Your Customer Experience must be the best in the industry to stay ahead of the competition.
Our comprehensive Benchmark Studies show who leads in every industry with the best customer experiences. There are certain best practices and methods that always lead to better experiences and more sales.
Coolblue consistently leads in the retail industry across multiple customer journeys. Their exceptional customer experience helps shoppers quickly find the products they need with a digital customer experience that builds trust and drives sales.
#1 Great First Impressions
With a clean and simple layout and a calming color scheme, customers can immediately orient themselves and start searching for relevant products. However, Coolblue doesn't promote products first. It prioritizes their brand, using every persuasion trick in the book.
Coolblue maximizes both text and imagery for persuasive power. The Contrast Effect is used to emphasize the most important information, with bold text and contrasting colors.
At the very top of every page, it's made crystal clear why you should shop at Coolblue: Free next-day delivery, 7 physical stores you can visit, special app, and free returns.
The 'cherry on top' is a 'Best Webshop Award 2021' badge from Tweakers, a website dedicated to providing information about technology. With one click, users can learn more about each of these highly relevant benefits.
#2 Compelling and Positive Imagery
Imagery is a powerful component of the customer experience. Coolblue uses this to reinforce their fun, light-hearted branding. They show their human side, with images of expert Coolblue employees helping and advising customers.
Coolblue uses their imagery to convey several key messages and employs well-known persuasion techniques:
Customers know that if they have questions, they'll get them answered easily. At the bottom of the page is a prominent blue 'customer service' element, showing that Coolblue people are always ready to provide advice or help when needed, through various contact options.
Positive interactions with people, not just products. The visual language shows customers that a purchase at Coolblue is primarily about positive interactions with people – not just about ordering/receiving products. It also builds trust with every glance, by showing they're knowledgeable and available at all times.
Self-relevance and gaze direction. Coolblue intelligently uses images with eye contact and gaze direction to trigger 'The Self Relevance Effect' and direct customers' attention to important elements that influence brand perception.
#3 USPs on Repeat
Coolblue's unique values (free delivery, free returns, award-winning etc.) are repeated many times on every page.
You can't miss it.
Their slogan, 'Everything for a smile', clearly shows website visitors that they care about their customers.
This combination gives the entire experience a positive feeling and helps build trust in the brand.
#4 Brand Power
Coolblue uses the power of their brand to offer customers unique values that are difficult to compare.
They don't just sell an Acer Aspire 5 laptop – you can get that anywhere – they sell Coolblue itself.
Product pages always show Coolblue's features first, before diving into product specifications.
They repeat their USPs at every opportunity:
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Physical stores
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Free delivery
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Free returns
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Customer service
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Device warranty
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Best webshop award
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A combined customer rating of the Coolblue brand of 9 out of 10.
#5 It's All About Trust
Electronics is typically an expensive product category that requires extensive research and brand trust before a purchase is made.
That's why Coolblue ensures customers know they can be trusted.
Every opportunity is seized to show customers that Coolblue is customer-focused and always ready to help.
The winning ingredients in Coolblue's brand formula are:
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Customer-focused
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Own service, delivery and installation (expertise)
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Makes customers happy
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Remote advice available
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Obsessive focus on customer satisfaction
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Pampering the customer
All these elements are woven throughout the entire website experience. Images show how customers (that's you!) are made happy with help from Coolblue employees.
#6 Product Pages with Proof
Certain product pages will show a 'Coolblue's Choice' badge, proving their expertise and helping customers make a choice.
Every product has a customer review, using the power of social proof and the bandwagon effect to build confidence in the purchase.
And throughout the entire experience, website visitors are delighted with humorous additional elements that give them a positive emotional boost during the experience.
#7 A Winning Mobile Experience
Customers typically find it difficult to shop for electronics via smartphones. However, Coolblue has overcome this problem with a reassuring brand experience communicated through multiple, subtle page elements in their mobile version.
Coolblue has ensured their USPs remain just as prominently present on the mobile version of the site, despite a streamlined design.
Without becoming cluttered, Coolblue's brand USPs still get priority on every page.
Customer expectations are made clear in the header and values are repeated on every page and in every section. The 'Coolblue's Choice' sticker and 'Free delivery' particularly stand out.
One difference is that extra space is given to product specifications that briefly cover some important features. This gives customers everything they need to know at a glance – always a challenge for mobile versions.
#8 Be Clear
Coolblue exceeds customer expectations by providing installation services for household appliances, including built-in appliances like dishwashers or freezers. To remove any trace of doubt, they reassure customers with clear information and descriptive videos showing what they can expect.
To support decision-making, Coolblue also offers a wide range of informative videos that confirm their authority and commitment to the customer. All of this gives customers a 360-degree view of the 'Coolblue experience'.
This underlines Coolblue's 'Best Practice' for exceptional customer experience: emphasizing the unique service they provide and clearly repeating this throughout the entire experience. Additional service information such as warranties is easily accessible on every product page.
Recognizing that they sell "big purchases," they do everything possible to reassure customers and build trust. They also clearly state what they don't do. This has the dual effect of transparency (trustworthiness) and managing customer expectations to prevent disappointment.
Ready to Deliver the Best Digital Customer Experience?
These best practices have led to Coolblue consistently ranking at the top across multiple customer journeys in retail. Many of these are particularly effective for electronics, appliances, and other 'big ticket' items, but they're also relevant for any retail organization.
Want to know more about how Benchmarking can help you deliver the best customer experience in your market? Request your demo, or contact us today.
