Introduction

Joe Girard was a car salesman who appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records. The reason? He sold more cars than all his competitors in the whole world. He sold a whopping 1,425 cars in 1973. He was the best salesperson in the world for 12 years straight! So what was his secret?

His secret was showing love to his clients. He would send a greeting card occasionally and during special days like Valentine's Day, birthdays, Mother's Day, or Father's Day. The card simply included the message "I like you." This simple sign of showing love made his clients more loyal, to the level of treating Joe as a family member.

Engaging with and simply giving compliments to your customers can go a long way.

This story is just one way to show how to be likable. Let's explore more ways.

Relatability and Similarity

Look, if I was overweight, I wouldn't want to come to your e-shop and see precious Victoria's Secret models' bodies. Even though I won't argue that I would not like to watch them walk the runway, it gives me a rapid impression that this brand does not understand me.

Personalization is key. It is now and will be much more in the future. Technology will improve so much that X visitor will see Y assortment while you will see Z assortment. This is important for selling more in e-commerce because people can relate.

If you have a broad inventory of products and you launch an ad targeted for overweight ladies, be sure to land them on a personalized landing page where they see similar ladies to your targeted audience.

This comes down to the fact that studying your audiences will let you personalize and relate more. This will bring more sales for your e-commerce store.

Having a Mission

Having a common mission makes our bonds stronger. "Oh, this brand is so caring, they are part of a children's cancer association, saving whales, and caring for young people's mental health. They are also for sustainability and equal rights." Only monsters will not relate to these missions. And you don't want these people as customers anyway.

Having and aligning missions with your audiences makes that bonding feeling strong.

In the end, it comes down to reciprocity. Do good things. Don't hide it from the world. It will definitely pay off.

Customer Support

"I just let my AI chatbot answer customer inquiries. It solves over 55% of total inquiries. We love it." Let me ask you, what is your personal experience with AI chatbots? Yesterday, I tried talking with an IBM chatbot. IBM is huge in the intelligent software field. But guess what? It broke after two messages and, of course, it could not answer my question. Half of these 55% are the ones that get irritated after such an experience and will never come back to your shop.

Yesterday, I had an issue with LinkedIn Sales Navigator. I contacted support. OMG. A person! A super nice person. It gave me an experience like after meeting and talking with a good friend for a minute. I feel trust that anytime something happens, I will even feel happy writing to them again. They made me feel like a friend.

On the other hand, I wrote to Shopify support a few days ago. First, I was connected to "Robocop." Ok, nice name. It even responded slower to me so I didn't initially understand that it was AI. "Ok, let me talk to a human now, Robocop." Unfortunately, the human was not better. It looks like they outsource support from 3rd world countries. They did not understand my question, made grammar mistakes, and did not even solve my issue in the end.

Shopify, just with this experience, made their brand look cheap! Next time, when something happens, I will not be confident writing to support and might even be irritated. Will I recommend them to my friend? It depends, but this experience definitely makes it harder.

Modern Design

Modern design doesn't mean that you have to have carousels autoplay each second so I want to cover my mouth.

Having that "all rights reserved © 2004" in the footer? Shame, shame, shame. Taking care of your website look will improve the feel and vibe of it and make visitors engage.

Slick, clean, and clear design. Not trying to reinvent the wheel is key here. Check best-performing competitors and copy their ideas, adding some spices if necessary.

User Experience

I do e-commerce research every day. During this process, I usually check 10-50 websites a day. Only by having a good user experience can you win against your e-commerce niche competition.

Make it easy to buy. Take care of fast loading speed. Make product discovery easy. Add quick shop options to product cards. Have a healthy amount of popups. Just a discount popup and cookies.

Check that your buttons work from the first click. Check that on mobile and tablet it looks just as good as on desktop. Test on Android and iOS. Make popups easy to close. Don't make it harder for customers to checkout. Let them checkout in guest mode.

Taking care of these things will already put you in front of the competition and make customers come back to get more of that rare, but good user experience.

Limited Amount of High-Quality Products

Have you ever visited a restaurant that sells kebab and king crab meat in the same place? If my wife insists that we have to try, I at least lower my expectations to the bottom.

Your e-commerce shop can leave a similar impression.

Don't try to sell high-end brand clothes and then sports clothes in the other corner of the store. It gives that "cheap" impression and injures customer likability of your shop.

Since you keep a limited amount of products, it leaves you time to take care of their quality. Quality is super important for long-term success, but this I'm sure you know yourself.

Authority

Just like with mission, authority can help increase sales and total revenue of your e-commerce shop. My friend, whom I respect a lot, lately said that he bought this carpet from X shop. I started thinking maybe I should get it too. Then I woke up and understood that I don't even have a place to put it!

Authority works. That's why digital wellness e-shops use people dressed like doctors. Nike uses superstars from Messi to LeBron James.

Study the audience and see who they respect, like, and follow. Try to connect with those celebrities and ask for any partnership. This can be life-changing for your e-commerce for usually not a big investment.

Post-Purchase Experience

I once bought shoes from Dr. Martens. I knew I was overpaying, but I liked how they looked too much.

After receiving the shoes, telling all my friends about them, and showing off in the street, I noticed that the bottom of the shoe broke in the middle.

Again, experience with post-purchase help was excellent. Want to return? No problem! We will even cover your return, oh, and of course, we will send you a new pair or give you your money back.

Don't make it hard for your customers to return products or give feedback. They will remember this experience and might look for alternatives.

Communication

A successful brand has to be active on social media. With millions of people avoiding real-life eye contact while staring at a phone - this is an opportunity retailers can take advantage of.

This doesn't mean that you have to post about the weather. Be authentic. Authenticity is big when masses copy others. It makes you instantly stand out. Use humor, but at your own risk. Keep the communication across all channels consistent, engaging, and funny so people enjoy spending time with your company.

Events

Lately, I connected with this guy, Laisvidas Karvelis. He looks like a super regular guy and is smart and humble. I checked his Instagram and from there I understood that he started a Sunday running club. Week after week, a year passed, and now he gathers 150+ people every Sunday! Yes, Sunday morning! When you and I are probably sleeping.

These events are powerful because people get a stronger bond while struggling towards a goal as a team.

There are no limits to how to stand out here. Make those hiking, walking, or running activities with your customers. Whatever you or your team enjoys. Involve them. Show that you are just as they are. This will make you more likable as an e-commerce brand.

Conclusion

Even though I listed many ways to be likable, in the end, it's just about doing nice things and being a good person or company in this case. Reciprocity is a big method that all well-performing salespeople have in mind in their everyday activities.

I like you!