Shopify's Smartest Customer Account Portal

As eCommerce technology continues to develop, consumers are increasingly expressing a need for self-service customer portals. According to Statista, 88 percent of respondents from the United States expect a brand or organization to have an online self-service support portal. eCommerce websites and customer account portals go hand in hand to make up the customer shopping experience and provide a framework to meet diverse customer needs. 

At Smartrr, we have completely redesigned our account portal and are introducing an industry-leading customer account portal with features such as comprehensive order history, reward opportunities, easy referrals, reviews, loyalty programs, and more. Smartrr’s revolutionary account portal will set a new standard for the DTC post-purchase experience because it empowers DTC consumers to curate their own customer journey. Going above and beyond subscriptions, Smartrr transforms your account portal into a brand engagement hub for both your one-time and recurring business. That being said, here’s everything you need to know about customer account portals and our latest release.

What is a Customer Account Portal? 

A customer account portal is an online information center that gives customers visibility into their interactions with a company throughout the customer journey, such as account information, subscriptions, upcoming orders, transaction history, and more. Customer portals are an essential component for eCommerce businesses and should work as a helpful tool for customers to access numerous resources in just one click.

Standard Customer Account Portal Features

The modern end consumer expects to find the following features within their customer account portal:

• View order history
• Edit and track upcoming orders
• Manage subscriptions 
• Adjust shipping preferences
• Save preferred payment methods
• Update account profile information
• Share detailed FAQ information

Customer Account Portal Benefits

• Foster Long-Term Customer Relationships and Increase Loyalty: Providing access to a consistent, branded customer portal helps develop strong relationships with your customers, increases loyalty, and plays a vital role in retaining them long-term. Intuitive, straightforward tools empower customers to serve themselves independently and make them more likely to continue doing business with you rather than switching to a competitor. Generally, customers would rather solve an issue independently without needing to contact a customer service representative, saving them time and avoiding any frustrations, further decreasing the likelihood of them churning.
• Enrich the Customer Experience: Customer portals can effectively enrich the customer experience with brands through customized content and tailored information relevant to each consumer. A customized portal allows for brand consistency and the flexibility to match your products to the customer experience, further engaging your subscribers. As customers and their needs change over time, your portal can evolve to maintain customer expectations. 
• Create a Sense of Security for Your Customers: Customer account portals give customers complete visibility into every interaction with your business, providing a sense of security, transparency, and accountability between transactions. Allowing customers to adjust the quantity and frequency of their subscription solidifies their trust. Because the subscription program is moldable to their specific lifestyle, the customer does not feel like they have to fully unsubscribe when their needs change, ultimately increasing retention.

Optimize Your Account Portal with Customer Loyalty Features

Subscribers are your most loyal customers, and you can build your entire growth strategy around gaining their trust, delighting them with exclusive membership perks, allowing them to advocate with referrals directly in their portal, and committing to a long-term relationship with your brand through a built-in rewards program. Besides the standard account portal features previously mentioned, many brands are utilizing customer loyalty features like referrals, gifting options, and rewards to keep customers engaged with the brand and build long-lasting relationships. For example, many brands incentivize subscribers to refer friends by giving each a credit toward their next purchase, allowing subscribers to directly benefit from spreading the word. To reward subscribers for their loyalty, some brands give out free products or special discounts after a certain number of orders. Additionally, brands offer gifting features to make it easier for customers to champion their brand, boosting brand awareness and expanding their customer base. 

Smartrr’s Customer Account Portal

Built with the end consumer in mind, Smartrr provides a consistent, branded experience through an easy-to-use customer account portal with consumer-friendly subscription management tools. Within the Smartrr app, you can customize your company’s portal to adhere to your brand guidelines and craft an experience that aligns with the products that you are selling. Smartrr’s advanced theming capabilities natively sync brand settings from Shopify to Smartrr’s account portal for a white labeled brand experience. Within the account portal, Shopify brands can easily offer one-time add-ons, exclusive discounts, special pricing, and subscriber-only products and benefits to orders to increase AOV and LTV, strengthening the relationship with their customers.

Smartrr’s new features create enormous opportunities for Shopify merchants to improve their retention and brand strategies. In addition to your standard subscription management options such as swap, skip, and send now, Smartrr’s redesigned account portal has an intuitive design with robust features such as giftable subscriptions, reward opportunities, refer a friend, loyalty programs, and more. 

In this groundbreaking account portal, all friction has been replaced with actions and information DTC customers care about most, such as when their next subscription order is scheduled to arrive, intuitive subscription management actions, the ability to adjust the frequency in which their subscription is set, and more. These components are built with the end consumer in mind throughout the customer journey to increase customer loyalty, brand engagement, and lifetime value. 

Takeaways 

The convenience and benefits of a seamless customer account portal combined with a strong product help create a brand experience that outshines competitors. Consumer-focused subscription programs with an intuitive account portal that includes features to engage subscribers and build brand champions ultimately leads to increased retention and customer lifetime value. Our modern account portal sets the foundation for Smartrr to be the strongest retention tool in the Shopify ecosystem.