Rewards programs are centered around one unifying factor: customer satisfaction. These days, every brand with a digital presence should have some form of rewards program or platform in place, as they help foster not only a stronger brand presence within highly saturated and competitive markets, but also loyalty from its customers. However, not every rewards program or platform is inherently user-friendly, and those that do not improve functionality based upon its users’ experience (UX) with it will often see their customers and e-commerce numbers dwindle.
For anyone running, managing, or operating an e-commerce business, digital traffic is king. And the more user-friendly an e-commerce rewards platform is, the better its chances are of improving conversion rates and customer loyalty. This is what makes improving your UX a crucial part of your business. By optimizing every aspect of your e-commerce rewards platform, your users will be able to navigate, make purchases, and earn their loyalty or reward points in a more seamless experience.
Recently, we spoke with Jacky Goh, Founder and CEO of Rewards Bunny, to help cover some different ways that you can improve the UX for your e-commerce rewards platforms.
Never overlook the value of integrated Customer Support
For most businesses, the way that they interact with their customers is one of the most crucial factors to improve its reputation, profitability, and overall growth. When we begin looking at e-commerce rewards platforms in particular, however, the way that users interact with your platform is the most important factor when it comes to finding ways to improve their experience with your brand.
“If you do not already have a dedicated customer support team in place,” says Goh, “you should begin formulating ways to integrate one into your rewards platform and its services. By improving the ways that you communicate with those using your platform, you can more effectively grasp a firm understanding of each user’s experience while using your platform, meaning that you can more clearly appreciate the ways that users interact with your platform.”
Indeed, a dedicated customer support or service team for your rewards platform will also help your business gain knowledge of any issues that your customers run into that might affect their UX. For example, if your platform runs into a hurdle that prevents your users from cohesively using their rewards with purchases they make, a customer support team will serve as your business’s eyes and ears, granting you the ability to address and solve this issue more efficiently and rapidly. This step can further improve your platform’s UX, as responding to users and solving their problems quickly will help foster additional loyalty, bringing more overall traffic to your platform in the long run.
Optimize your website and platform, especially for mobile devices
If your website or platform has yet to be fully optimized for its users, this step will be a crucial improvement when focusing on bettering its UX across the board. Since 2013, the percentage of users who perform searches on mobile devices has jumped from approximately 27% to over 60% in 2021.
“For businesses and brands looking to improve their UX,” Goh adds, “this means that their websites and platforms must be optimized for mobile searches and users alongside those made on non-mobile devices like personal computers. This will likely require you to bring in an experienced mobile UX web design specialist to implement properly, as well as a search engine optimization (SEO) specialist in order to help your rewards platform boost its SEO ranking in order to place higher in search results — especially those made from mobile devices.”
Another way to optimize the UX of your platform’s mobile users is also to design and launch a mobile application. If designed with UX in mind, a mobile app can also assist your platform to more easily allow its users to transfer their rewards to their digital wallets when making purchases, similar to how a browser extension can help users receive more timely notifications of rewards opportunities.
Create a customized UX tailored to the customer
The entire focus of UX is rooted in improving the unique subjective experience of each user on your platform. As such, when improving your reward platform’s UX, you should not only have a solid understanding of your customers and their various demographics, but also what draws them to your platform versus other similar platforms competing with your own. In today’s digital world, customization and personalized experiences are no longer a mere luxury; they are a necessity, and those who use your platform will expect as much.
“For instance,” Goh clarifies, “some users may wish to rack up as many rewards points through your platform as possible before cashing them in, whereas others might expect their rewards to be made available for transfer to their digital wallets after each purchase they make. If your platform allows users to customize their own goals and rewards, consider integrating ways that can track their progress towards these goals. Tailoring your platform’s capabilities to each user can also help you better predict those users’ next move and craft additional ways to maximize the ways that they can reap the rewards they earn through your platform.”
Customization doesn’t necessarily need to be costly or cumbersome to implement, but however you choose to implement it, always consider the overall UX as both its foundation and the overarching goal.