You spend all this money on marketing to get traffic to your website, but you’re lucky to convert 3% of them. There’s plenty of things you can do to improve ecommerce conversion rates, all varying in difficulty.
There is one tactic that [mistakenly] goes into the “too-hard” basket, despite it being able to:
- Increase conversion rates
- Increase Average Order Value
- Increase repeat purchases and Lifetime Value
That tactic is pre-sales support. It can drive a 40%+ increase in revenue by:
- Keeping visitors on your site (and stop them going to competitor)
- Converting more customers and increase their cart size
- Ensuring they come back to buy from you
Industry-leaders like Asana Rebel, Blenders and Meshki are already using it to fuel their growth, and you can too. And it isn’t as hard as most people think.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- What it is
- How it improves your bottom line
- What typical conversations look like
- How you can implement it (without breaking the bank)
eCommerce pre-sales 101
You’re browsing an online store, your cart loaded with potential purchases, but you hesitate. Questions start to flood your mind. Is this the right choice? Will it fit? What if it doesn’t work as expected? This is where pre-sales support swoops in to save the day—and your sales.
Pre-sales support is a proactive customer service approach that helps potential customers before they make a purchase decision. It’s about being there when the buyer is unsure, providing them with all the necessary information to make an informed decision with confidence.
Here’s what pre-sales support typically involves:
- Answering questions: From product details to shipping policies, pre-sales support ensures that all customer queries are answered promptly and accurately. This not only helps in clearing doubts but also in building trust with potential buyers.
- Product recommendations: By understanding customer needs and preferences, pre-sales support can guide them to the products that best suit their requirements, enhancing customer satisfaction and increasing the likelihood of a sale.
- Addressing concerns: Whether it’s about payment security or product quality, pre-sales support addresses all sorts of customer concerns, ensuring they feel secure and valued.
- Enhancing the customer experience: By offering personalized advice and support, pre-sales support transforms the shopping experience, making it smoother and more enjoyable.
The goal of pre-sales support is not just to answer questions but to connect, engage, and make potential customers feel that they are making the right choice by choosing your brand. It’s about nurturing leads and converting them into satisfied customers who are likely to return.
How it improves your bottom line
Pre-sales support helps your bottom line by helping plug another part of the leaky funnel, all the way from awareness to repeat revenue. It does this by:
- Converting more first-time buyers: When potential buyers have their product-related questions answered effectively, their confidence in both the brand and the products increases. You might have this information available somewhere on your site, but the modern buyer wants their specific questions answered right now. Otherwise, they’ll just go to another seller. Meeting the potential buyer where (and when) they are, you’ll be able to convert more of them.
- Reducing hesitance and addressing objections: Every customer has reservations, whether it’s about price, functionality, or compatibility. Pre-sales support acts as the first line of defense against these objections by providing clear, persuasive responses that can dismantle barriers to purchase.
- Upselling and cross-selling: Potential customers don’t know your products, but you do. With that knowledge, pre-sales support can suggest additional purchases that enhance the main product (such as accessories or extended warranties) or substitute a more suitable product entirely. This not only boosts the average order value but also improves the overall customer experience by ensuring they get the most out of their purchase.
- Creating loyal customers: Exceptional pre-sales support is not just about making a sale; it’s about creating an experience. By offering personalized advice, comprehensive information, and a friendly, approachable demeanor, pre-sales support sets the stage for a long-term relationship. This excellent customer experience fosters loyalty, encouraging customers to return and advocate for your brand.
Typical pre-sales conversations
You’ll encounter a wide range of pre-sales conversations via live chat, emails, website support forms and even in the form of phone calls.
You might feel some frustration given that this information is most likely already on your site, but CX is all about meeting (and exceeding) customer expectations. These are the the most typical interactions you’ll face:
Product details
53% of shoppers always do research before buying to ensure they are making the best possible choice. Prospects want to know about product specifications like color or size, features, dimensions, warranty, compatibility with other products, etc. Pre-sales support is an opportunity to answer specific product details and positively impact the purchase decision.
