Outcome
1. Established trust and loyalty by actively communicating and resolving issues, fostering relationships with eCommerce customers.
2. Boosted user engagement and conversion rates with effective search optimization techniques.
3. Streamlined processes through standardized onboarding and optimization documents, driving efficiency and effectiveness.
About the organization’s Search Product
Richrelevance's search solution delivers personalized capabilities to eCommerce customers, enhancing user experience by enabling faster product discovery through tailored recommendations based on preferences and history.
My Role
As a personalization consultant, I owned, integrated, and optimized their search product on small to enterprise eCommerce clients' websites in North America with the ultimate goal of enhancing user experience and KPIs. I also developed into a subject matter expert of their search solution.
Outcome and Actions
1. Fostered trust and relationships with eCommerce Customers
I empathized with small to enterprise eCommerce Customers on a daily basis and played a key role in gathering and communicating customer pain points to internal teams across the organization, articulating the technical complexities to the customers in a way that they could grasp, as well as being diligent in identifying solutions, that fostered trust and relationships.
“Shiva was always quick with response times and able to easily articulate complex, technical solutions for our business. Whenever we experienced issues that required customized solutions, she was very quick to find answers or identify resources needed to fix. Outside of helping drive the business forward, she was a kind person I enjoyed working with and would welcome doing so again in the future.
- Client
My Actions
A. Being proactive and thinking strategically
I optimized search interfaces by enhancing filters, sorting, and autocomplete, while utilizing search analytics to improve user experience. Additionally, I provided tailored recommendations aligned with industry trends and regularly analyzed customer feedback to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.
B. Collaboration and communication
I worked cross-functionally with experts globally across the organization to identify solutions for unique client use cases. By collaborating with other consultants, product, support, dev ops, and data science teams, I gained an understanding of our solutions' capabilities, limitations, and roadmap. Through open and transparent communication, I ensured the client's confidence and patience while discussing feasible options and providing workarounds when needed.
2. Enhanced User Experience and KPIs
I collaborated with cross-functional teams like engineering, data science, data ops, support, customer success, and sales to understand our product and execute effective search strategies for eCommerce customers that aligned with their business goals, their user needs, and industry best practices. As a result, I noticed a significant improvement in user engagement and conversion rates.
“Shiva did not only learn the technology and product line, but she has also become the expert on instrumenting the more technically challenging aspects of our Search solution. I also often see Shiva talking with other teams (in person), to learn more about how we can better solve for our customers various use cases.
- Colleague
My Actions
A. Resolving implementation issues and improving search accuracy
I identified and addressed integration issues affecting clients' websites, leading to irrelevant search results. For example, one enterprise e-commerce client encountered mixed results for "Women Hoodies," including products from the wrong categories. By analyzing the hierarchy and suggesting appropriate changes, I ensured accurate search results and enhanced the user experience.
B. Tuning Weights
The global and personalization weights were constantly tuned and tested performance based on customer needs and verticals.
a) Global weight tuning involves adjusting the weights for all users of a search engine. The following example shows how the global weight was allocated for a Beverage vertical client, to improve overall search quality.
b) In personalization weight tuning, I recommended giving higher preference to "Product viewed" weights for retail customers, boosting recently viewed products in search results when relevant keywords are entered. This increased the likelihood of users finding products quickly, leading to higher conversion rates.
C. Search Term Analysis and Optimization : Understanding shopper’s journey as they run queries
a) Top Queries
By analyzing top queries and clicks, I gained insights into user preferences and ensured our search engine indexed crucial attributes. This led to shorter product search times and more time spent adding items to carts. Findability was a key metric that was used to determine the improvement in finding the product.
b) No results.
I analyzed search queries for zero results to include important synonyms such as for eg., converting “Tulsi tea” to “Holy Basil tea”. This process helped to enhance the search relevancy and improved the likelihood of search results matching the user's intent.
D. Additional Opportunities for Engagement and improving revenue per session
a) Leveraging content - Displaying banner based approach based on the search terms.
For eg., when a user enters shoes, related content can show up that will help users to explore and convert.
b) Optimization of No results search pages - Improved engagement by suggesting selective popular items to be displayed when no results are returned from search queries.
c) Based on the verticals and their goals, I made recommendations on the significance of showing particular product information on the search pages to increase user confidence in the products and ultimately encourage them to make a purchase. In the image below, adding product ratings to the search results helps users make informed decisions and encourage clicks on the products.
3. Streamlining the process through standardized documentation
I created standardized onboarding documents and optimization strategies for eCommerce customers to expedite the process and enhance its efficiency and effectiveness, and foster a shared understanding and approach between consultants and clients. I was able to create this with all the information and knowledge I gained from working cross-functionally with colleagues and customers.
“While Shiva's technical knowledge has definitely been helpful in solving immediate problems, her willingness to take the time and share her knowledge; even beyond our team, has positively impacted our team, our company, and our clients!”
- Colleague
Challenges
Starting in a new position at the forefront of customer impact was challenging, as I had to learn new products and adapt quickly.
Here are the challenges I faced and how I overcame them:
Challenge 1 : Limited resources about the Search solution
Search was a comparatively recent solution amongst their other solutions and had little documentation about the product. To become a subject matter expert, I collaborated with consultants worldwide and cross-functionally within the organization. Initially hesitant, I gathered courage to ask questions and reach out to experts from different teams. Collaborating with product, data science, data ops and support teams provided insights into personalizing the search experience and optimizing it for conversion.
Outcome : I synthesized the information into standardized presentation slides for seamless client onboarding and optimization strategies.
Challenge 2 : Managing time and expectations
Working with diverse eCommerce clients, I struggled with changing needs and meeting deadlines. Learning from colleagues, I set clear expectations, prioritized tasks, and maintained open communication with clients. Regular check-ins and update meetings helped everyone stay informed.
Challenge 3 : Saying “No” with a positive approach
Saying "No" to clients was initially challenging. Seeking advice from mentors, I understood the importance of honesty and empathy. Collecting feedback and collaborating with teams, I provided realistic timelines and explained limitations. Clients appreciated the transparency and valued their inputs being considered for future development.
Challenge 4 : Budget Constraints
When clients made requests outside the agreed scope, I involved the sales and customer success teams to determine feasibility. If the request was beyond scope, I included the customer success manager in client calls to manage expectations and build trust.
By addressing these challenges, I successfully navigated my role, achieved positive outcomes, and improved client satisfaction.
“Its rare to work with colleagues like Shiva who are passionate, sincere, have superb technical and leadership skills, with the icing on the cake, quick learning abilities; and above all, a personable human being. A customer and own team's favorite.
- Colleague
