Case Study: From Chat to Checkout at Walton Jewelers

This case study originally appeared in the Chat for Retailers ebook, as a free download on Podium.com.

Every customer is a little different, but one thing they all crave is convenience–a shorter commute, a faster checkout, a simpler customer journey. Tech-savvy retailers, like Walton Jewelers, are using innovative communication platforms to engage customers as soon as they land on their website.

They recently helped a customer find the perfect engagement ring to surprise his girlfriend. Here’s an excerpt from their text conversation.

Customer: Hey, this is Hayden. I’m proposing to my girlfriend and I found this engagement ring on her Pinterest. Do you have anything like it?

[sends image of engagement ring]

How would your business respond to this type of request? How long would it take you to respond to a request like this? Without Webchat, Hayden might have moved on after browsing their online inventory. Instead, Walton Jewelers was able to respond almost instantly and keep the conversation going through text messaging.

Walton Jewelers: Hayden—Kate here. Congrats! We have several rings like that or we could custom build one.

Walton Jewelers: When can you come in?

Hayden: Tomorrow @ 3:30?

One day later:

Walton Jewelers: Hayden, your appt. with Kate is today at 3:30. Our address is 101 Main Street.

Walton Jewelers gave Hayden a compelling reason to visit the store and was able to quickly and easily schedule an appointment at his convenience. They also used text messaging to schedule an appointment reminder–improving the overall customer experience and increasing the likelihood of Hayden actually showing up.

Walton Jewelers: Hi, Hayden! It was great meeting you! I’m excited for your fiancé to see her custom ring! Would you mind taking 30 seconds and leave us a quick review?

http://pdm.com/1234

It’s impossible to know how many customers just like Hayden visit your website every day without ever making a purchase or coming into the store. A customer interaction platform helps you talk to your customers when they’re listening and most likely to respond. For Walton Jewelers, that means sending out review invites right after customers complete their transaction.

[Review invitation link was clicked]

[Hayden Boyce left a 5-star review on Google]

“Walton Jewelers was so easy to work with! Kate and her team custom designed the perfect ring for my fiancé and took care of everything. I’m a customer for life!”

How you communicate with your customers matters more than ever. Give them a five-star experience and your customers will love you and your business. With every review, you increase your chances of attracting more customers, just like Hayden, looking for the most convenient local business.

Chat products are redefining communication for local retailers like Walton Jewelers. But it’s not just jewelry stores taking advantage of modern convenience to convert more customers. Any business with a physical presence can take advantage of these same tools.

Closing the Loop

Get Found

The first step in any customer’s journey is finding your business. Finding a business today typically means searching online. But even without a website, an extraordinary local business can still get found with a compelling Google My Business listing. The best GMB listings showcase glowing customer reviews, and give searchers a snapshot of what it’s like to visit the business. The benefit of great customer reviews extends far beyond the actual review itself.

It’s no coincidence that the businesses ranking at the top of local search results, are also the most highly recommended. On average, 73 percent of Podium users see an increase in their local SEO as a direct result of the product. Users also reported a 6 percent increase in revenue, on average, as a result of Reviews. Plus, it already integrates with the most popular review sites to make sure you’re showing up where it matters most.

Get Connected

Getting found by potential customers doesn’t do you that much good if you can’t close the deal. That’s why Podium introduced Webchat, a seamless way to convert website visitors by taking online conversations to text messaging. It allows you and your customers to keep the conversation going from any device, anywhere in the world. So your team doesn’t get tied to a desk, phone, or computer.

If Webchat is a channel for acquiring new customers, then Podium’s Messaging Platform is the hub. It combines all of your business messaging from Facebook Messenger, Google Click-to-Message and more into a single inbox. Making it easy to organize, archive, automate and reply to messages as without breaking a sweat.

Get Chosen

There’s no gaming Google. If you woke up tomorrow at the very top of local search results, it would only last as long as you provide the best customer experience. A sub-par customer experience leads to below average reviews and as fast as you climbed, you’re back where you started. The fastest way to the top is to actually be the best, and the best way to get there is through Feedback.

Feedback provides business owners with instant insights from customers in real-time. It combines qualitative and quantitative feedback into a snapshot of how your business is doing from the customer’s point of view. Over time, it helps you surface trends and diagnose problems before they ever materialize. Reviews will help your business find its way to the top, Feedback keeps you there.

This case study originally appeared in the Chat for Retailers ebook, as a free download on Podium.com.