- “How does [product] compare to competitors?”
- “Which product do you recommend for thick hair?”
- “What are the side effects? Ingredients? Is it suitable for X?”
Shipping questions and technical support
Delivery conditions greatly influence the customer experience in eCommerce. 63% of online shoppers have abandoned a purchase because the delivery options were unsatisfactory. Prospects may want to know about expedited shipping options, international shipping policies, or troubleshooting steps for placing an order online.
- “What are the shipping options available for this product?”
- “I am experiencing a problem with placing my order. Can you help?”
- “Is expedited shipping available for this product?”
Pricing frustration or confusion
Pricing inquiries are common in pre-sales support, as prospects may have questions or concerns about discounts, promotions, price-matching policies, and additional fees. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate how the product is worth the price by showcasing its unique selling points.
- “Why does the price vary between different colors/sizes of the same product?”
- “Do you offer any discounts for bulk orders?”
Sourcing, ethical concerns, and brand values
78% of consumers feel that sustainability is important. Increasingly, customers are interested in the ethical practices of brands, including sourcing materials, production methods, labor conditions, and environmental sustainability. If a customer is interested enough in your products to ask detailed questions, consider it an opportunity to develop a stronger relationship with them.
- “Can you provide information about the ethical sourcing of your products?”
- “What initiatives does your company have in place to reduce its environmental impact?”
Doubts about product efficacy
Some prospects may want reassurance about the effectiveness of a product before they commit to a purchase. A library of reviews, testimonials, guarantees, or return policies can alleviate any doubts about the product’s performance.
- “What is your return policy if the product doesn’t meet my expectations?”
- “What do other customers typically say about the performance of this product?”
Stock checks
Stock checks are crucial for customers to plan their purchases and avoid disappointment due to unavailable items. Prospects may inquire about current availability, expected restocking times, or options for backordering items that are temporarily out of stock. Providing accurate and up-to-date information about stock availability helps customers make informed decisions and improves their overall shopping experience.
- “When do you expect to have this item back in stock?”
- “Are there any similar products if this one is out of stock?”
- “Can I reserve this item in advance if it’s out of stock but expected to be available soon?”
Implementing pre-sales support
There are a couple of different ways you can implement it, each with their own level of effectiveness:
- Self-serve pre-sales (quick but not very effective)
- Leveraging your existing team (effective, but requires ongoing effort)
- On-demand pre-sales support (highly effective, minimal ongoing effort)
1. Self-serve pre-sales
The self-serve method is the simplest and cheapest way to implement pre-sales support in your business.
It equips your potential customers with tools and resources they need to navigate the decision-making process independently. In addition to having comprehensive product listings, this means implementing:
- FAQs and knowledge bases: Develop comprehensive FAQs and an online knowledge base that covers all possible queries about your products and services. Ensure this content is easy to search and navigate, with clear, concise answers that leave no room for doubt.
- Product comparison tools: Implement tools that allow customers to compare different products based on features, prices, and specifications. This helps them match their specific needs with the right product, enhancing their confidence in making a purchase.
- Interactive guides and quizzes: Use interactive content like guides and quizzes to lead customers through a series of questions that steer them toward the most suitable product choices based on their answers.
- AI and chatbots: Integrate AI-driven chatbots to provide instant responses to common inquiries. This tool can guide users through your knowledge base or direct them to relevant sections of your FAQs. However, approach this technology with caution. Customers are becoming more adept at recognizing the limitations of AI and may become frustrated with generic or irrelevant responses. Ensure your AI tools are well-integrated and continuously updated to handle a wide range of queries effectively, providing a fallback option to human support when complex issues arise.
Pros:
- It’s cheap.
- It’s easy to implement.
Cons:
- It’s 100% reliant on the customer taking initiative. Buyers are increasingly wanting to be given information, not having to go find it.
- A poor self-serve implementation could increase frustration and do more harm than good. Buyers may get annoyed by how long it takes to get an answer, or not getting an answer at all.
