Running an E-commerce means you have to be proficient at many things in very different areas. While keeping up on each detail of your business might be a taxing test, it’s important to remember the very reason why you’re in business: your customer.
In the next installment of our interview series, we’ve decided to interview Family Seat, a company out of the UK that sells training seats for potty training. We’ll take an in-depth look into how they put their customer first in all of their operations, and the best practices they’ve put into place in their E-commerce:
First thing’s first – Please give us a bit of background on the company. How long have you been established? What is your motivation? What is your product?
Family Seat is a British company and the original supplier of the all-in-one potty training seat. The Family Seat has been specially designed for all members of the family to use. We have been manufacturing the Family Seat since 2003 and thousands of children have been successfully potty trained using our seats.
We invest into continually improving our product experience for children and adults. In addition to the quality seats we provide, we also offer a range of tailored Potty Training tools free with every seat. Each of these tools can be personalised to each child with their name and photo to help increase engagement – and add a bit of fun!
Existing customers have reported very positive reactions from children using the seat especially with regards to the rewards recognition approach. No other supplier offers such assistance, and we believe this is one reason why Family Seat stands above our competitors. With so much competition in E-commerce, a few extra miles can go a long way.
What would you say are the top benefits of selling on E-Commerce?
E-commerce allows us to have instant interaction with our customers. We are also able to offer a central information source and Help Centre for customers who are entering this difficult stage.
Our Facebook and Twitter profiles also offer community arenas where parents can interact and share tips, advice and insights into the potty training process.
What has proved to the biggest challenges of E-Commerce sales?
Our biggest challenge was deciding the format of the website. We wanted to have a very simple, clear website with a wealth of help and support, as well as competitively priced products. We went through several drafts and briefs before deciding on our final format.
We see our e-commerce as an ongoing project that we are constantly developing in reaction to industry changes and current market conditions. It’s also essential to keep our brand relevant among a fast-moving consumer landscape.
What does a typical day at Family Seat involve?
A typical day has a wide range of tasks and activities. At present we are working on new product development with market research into new trends and designs that we are adapting and incorporating into the next generation of Family Seats.
On a daily basis we answer customer enquiries and offer help on potty training subjects such as when is it best to start, how to begin the process and communicating with your child throughout the learning curve.
We also talk customers through how to fit a Family Seat and advise which toilet a customer should choose. We also actively monitor all orders to ensure that they are processed and dispatched on time and customers receive their Family Seat as soon as possible.
How do you stand apart from other brand offering this type of toilet training seat?
From its inception Family Seat has strived to be a quality supplier to this market. We made a conscious decision to produce a quality product that would answer the problem of how to adapt a standard toilet used by all the family into a seat that would suit both parent and child perfectly.
Moreover, we recognised that the answer was not just about plonking your child on the loo and hoping for the best. This is why we developed a range of Potty Training tools and aids specifically designed to aid parents and careers in the process.
The Potty Training chart has a simple tick box format and is a great tool to help children remember all the activities associated with Potty Training. This offers them a simple way of understanding what they need to do and offers a fantastic opportunity for parents to reward their child with praise and recognition for how well they have done.
A door hanger is a simple way for children to signal their need to use the potty. Again, this is a simple action that gives a great opportunity to heap praise and recognition on your child.
Finally, once they have completed Potty Training they can download a success certificate that from the Family Seat website. This can be personalised and completed with your child. We actively encourage little ones to type their own name into the template as final recognition of their effort and success.
How do you stay in touch with your customer base to recreate the physical experience they would receive in a brick and mortar shop?
We take care when keeping in touch with our customers. We write relevant, timely blogs, Facebook posts and tweets to all our customers multiple times every week. Our Facebook page holds a wealth of information and we offer a range of guides on everything from potty training to fitting instructions all of which are available to access 24 hours a day via our website.
We can also be contacted via email, website, Twitter and Facebook where customers can be confident they will receive a quick response to their queries from our expert team.
What are the main benefits of your E-Commerce platform?
We use our own web platform at www.familyseat.com . This gives us the ability to take control of all the content and to direct advertising and exposure in directions that best suit our brand and customers.
We felt very strongly that the use of third party web sites would detract from the brand. They also did not offer value for money as they attract high commission charges. It is far better for our customers to pass this cost on as a saving on to them rather than to any third party. Additionally third party websites do not offer the level of information and support that our customers would expect.
Let’s talk about your customer base: what are you doing to meet their needs?
As an industry leader and innovator, we have been supplying the Family Seat to many countries for many years. We have established outlets in Australia, France, Germany, Sweden and Denmark, where industry experts and consumers quickly recognised the high quality and multiple benefits of the Family Seat. This marks a show of confidence in our brand and a feat in which we take great pride.
We also receive many orders through our website from consumers across the world, with seats sold throughout America and Australia. During the construction and development of our website, we recognised early on the need to offer an easy purchase process to customers in multiple countries. That’s why we built in the easy-purchase option for customers from overseas.
Family Seat is big on Giving Back through Charity Support, tell me more about your decision to do this
As a brand that is keen to do its best for children in every aspect, our team at Family Seat proudly support children’s communication charity I CAN. 50p from every product purchased from Family Seat is donated to the charity whose patron is Her Majesty The Queen.
I CAN specialises in assisting children with speech, language and communication difficulties. More than half of children in some parts of the UK start school with a communication issue and are likely to struggle with talking, understanding, learning and making friends.
I CAN offer a free enquiry service for anyone concerned about a child’s communication. The charity also offers dedicated training programs and resources for staff in mainstream schools and specialist education, therapy and care at two special schools dedicated to young people.
Sincerity is one of the best aspects that you can add to your e-commerce customer strategy: by showing your customer that you truly care about their use of your product, by offering practical advice that is pertinent to their needs, and by adding value to their interactions with your brand, you not only convert your visitors into customers, but also create loyal customers and brand ambassadors.
What is the most important aspect of your e-commerce customer strategy? Tell us below or tweet us!