Customer Experience
As I've looked across the industry at online personal shopping software, one of the things that I've uncovered is a lack of focus on the customer's happiness during their interaction with a brand.
In short, many of the metrics I saw highlighted by our competitors were focused on how quickly a ticket was resolved, or what percentage were closed…
These are customer support metrics, not personal shopping metrics.
Frankly, this discovery was shocking to me since the happiness of a customer is one of the largest factors when measuring lifetime customer value (LTV), a core metric in understanding how much customers would be worth to a brand over their entire lifetime.
In today's fast-paced digital world, online shopping has become an integral part of our lives. With the convenience of browsing and purchasing at our fingertips, it is no surprise that the demand for online personal shopping software is skyrocketing.
First of all, online personal shopping software is an advanced e-commerce platform that allows customers to shop in a more personalized, conversational manner. Often referred to as conversational commerce platforms or concierge commerce, online personal shopping solutions help brands create a digital shopping experience that is tailored specifically to the needs of their customers.
But this is where the similarities end. Each platform we'll discuss here today has a different approach to how they handle the unique demands of customers while shopping online. At the end of this article, hopefully, you'll agree that there is one clear winner... but only time will tell.
I’ve had the pleasure of testing out some of the best personal shopping software solutions available on the market - including Attentive, Listrak, LivePerson, Zendesk, and Gorgias.
After testing each platform, I’m happy to share my perspective on why Humankind's conversational commerce software stands out from the rest.
At its core, Humankind's conversational commerce platform is designed to create genuine connections between shoppers and their remote concierge (the voice of the brand). Unlike its competitors, Humankind doesn't just focus on providing convenience; it goes above and beyond by delivering personalized shopping experiences that resonate with the consumer on a deeper level.
Imagine the difference between texting a friend who just purchased something really cool vs. activating a chat window on an online store and answering the question, "How can I help you today?"
The customer leaves both of these experiences on polar opposite ends of the spectrum. Just try it... pause and text a friend who's just purchased something you like…
Now, go to an online store, and activate the chatbot... try to make the NLP or workflow logic give you the same type of answers, in the same period of time, that texting your friend would have…
It's impossible.
This is why Humankind was created. Our Founder and CEO, David Weissman studied more than 1,000,000 customer interactions with some of the biggest brands and found out what people wanted before ever writing a line of code to build Humankind.
And, you know what we found?
Human connection is the key. All the best products are sold through connection. Whether it's a connection to a celebrity or influencer that a consumer admires or a connection that allows you to trust the salesperson to do what's in your best interest, every single thing (that's not sold on price alone) is sold through connection.
Why?
Emotional connection drives customer loyalty and sets the foundation for long-lasting relationships between brands and their consumers.
While Attentive, Listrak, LivePerson, Zendesk, and Gorgias offer varying degrees of personalization, none of them come close to the level of personalization provided by Humankind.
Humankind connects an all-in-one product expert from your brand, personal shopper, and remote concierge directly with customers through text to create excellent shopping experiences. This leads to higher CVRs and CSAT scores and can increase AOV and LTV.
Our platform and customer interactions collect rich data that enables the creation of tailor-made shopping experiences that feel truly unique to each user. This personalized touch leaves a lasting impression on shoppers, making them feel understood and valued.
Conversational Ai is something that Humankind is exploring for future product enhancement.
The benefit of conversational tools powered by Ai, ML, and Workflow Logic is their scalability. Ai can scale with customer demand and answer questions quickly. The downside is that these tools often lack the human touch- which most customers crave.
Customers want to feel like they are being heard and understood - so conversational Ai that isn’t focused on a quality customer experience can leave them feeling unheard and frustrated.
As we look into ways to use Ai and NLP/LLM, we want these systems to empower our personal shoppers and even supercharge their ability to create an excellent customer experience - not replace them.
The reason for this is a recent study by PwC. 82% of online shoppers surveyed said that they wanted more human connection in the buying journey - not less.
82%... more than 8 out of 10 people said that they don't want to deal with clunky chatbots anymore, and that’s where Humankind's conversational commerce software engages shoppers in meaningful conversations that replicate the experience of interacting with a friend.
In comparison to Listrak and Gorgias, Humankind's platform offers seamless integration with a wide range of e-commerce platforms, CRMs, and other third-party tools. This adaptability ensures that businesses can easily implement our conversational commerce solution without disrupting their existing workflows, making it a hassle-free addition to any online shopping ecosystem.
Our favorite tools are Shopify (obviously), Magento, and Big Commerce... but we want to give a nod to one of our competitors. Attentive!
Humankind's Conversational Commerce software + Attentive SMS is quite literally the perfect blend of connection and SMS automation we've seen to date.
While Gorgias and Listrak offer some level of data analytics, Humankind's zero-party data collection and conversational insights capabilities provide a comprehensive overview of customer behavior, sentiment, and trends. This in-depth analysis helps businesses identify opportunities for product development, growth, fine-tune their strategies, and build lasting relationships with their customers.
By forging emotional connections with shoppers, Humankind's conversational commerce platform drives customer loyalty and increases the likelihood of repeat purchases. When customers feel understood and valued, they are more likely to choose your brand over others and recommend it to friends and family.
This loyalty increases all bottom-line customer metrics from AOV to LTV. Think about it, customers value businesses that value them.
With personalized, engaging interactions, Humankind's platform increases the likelihood of converting casual browsers into paying customers.
From the customer's perspective if you have a question about a product in one click you can engage a personal shopper to walk you through the buying journey. This makes it easier for people to buy.
Finally, the personal shopper's recommendations are then delivered on a beautifully designed landing page with an "add-to-cart" button that simplifies the entire checkout process - leading to higher conversions.
CSAT is an important metric when looking at how a customer views a brand. It shows you how customers feel about the products, services, and experiences they get from your business.
Humankind's platform helps brands exceed their customer's expectations by providing personalized support in real-time. Customers can ask questions and get help quickly - which leads to higher satisfaction rates.
By providing tailored recommendations, engaging interactions, and unparalleled customer experiences, our platform ensures that each shopper leaves with a sense of satisfaction, knowing that they've been given the personal attention they deserve.
The seamless integration and adaptability of Humankind's platform allow businesses to effortlessly incorporate our software into their eCommerce site and existing customer workflows.
This streamlined approach saves time and resources while enhancing customer service capabilities, leading to an overall improvement in operational efficiency.
Insights that come from real customer conversations are always going to be more valuable than "How satisfied were you with your experience?" (with an emoji response option) for one reason alone - it gives you the ability to answer "the why?"
Why wasn't your customer happy?
"Why?" is the most important question you can answer in the customer journey…
Knowing this data point alone will help you better understand your customer needs so that you can make informed decisions that drive growth.
In an increasingly competitive landscape, Humankind's conversational commerce platform emerges as the clear winner among its rivals because it prioritizes the connection that customers value most.
Through personalization, proactive engagement, seamless integration, and advanced analytics, our software creates unparalleled shopping experiences that resonate with customers on a deeper level.
With Humankind's unique blend of engaging, personalized interactions and robust technical capabilities, Humankind sets the stage for a new era of customer-centric e-commerce, where the focus is on building lasting relationships and creating memorable experiences that keep shoppers coming back for more.
If you'd like to see how we can help you create real connections with your customers that drive growth, book your demo of Humankind today!
