What are the benefits of guided selling?

Guided selling is nothing new. The act of guided-selling is what your in-store sales associates are undertaking each day in your physical stores when they interact with customers, listen to what customers are looking for and provide suggestions and proactive assistance in helping your customers find the products they are likely to be interested in buying.

In e-commerce however, many brands have forgotten the benefits of providing proactive assistance. But the benefits and ROI of guided-selling are clear. Guided selling solutions reduce the time and effort required from the shopper to buy from you.

Furthermore, it reduces the amount of thinking required from the shopper. As we all live in a world where time is scarce, convenience and customer experience are the key elements of building a successful retail offering, also in e-commerce.

Down below we have listed the main benefits of guided selling in rich detail.

1. Help inexperienced shoppers

Many customers shop online without knowing exactly what they are looking for. They may have an idea of what they're looking for, but don't know all the technicalities they need, the pros and cons of different features, or the main differences between the products they choose from.

Guided selling asks simple questions, explains features to create understanding, and presents relevant results.

2. Increase conversion rates

Guided selling has increased conversion rates by as much as 128% compared to a traditional sales funnel. How come? There are many reasons but one of the main reasons is the trust and reassurance you give to your customers.

Too many products to choose from could feel overwhelming and cause choice paralysis. In order to limit options, a guided selling service asks a few questions to determine which products will fit your customers needs best and make it easier to make a purchase.

3. Reduce returns

Returns happen for a number of reasons like receiving a damaged product, receiving a product that looks different than expected, receiving the wrong item, and more.

Many of these returns can boil down to customers lacking the proper knowledge before purchasing. This is especially true with customers buying the wrong product for them in the first place which could be entirely avoided with valuable pre-purchase resources.

Customers buying a product online through guided selling are no longer risking dissatisfaction with the purchase. If you are offered a product that fits your wants and needs the first time, it becomes effortless to order the right product and save money for the company.

4. Increase brand loyalty

Companies sometimes lose sight of the fact that online shopping should be a fun experience for the customer. Browsing customers don’t want online shopping experiences that feel like a drag that they just have to get through.

56% of customers are more likely to buy from a company that offers them some form of personalization. Offering a personal experience requires a correct implementation of the service. Rather than applying filters that always yield the same results, guided selling provides unique results to every interaction.

To increase brand loyalty retailers should not focus only on sales, but instead balance inspiration and education. Consider including education modules, informational texts, video demos and tutorials to further inform customers about brand specific benefits that address your customer’s needs, keeps them engaged & leaves a lasting experience.

5. Compete on value instead of price

86% of customers are willing to pay 25% more for a better shopping experience. With the right customer journey in place, brands can offer insights on value that could otherwise go unnoticed.

Presenting technical details or product specifications and highlighting the direct benefits of your offer ensures that customers no longer make their purchase choice solely on the basis of price.

6. No dead ends

When customers apply different sets of specific filters or search for exact items, oftentimes, they may yield “no results” if you do not provide what they’re looking for.

But the unique thing about guided selling is how it can present users with more relevant products that they may still be interested in, even if they don’t perfectly match their needs, rather than providing no results. This can encourage customers to stay on your site and continue shopping, reducing churn and abandonment rates.

7. Authentic upselling

When a customer completes a guided selling flow, you have a far better understanding of the customer’s wishes. With this, cross and upsell recommendations can now be far more relevant and feel less pushy.

According to Forrester, 54% of retailers that have implemented automated product recommendations have seen a yearly increase in their average order value.

Conclusion

Visitors interacting with the guided selling service are qualified customers ready to buy. These customers want to feel like they're receiving custom interactions. Guided selling allows you to cater to each unique customer interaction, regardless of which target audience they belong to, by narrowing down the conversation based on previous responses.

Taking the opportunity to give them personal advice is an unique opportunity that makes it easier for them to make a purchase decision.

We have also seen that guiding them along the way and providing them with specified sales options and education will not only boost conversion rates, but will also increase brand loyalty.

With guided selling, we help shift eCommerce businesses from a product-centric to a customer-centric approach that is based on understanding the needs of individual shoppers and communicating benefits rather than technical product features.

Try out Lantern to implement guided selling in your Shopify store.

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