bar expands to display all the links in the category; making it easy to find what you want. Also having no left navigation means more room to show products and less scrolling.

Shopping for jeans has never been so easy. You can shop by fit, wash or occasion. I also love the use of interactive media on this page.

There are customizations features where you can select the look and color you want for your own polo shirt.

On every product page there are stylist picks and their stylist has good taste.

My favorite though is shop by outfit day to night. Not only can you pick the top and bottom but also the accessories, perfume, and underwear as well.

I have implemented a quick questionnaire on the checkout page that asks how we could improve our services (optional of course).

Questionnaire on Checkout page

We got great responses: from great service, to it was hard to find an accessory for a product. We also got some real funny responses like;

“Send me a check for $40,00 and we can get started right away”

“A little salt pepper and a dash of oregano”

But overall we got a chance to give the customer a voice and they frequently used this tool to speak their mind. And it helped us to improve our e-commerce website.

Other ways to listen to your customer:

1. Read emails from customers see what they are frequently complaining about.

2. Create a text box on checkout page like mentioned above.

3. Enable product reviews. Customers love to see what other customers have said.

4. Ask customer representatives what customers are frequently saying on the phone when they call in.

5. Send out a survey via email. Give customers a good reason to fill out survey. If not you may get any responce.

6. Get potential customer to review your site.

7. Implement what you learn from your customers and measure results. Then do it again.

What makes some businesses fail and other’s successful?

I have thought long and hard about this question. After analyzing some businesses that failed and others that grew I saw one characteristic in common with businesses that succeeded. This was that the business created “an experience”. From the website to the packaging of the product was an experience.

I went to timberland.com the other day and practically got lost in the shopping experience. Every page is so dramatic it just brings the user in to a new world. The colors and background texture all have a consistent feel. Customize a boot was fun I tried it and I wasn’t even in the market for boots. See I even put my initials on the boots of my dreams in pink!

Or shopping at Toys R Us to buy a hula hoop which I couldn’t find anywhere surprisingly even at the Toys R Us near me. I had never purchased there before but I though what the heck. What I remember is the after purchase experience. I got the following emails after purchasing the hula hoop: thank you for your order, your order has shipped, your order is scheduled to arrive today, and WELCOME TO THE TOYS R US FAMILY. I really liked the whole after purchase experience but that last email really takes the cake. I feel apart of a new family now and I feel like shopping there again; after all they are my new family.

Have you ever gotten a package from Carols Daughter? What an experience! The box has a great natural feel and design. Once you open the package the journey begins. Instead of old packaging material they use natural papers and aromas. They have created an experience around there brand.

How can you create “an experience” you ask

1. Analyze your brand and what you represent.

2. Start from the very start of the shopping experience to finding your site on Google to receiving a package and analyze each step of the shopping experience to see how you can create “an experience”.

3. Look at other successful e-commerce sites. See how they have created a shopping experience.

4. Finally usability testing to see how customers respond.

If you can think of any other sites that create “an experience” drop me a line.