Magento Enterprise offers many powerful tools to store owners that give them more control over their eCommerce site. The vast number of tools available in the Magento Suite can be overwhelming to users, but a great place to start when understanding and customizing your eCommerce site is the My Account page. On the surface it may seem like a basic function, but the categories can become rather involved. Your ability to master it can be a huge benefit to organizing your site.
Given the many categories found on the My Account page, it is important to review each of them in order to prioritize which would have the greatest impact, as well as eliminate those that are unnecessary for your particular store. For example, while most every Magento instance will utilize the Account Dashboard and Information functions, aspects such as My Downloadable Products or Gift Registry may not apply to your business. If they do, they can be incredibly helpful tools; if they don’t, they can trip up your customer and negatively impact their shopping experience.
Let’s go over some of the trickier categories and discuss what they can do for you, your site and your customers.
One of the most powerful aspects of the My Applications section is that it allows you to submit applications using OAuth. This is a secure method of exchanging authentication information. One of OAuth’s many functions is that it can be used to allow your customers to sign in to your site using their social media accounts.
The Recurring Profiles category is great for companies offering payment plans or subscriptions. In Magento, recurring profiles are an account through which customers set up a recurring payment agreement between themselves and a merchant that goes through a third-party payment system. Simple and Virtual products are the only products preconfigured to have recurring profiles by default. In most cases, the actual payment details and recurring profile is set up in PayPal as opposed to in your store.
Having a store credit option may not be necessary for all businesses, but it is a great way to keep your customers coming back. Store credits can be issued in lieu of a refund and are put towards future purchases, as opposed to cash refunds, which do not have to be spent on your merchandise. Check out the Magento site to learn how to create a credit memo.
Similar to store credit is the returns process. With Return Merchandise Authorization, your store is able to refund or replace your customers’ purchase. The gatekeeping aspect of RMA gives your company the opportunity to rectify the situation and, hopefully, prevent the return entirely. Returns are costly for your business, but utilizing RMA can streamline the process and, potentially, save the sale.
The ultimate goal of understanding the My Account page is using it to effectively tailor your customers’ experience. Your decisions of what to keep and what to get rid of on the My Account page directly affects what your customers will see on their own dashboards. Proper management of the My Account page on your end will provide your customers access to information that is necessary for them to make smart shopping decisions and, hopefully, become lifelong customers.
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