In the early months of 2020, the digital landscape was already an extremely challenging space to understand and navigate. Then the pandemic hit, and this rapidly influenced how people began consuming social media as a way to have their needs met. This has since brought significant change to how retailers and brands can take action, sell their products and drive discoverability in the digital arena. So what are the questions you need to be asking in order to get your brand noticed in a digital and product-facing world?
1. Can customers discover my product in an organic or faceted search depending on their needs and preferences?
Customers are beginning to use social media as search engines and are searching for products based on their health, wellness and other lifestyle needs. The demand this is placing on retailers and brands is that they now need to increase the level of detail on their product information in order to make their products more searchable and better serve customers. It really comes down to better quality product data and moving beyond nutritional and ingredient label information to also including keyword searches in order to create a higher probability of personalised results.
2. Are my customers empowered with the product information they need and expect?
A strong product description page is key to any successful marketing strategy and in fact, this is the page that ultimately converts a visitor into a customer. The core of this transaction is that the customer needs to have access to all the product information linked to the product they are interested in. This includes size, dimensions, details, use and function. If a customer doesn't have immediate access to all this information, they then may become sceptical and will be unlikely to stay or worse, they may decide to go to a competitor. Imagery is also vital because it must be indicative of real-life representation, it should stand out from the competition and also look consistently good across all devices. The optimal amount of images that should appear on a product description page at any given time is five to eight images. Too many images make it hard to load, and too few images introduce scepticism. Essentially the product information and the images must work together to inform the customer and give them everything they need to make a decision.
3. Am I delivering a seamless user experience with rich product content?
For a strong brand strategy, all engagement should be as seamless as possible, by bringing all your products and related information directly to your customer. One way to break down your product marketing online is to divide the page into two halves: Above the fold and below the fold. Above the fold product information should focus on empowering the customer, while below the fold information should open the opportunity to engage customers and connect to them with strong product content, video views and other elements the customer can interact with.
The bottom line
Your product is central to your business and brand, so it is your responsibility to make sure that your customer can access everything they need to know in order to make a transparent decision about whether or not your product is right for them. By enhancing your product pages on your digital platforms you are taking an important step towards inspiring confidence and arming your customer with everything they need to partner with you in the sale. So to enhance your digital presence and fund your product content strategy contact Merchant Capital today.
