It’s funny how changing one term in a phrase can make us think so differently about something. On a recent panel discussion with Digital Commerce 360, I spoke about this exact paradigm change as it relates to the world of commerce.
Product detail pages (PDP) have long been something that we in the commerce space have used to describe the page within a website that holds all the key information that a customer would need in order to research, share, or purchase a specific product or service. While all of this still holds true, you might be saying to yourself, “Well, what’s changed Justin? Customers still need to access all of this information.” And I totally agree; they still need to access all of this information as it’s vital to the purchasing process. However, I believe the way we create, manage, and build these pages must start with the experience rather than detail
By referring to these pages as Product Experience Pages℠ (PEP), we can mentally start to put experience first. When building a PEP, we should think of the customer and what their needs are. How do they want to interact with the page? How many various types of personas might be accessing the page? What do they really care about when they are on this page? By asking yourself these questions, you can begin to build the experience that your customers are looking for first, and find the right places to interject the details they care about after.
For example, you might want to display real-time inventory on your PEP that lets users know what the current stock status is of a product. However, if most of your users access this page from a mobile device, and this stock status could be very challenging to find within that responsive mobile state. So, in this situation, by putting the customer and their experience requirements first, you could account for the type of experience they expect, and pivot the details of that page to match your customers’ expectations.
Why is this important? Well, I know I sound like a broken record when talking about COVID’s impact within commerce, but it truly is changing the way we as a society do things, and honestly leading with experience first is long overdue. COVID has made an ultra-competitive landscape even more competitive, and with that, B2B and B2C customers will be looking to solutions and experiences that serve their needs. If you can think with experience first and exceed customer expectations, you’ll be able to retain them longer.
Then the next time your customer is thinking of where to search for a product, they’ll think of your organization and the tailored experience you provide. This creates brand loyalty and affinity, which I would argue is one of the most important elements in keeping customers coming back.
So, the next time you’re examining product pages within your site, I invite you to look at how you can make your customers experience so great that they’ll never think of going to of your competitors again, and they might even tell colleagues about how great that experience is.
As the late Steve Jobs once said, “Life is about creating and living experiences that are worth sharing.” What experiences will you create and share with your customers today?
Sounds like a good update! Nothing big with new ideas replacing the old ones!