- It can’t provide personalized support for highly-specific customer needs.
- The barrier of entry is low - everyone will be doing this in a short period of time.
2. Leverage your existing team
A significantly more effective option is to leverage your existing customer service team. There is some planning involved - it’s not as simple as turning on live chat and throwing tickets at them.
It’s best to start small, either on a specific set of products, brands or geographies. Start with a pilot program, and then scale.
You’ll need to:
- Choose the right people: Look for proactive go-getters in your customer service team who not only know your products inside and out but also have the spark—the kind of people who naturally engage in conversations and show a keen interest in solving problems. These are your potential pre-sales stars.
- Give them training: Ramp up their product knowledge to expert level so they can answer any question thrown their way. Then, polish their sales skills—teach them how to uncover customer needs, tackle objections gracefully, and communicate value compellingly. Don’t forget the soft skills—empathy, listening, and relationship-building are all part of the sales arsenal.
- Give them goals: Set clear, measurable objectives that align with your overall sales targets. Whether it’s improving lead generation, enhancing conversion rates, or increasing customer satisfaction scores, these goals will guide your team’s efforts and give them targets to strive for. Make sure these are challenging yet achievable, and tie them to specific KPIs to track progress.
- Learn and iterate: This is where the magic happens. As your team gets their feet wet, keep a close eye on performance. Gather data, solicit feedback from both the team and customers, and use this information to tweak your approach. Are customers responding well? Are the sales techniques effective? What can be improved? This phase is about refining your strategy, enhancing training, and scaling the success points.
Give your team time to get it right. Pre-sales support isn’t the same as post-sales support. And buyers vary between different segments and product types. You’ll need to run the pilot program for at least 3 months.
Pros:
- Cost efficiency: Using your current team saves on hiring and training costs.
- Enhanced customer experience: Familiar team members can offer more personalized service.
- Increased employee engagement: New roles can boost job satisfaction and retention.
- Immediate feedback loop: Quick feedback from your team helps refine strategies faster.
Cons:
- Training requirements: Your team may need significant sales training.
- Potential overload: Additional duties might overwhelm your team.
- Skill mismatch: Not everyone may be suited for or interested in sales tasks.
- Limited scale: There may be limits on how much new work your team can handle.
- Conflict of interest: Focusing on sales could compromise customer service quality.
3. Get on-demand pre-sales support
The most effective way to leverage the benefits of pre-sales support is to extend your existing team with an on-demand solution.
Instead of hiring new staff (and training them), you can augment your core team with ecommerce support specialists.
A specialist provider should be able to work with you to find a solution that fits your scale right now. For example, at Influx, we offer flexible options ranging from pay-per-ticket, all the way to part-time agents and dedicated teams.
An on-demand solution gets you pre-trained staff who can start quickly bringing in revenue, without you having to figure out how to do it yourself.
Pros:
- Highly effective solution: Having specialists immediately available to customers 24/7 means that this option just works better than the alternatives.
- Flexible plans and costs: You can use a plan that suits your business, without making a massive up-front investment.
- Brand alignment: Trained agents become extensions of your brand, delivering service that reflects your company’s values and voice consistently.
- Omnichannel availability: Comprehensive support is provided across all channels—email, social media, live chat, or phone—meeting customers wherever they are.
- Top tier talent: have the top 1% of agents, ensuring your pre-sales interactions are handled by the best in the business.
Cons:
- Day-to-day involvement: slightly less direct control over each customer interaction, which might be an adjustment to businesses that prefer hands-on engagement.
Wrapping up
With rising customer acquisition costs and a constant stream of new competitors, you need to pull on new levers to drive growth.
Pre-sales support isn’t just about lifting your conversion rates by 40%—it converts them into loyal customers and significantly increases your revenue.
Start now, even on a small scale, and begin seeing the benefits. Your potential top customers are already browsing your site—make sure they find what they need and have a reason to stay.
