Video: Product Recommendations that Solve Customer Problems

Retailers often use product recommendations with the goal of increasing average order value (AOV). While this is an understandable mindset, it can sometimes ignore the most important person in the equation: the customer.

In the latest video from Command C, Lauren reviews several online product recommendations with the customer’s needs in mind. In brief, as you plan your product recommendations, how can you help solve your customers’ problems?

The types of recommendations you promote, as well as where you display them, can go a long way in easing your customers’ journey.

Transcript: Product Recommendations that Solve Customer Problems

Hi, I’m Lauren I’m a conversion specialist here at command C, and today we are taking a look at recommendations on product pages. So how can you provide useful relevant items on your product pages.

So what are you going to learn in this video? Well, I’m going to show you the types of products you can recommend on a product page, and that’s not just, you may also like or recommended product blocks. We’ll go over some other examples that you can showcase, and then I’m going to show you some examples from actual websites. So you can see how they display these product recommendations and ways that you can test this on your own store.

Know the Customer Problem You Want to Solve

What do you need to consider? So the main thing is going to be, what customer problem are you solving? Are you helping them find another similar item? It can be the case that you have a lot of items that can be a pretty similar but are different based off of a couple of characteristics. Sometimes that can be things like apparel. Somebody lands on a dress product page, but they’re not interested in that exact pattern, but they like the style. So you want to showcase dresses in that same style, but different patterns, also providing useful add on.

There’s different products like an e-bike that do well with offering ad-ons like helmets or a bell or lights. You can also offer relevant upgrade options, so this could be for something like an electronic, with cell phones often we’re convinced into buying the option that has more storage, and then complimentary items so if you’re buying sneakers, it’s pretty likely you might also want to get socks or an additional pair of laces.

Approach #1: Product Recommendations Based on Similar Products

So similar products. Here for Alo Yoga, they have a very simple shop, the collection link. This product is from their Alo blue collection. Maybe you’re interested in this bra, but you also want to see, okay, what else is in this blue collection? They have this simple link here.

And then for Drip Kit. So they have this mug and drip kit bundle, but maybe you’re interested in a bundle, but maybe not this exact one. They have another option here with a yellow mug and some drip kits, this one with this Hasami mug, and then this one with an electric kettle. They give you some other similar bundle options.

Approach #2: Product Recommendations as Add-On Bundles

For add ons, as I mentioned with the e-bikes, you want to get this e-bike and it’s an aventure e-bike. You might also be interested in including some racks for the bike to hold your gear or even a helmet. These are some relevant items for this purchase that you’re going to be making.

At Nordace, they’re selling this smart backpack. They have this nice add-on section here, “frequently bought together.” So these are just some accessories you can include, like shoulders straps, a travel adapter, and a travel wallet. You can just click the check boxes here and add them all to your cart with the backpack order. That’s an easy way for customers to add these items. Then they’re also shown here at a discount, so that helps motivate people to want to add these.

At Purple.com when you go to buy a mattress, you’re also offered this premium sleep bundle. So these are add on items that are very relevant to a mattress purchase, pillows, mattress protector, sheets, and you even get $200 off of this bundle by adding it to your mattress order.

Approach #3: Upgrade and Upsells in Product Recommendations

So upgrades and upsells. For Casper, they have this Nova Hybrid Mattress. Then they have the option to upgrade to their snow technology for an extra $500. So we can see this as an advanced cooling option. You can add and you just click the check box here. The one thing I do think they could improve here is just providing a little more clarity around what exactly this technology is to try to motivate people more to add this upgrade option.

Approach #4: Product Recommendations for Complimentary Items

And then lastly, complimentary items. So again, with Alo Yoga, they have this bra that’s in their Woodrose color collection. If you scroll down the page, you can see this model wearing some other items from the Woodrose collection. They have a cropped Henley and these sweatpants and these compliment the bra, as they’re all in the same color collection. This is a good way to kind of showcase other items in the collection that compliment the bra, so maybe you’re interested in buying the bra and these other items as well.

All right so that’s it for product recommendations. Hopefully you got some ideas of different customer problems you can solve with different recommendation types whether it’s ad-ons or upgrades, similar items or complimentary. And I hope you got some ideas of how you can showcase those on your product page and display them to customers.

I will see you again in the next video. Thanks!