Online customer service is one element that can really strengthen your image and boost your sales. The fact is that most web sites today do not have good customer service. They just say that they care but they don't prove it. If you understand this point, then you can understand that it is here that you can really differentiate yourself and win more market share.
Here are some points that you should consider in order to improve your online customer service:
(1) Provide your users with real quality, valuable information. The marketing principles of ‘customer self-care' or ‘customer self-help' imply that you should answer the customer's question before s/he asks it and that you anticipate the customer's problem and solve it before s/he waits too long. So, if you follow that approach, you will not only provide your web site visitors with valuable data, but also clearly refer to the issues that may be bothering him now and later.
(2) Provide your customer with a personal touch. Web sites today, by nature, seem anonymous and cold. That's good since you have a real opportunity in doing things better on your web site! It starts with providing your full contact details and continues with you telling them that they are invited to give you a ring! In addition, you can collect user data and provide a personalized surfing experience. For example, using cookies, you can store a customer's first name (e.g. Ringo). Once the customer returns to your site, have a warm "Welcome, Ringo!" for him. You can also post up humanitarian pictures of your employees and of yourself. You can also embed a tool such as "live person" that enables users chat with support reps in real time.
Marketing |
General Info |
Basics |
Advertising |
Promotion |
Reviews |
Affiliate |
Online Business |
Newsletter |
Products |
Press Releases |
(3) Respond quickly. Got an email? Answer it quickly. In addition to an appropriate auto-respond, make the effort to answer that email within 1 working day and in any case, not more than 2 working days.
(4) Provide a newsletter to your members where you give them something valuable and not only sales pitches. If you need to lower the frequency of the newsletters for that - do it - it is better that they wait a month for a great newsletter than having them delete that newsletter from their inbox everyday without opening it.
(5) Include a forum at your site where you have professional forum moderators that can manage the forums and provide the answers to the hard questions. Actually, building a successful forum is a very tough task, but if you succeed, you'll be amazed at the benefits. Specifically regarding customer service, you will not only provide your users with a loyal community, but you can also read what your customers really think and what kind of people they really are...
(6) Encourage user feedback using questionnaires, surveys, prizes and discounts.
(7) Use video in your site that shows real people. As an example, have you ever seen a site that provides a video of the "President's welcome speech"? What about a video that shows a sales rep showing a certain product? These tools can be amazing as far as providing that extra, unique service for your customers. So, go ahead - impress them!
Last, you want to stay updated with new emerging technologies that can help you enhance your customer service. In fact, staying updated is so important in the online world that I invite you to read the next article.
Read the next essential article in this series of articles:
(1) Define YOUR Internet Success.
(2) Target Action of a Website.
(3) Market Research and Analysis.
(4) Build a Website.
(5) Website Quality Control.
(6) Managing Your Online Advertisement Channels.
(7) Online Customer Service.
(8) Stay Updated & Innovate Online.