Google has been boosting customer satisfaction for the past couple of years, and among other extensive rating scales and surveys, it is now introducing something entirely new that is meant to become a game-changer in terms of improving customer satisfaction – the new shopping experience scorecard, promoting excellence in customer service.
Google is sending emails to people who use Google Merchant Center, introducing a new Shopping experience scorecard.
The scorecard’s goal is to boost merchants’ rankings in Google Shopping and promote better customer experience. For example, if you do well on the scorecard, you will receive a reward from Google with a higher ranking and better visibility in the shopping search.
The Giant platform loves to modify and change the structure of online shopping, especially when it comes to how businesses promote and offer their products and services on the platform. In February 2021, Google changed its keyword match types by “retiring” its broad match modifier, making it easier for merchants to reach their right audiences on search.
Now a new change is already here, marked by the shopping experience scorecard. It comes at an interesting time for Google. The giant has just rolled out its Enhanced Conversions for Lead, which would allow merchants and marketers to track offline conversions among other interesting new releases.
In this article, we will take a look at Google Merchant Center and how it helps retailers get more visibility. We will also look at the new shopping experience scorecard more in-depth and how it improves the relationship between merchants and customers.
What Is Google Merchant Center?
Google Merchant Center is a platform for online retailers. It allows them to upload their product data which powers the Google Shopping Ads. It is a vital part of your digital presence. Retailers can provide valuable information about their online store, shipping costs, and other taxes through the Merchant Center.
All the products you see when you do a Google Shopping search have been uploaded using the Google Merchant Center. It allows store owners to manage their in-store and online inventory, which appears on Google. With the Merchant Center, retailers can reach millions of people already searching for their products by simply connecting retailers to their customers across Search, Shopping, YouTube, and its Google partners on the internet.
Furthermore, Google Merchant Center also added a short title option for smaller ad placements. Thanks to this seemingly small change, retailers will now be able to add short titles as an alternative to further identify their products in the center, which would result in customers discovering their products easier, and boosting the clickthrough rates.
This week, Google is also running a messaging pilot program, which may soon enable customers to send messages to merchants via Google Shopping. The platform has invited a selection of retailers to participate in the testing program via email. When this feature rolls out, customers will be able to contact retailers via the email address they have provided in their Google Merchant Center account.
What Will the New Shopping Experience Scorecard Do?
This week Google has also rolled out the new shopping experience scorecard and started spreading the message to retailers, informing them of the change. Google has also provided a help document to explain the new program, which will help monitor customer experience in different areas, including shipping cost and speed and return window and costs. Merchants will receive different ratings from “Comparable,” or “Opportunity” to “Excellent” in all the different metrics. To see the overall score and current performance, retailers will have to log into their Merchant Center account, click Growth and go to the Shopping experience scorecard.
If they do well in all areas, they will receive a ranking boost, a badge, or other benefits to help customers find them more easily. The metrics will be calculated daily, so merchants will have to ensure a steady overall good performance. The best part is that, even if they don’t match all criteria or don’t link some of their metrics, retailers will not receive a penalty from Google.
The new scorecard is intuitive and easy to set up. If you are a retailer, who provides excellent quality products, you are probably already in Google Merchant Center. You probably also know how important it is to have your customer service measured since it is directly linked to your business’s success. That’s why retailers anticipate sharing these metrics with Google – to rank higher and achieve better visibility in Google Shopping.
If you are starting now and you don’t have all the necessary metrics, Google will not penalize you for not listing everything. The platform allows you to change as you grow and helps you boost your products rankings and visibility.
To sum it up…
Today customer experience is one of the most used terms in all industries that offer services and products online. It is only natural that Google would stimulate retailers to improve their products and services offering. In the past decade, Google has changed a lot of how customers interact with retailers. That’s why it is vital for every online retailer to be on Google Merchant Center and constantly improve their services.
Google knows that when it comes to customer experience, you have to think about the whole customer journey, from the discovery of the product or service to the purchase in the end.
Applying all the right tools and providing the right metrics, improving visibility, and leaving customers satisfied is what Google’s new shopping experience scorecard will be all about. The scorecard will allow retailers to measure their success in terms of providing a great customer experience and at the same time receive better visibility, better ranking, and ultimately increase their revenue.
