Is Your Business Too Slow For Your Customers?

We live in a fast-paced world, one that’s becoming more and more connected over long distances that we have to navigate. If you’re not able to meet your customer’s needs quickly enough, then you’re going to end up losing them to a competitor that can. Here, we’re going to look at some of the ways that speed really does matter and what you can do to make sure you’re not too slow.

Your website is too slow

The majority of businesses rely, in one way or another, on a website. Whether they sell directly through that website or they redirect customers from the site to their services, you need to make sure the website provides a good user experience. If it doesn’t, customers won’t have a high opinion of the business. To that end, look at the ways you can improve your page load speed to make sure you’re not losing the 50% of customers that will quit after 3 seconds.

Your deliveries are too slow

In eCommerce, there’s one kind of speed that matters above all: how fast you can get your products in the hands of your customers. If your supply chain is failing you, then it’s time to change it up. Aside from changing your supplier, you might need to look at different methods, such as whether you move items by rail, car, or even by boat. Make sure you choose a supplier who can provide data on deliveries so that you’re better able to track it, as well.

Your support is too slow

Some customers are going to have issues, no matter how well your website is designed or how clean the path to conversion is. For those customers, you need to be ready and waiting to guide them to the solution that they need. On-site chat support is one of the best ways to do just that. However, if you can’t have someone on hand to lend their support at all times, then at least make it clear during what times of day your support team is available. If a customer is left waiting without any indication of when they can hear back, they’re not likely to stick around.

Your improvements are too slow

Every business is going to experience problems. None are going to have a completely smooth go of it. However, your ability to deal with unforeseen problems, especially those that affect your customers, can directly affect your ability to keep hold of them, as well. To that end, make sure that the channels are open for customers to inform you of their issues, but also look at potential problems that could arise and backups you might need to get back on your feet. The sooner you can recover from an issue, whether it’s a downed website, broken checkout or otherwise, the better your business can bounce back.

While speed is important, you don’t want to rush your customers. You should be there to meet their demands for prompt service, not forcing them to match your pace.