Presenting products based on the requirements of your customers

THE BEST PRACTICES FOR YOUR PRODUCTS IN TIMES OF CRISIS
More than ever before, your product detail pages on the web need to reflect their specific qualities and characteristics. Long before coronavirus triggered the changes we’re witnessing today, 88% of consumers already trusted digital content when making choices about the products they buy.

(SOURCE: Consumer Research Report Cracking the Code 2017:) https://www.salsify.com/content/ebook-2017-consumer-research-report-cracking-the-code

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, your product detail pages have perhaps been the only point of access to your brand for a significant percentage of consumers. Not only indispensable, e-commerce has now become the preferred option for marketing products, which means it’s the key to the survival and prosperity of your business.

Product detail pages (PDPs) function at once as a showcase, salesperson, advisor and technician for your brand: the perfect all-in-one solution! Moreover, customers consider them to be reliable sources of information.

Presenting clear and relevant information on your PDPs is paramount.

In so doing, you’re providing potential customers with a first-rate information tool that will benefit your products when it’s decision time! What’s more, by tailoring your product offering to customer expectations, you can make substantial savings and boost your revenues. Offering adequate and relevant information about your products in an easy to read format is therefore one of the keys to… making a good first impression.

A well-designed product detail page is a way of avoiding the pitfalls of merchandise returns and also significantly reduces (by up to 75%) the number of complaints and calls for assistance from dissatisfied customers.

Furthermore, an excellent PDP instills consumer confidence. The PDP is the first impression, the one that cannot be missed! It’s an opportunity to attract clients, and highlight your company’s philosophy of excellence and your brand. When a PDP is well designed and updated taking into account the demands of 2020, your product, its delivery and assembly and installation processes should be exactly what your customer expects; it’s the starting point for a long and mutually beneficial relationship between you and your clientele.

The stakes of your product detail page

First impression of your brand

• Increase in revenues
• Client attraction
• Rate of calls about returns and for assistance (losses)
• Brand promotion
• Customer retention

To meet the best practices and requirements, your product detail pages must include the following elements:

• A variety of 3D images showing your products from every angle
• A 3D animation video about the use of the product
• Precise product specifications, including measurements and materials
• A chart comparing it to similar products
• Realistic details about the assembly and installation, including the additional parts or tools the customer will need to quickly assemble, install and use the product.

Click.. Installation Valve Animation

Provide several detailed images

Consumers want to see several pictures of each product. The more expensive the purchase, the more complex the product, and the more images you’ll need to provide to showcase all its features.

Offer a 360° view

Each product should be presented from several different angles. When possible, integrate a rotating view of the finished product. This practice is becoming increasingly popular and appreciated, and many retailers strongly recommend it.

Click.. Technical Animation

Provide an overview to scale

The size of a product is one of the main reasons for returns. A good way to limit the number of returns is to provide an overview that’s to scale and shows the real amount of space your product occupies. Customers are not always able to visualize the dimensions of an object. Integrating the product into a scene or placing it side by side with other objects that can serve as references, will reduce the potential for errors. It’s even more important to show an object in scale when the product is heavy or bulky. At a glance, your customers will be able to assess the efforts required in the handling and installation of the product.

Click.. Rising Sun for client Pelican

Above is a Kub Studio creation that sets the stage for a client’s product. The outdoor environment, created entirely in the studio, as well as the addition of a person shown to scale provides a very accurate picture of the size and characteristics of the product as well as the target clientele, all using a polished and evocative presentation.

Include the features in descriptions

Feel free to add any relevant information and selling points, for example by integrating little characters into the images.

A 3D animation video

A 3D animation video is the ultimate tool for presenting a product. It is recognized for making it easier to better understand a product and promoting its advantages and specific features. Many retailers have reported a significant increase (up to 85%) of their customer base since integrating high-quality videos on their product pages. A 3D video enables visitors to your PDP to literally plunge into an immersive shopping experience and helps them picture the product and its uses.

