Understanding the Member Portal Feature

Close your eyes and imagine a loyal customer. Can you see their face clearly? Hear them laugh at your quip or thank you for the great work you do? They make you happy and remind you of your passion and the reason you do what you do. Loyal customers rely on you. If you cease to exist, they would miss you.

This mutual feeling of trust and reliance makes businesses successful and customers happy. When your customers feel at home with your business, they should have the same feeling in every interaction with it. Zoho Commerce's member portal feature helps you bring this magic to your online store.

What is the member portal feature?

The member portal feature allows your customers to set up an account for themselves on your web store. This account gives them to access their order information, shipping addresses, and status of any current orders. Customers can also manage their shipping addresses so that their purchase journeys are easier. They can also log into the portal with their Facebook or Google credentials. This one-time process allows customers to sign up and sign in easily.

An added benefit for you is that Zia, Zoho's smart AI assistant, can now personalize recommendations for logged in users based on their specific search history.

How does the member portal work for customers?

Sign up process

When a customer wishes to create an account, they will need to provide information as required by the store administrator. Users can create this account using a form or their Google or Facebook information. Once the account is created, the store admin will be notified. The customer will also receive a welcome email.

Ways to sign up for a member portal:

• Regular signup
  Store owners can set up a signup form using the Zoho Commerce builder. This form is customizable by the store administrator. Click here to read how to customize this form.

• Social login
  Customers can use their Google or Facebook accounts to provide you with information to sign them up for a member portal account. Once users authenticate for the first time, they can log in subsequently with a single click. This signup is easier for customers to use as they don't have to remember or recall their signup information.

Order information

One thing customers can access from this member portal account is any order-related information about both past and present orders. Let's take a look at what that includes.

• Order status
  Customers can see if their orders are pending, shipped, or completed.

• Order details
  A detailed description of the products ordered, quantity, price, and shipping information are recorded in customer accounts. Customers can also request for cancellation from this area.

Cancel orders
Customers can choose to cancel orders before the products have been shipped. The store admin can also choose to cancel the order due to various reasons like the product being out of stock or delivery issues. Customers can return products once they have been delivered if they are not satisfied with the quality of the products received.

• Complete cancellation: This will result in the cancellation of every single product in the order. A complete refund is initiated, and the seller can process the refund with the payment gateway. The funds will then be refunded to the original account where the order payment was made from.

• Partial cancellation: Customers can also choose to cancel specific products instead of cancelling the entire order. In this case, a partial refund will be processed. Refunds are managed from within the Zoho Commerce platform, and payment gateways complete the process on your behalf.

• Address management
  Customers may choose to save multiple addresses in their account for convenience. The Address Book tab in the customer portal account allows customers to add, edit, delete and manage their default addresses.

• Account dashboard
  The account dashboard allows customers to keep you updated on any changes in their contact information, such as their name, email, and telephone. This information is extremely useful in case you wish to run promotional campaigns to your most loyal customers or wish to speak with them for any reason.

• Personalized Recommendations by Zia
  Personalization can improve the customer shopping experience by 55%. Zoho Commerce has Zia, a smart AI that provides personalized recommendations based on the unique shopping patterns in your store. With Zia, your store now intuitively knows what your customers most desire, and you can have this information front and center for them to find.

With Zoho Commerce's member portal, you can now be assured that your customers get the personalized treatment they deserve and that you wish to give them. A personalized account means easier tracking of orders, returns, and refunds from a single place. Your customers will appreciate you for it, and it will greatly improve their experience of your store.