Click.. Shower door for Kalia

A lifestyle video on each PDP is the ideal presentation tool to help customers visualize a product in a lifestyle setting they can identify with, as well as providing a video overview with 3D interactive assembly instructions. Animated videos don’t need to be elaborate. You can present a simple, before and after animated video to emphasize the difference a new farmhouse-style sink can make in a kitchen!

The product specifications

Consider this section as an opportunity to build customer confidence in the engineering and manufacturing of your product. Include all the details your customers may need in order to make purchasing decisions, such as superimposed layers of materials, finishing details, the particularities of its assembly, etc.

Clic.. Product Video for Viking Range

The measurements and materials

By providing measurements in both metric and imperial units, you will make it easier to make decisions. If customers are interested in having more specific details, such as the clear space, the size of the plumbing fittings and the power connections, add this information. For example, if a product requires a six-inch clear space for safety reasons, ensure that this information is comprehensive. Some of our partners have pointed out to us that errors in measurements were the main reason for returns. Educate your buyers and draw your customers’ attention to these important details before they make a purchase! Never underestimate the impact of providing clear measurements. Also supply an accurate list of materials. Once again, this will show your expertise in the engineering and manufacturing processes as well as providing considerable insight on the design quality of your product.

The names of the functionalities

Do not expect your customers to understand the naming conventions for your model and automatically know, for example, what a 38 inch-210 Xbase code AG6 with X technology means. Use an understandable descriptive language for the names of your products and their functionalities and avoid reinventing a whole new vocabulary for parts that already exist!

We’ve all come across e-commerce sites that are hard to decipher. This is where an information button can work wonders. If you’re looking to convince your customer that they need your product, allow them to filter products or search for products with a similar specific functionality.

Buyers need to understand the product and its features in just a few seconds. A vague and hard to understand presentation will cast doubts… and you don’t want that!

The comparison chart

If you have a range of products that share similarities, a simple comparison chart will help customers to better understand the differences and choose the model that best suits their needs in a single glance. Include pictures so consumers have a means of visually differentiating the various models.

If the information isn’t clear and easy to read, a customer will opt for a site with a more accurate and refined layout!

The assembly or installation details

In the past, suppliers avoided providing assembly information on their product pages. Those days are over! Today, customer relationships require a transparent approach. Remember that your product detail page replaces the advisor or salesperson. It is imperative that buyers be able to visualize all the information they need in order to make an informed choice. The installation or assembly details are an integral part of the vital information required to make a decision. There is nothing more disappointing than realizing you don’t have a tool, three AAA batteries or you brother-in-law’s helping hand in order to begin installing your brand new purchase! According to a major national brand, the frustrations stemming from assembly account for up to 75% of returns and customer service calls for certain categories of goods. Worse still, your customer could feel irritated instead of excited about their purchase and negative comments could thwart all the efforts you’ve made to market your products!

Do not make the mistake of providing instructions that are too complex. The average customer could feel intimidated by instructions that lack clarity. Recommend a series of clear, concise and structured steps. It is important that the customer knows what to expect ahead of time. The assembly could even work in your favour by showcasing well thought out engineering, and the quality of the parts and design.

An increasing number of brands include assembly information on the actual product images, including assembly estimates, a video overview of the instructions and a code leading directly to comprehensive 3D interactive instructions. These tools strengthen the relationship of trust with the purchaser, highlighting your brand’s concern for delivering an overall customer experience and your respect for your clientele.

Before a purchase

It’s important that buyers have all the knowledge they need before they make their purchase; they will appreciate this information.

To make the switch to this important renewal of commercial practices currently underway, adopt the abovementioned 3D tools. They have become the new way of doing things and they emphasize just how much you value your clientele, both before and after they purchase your products.

Your product pages are instrumental in attaining success in 2020, and designing and publishing them has never been easier.

These new techniques are here to stay and they will outlive the coronavirus! Be proactive and get on board with these great marketing tools!