Online Customer Services
The biggest mistake most business make when they move online is to neglect customer service. Indeed the biggest need for most online firms and entrepreneurs is usually customer service.
This means that anybody who is planning to start an online business or take an existing business online needs to familiarize themselves with online customer service. Learning the basics of online customer service can help a company avoid making basic mistakes. It can also make e-commerce efforts more effective.
Creating a website or online business without implementing effective customer service will be a waste of time. Fortunately there are a lot of things that you can do to create effective customer service online.
Some Basic Online Customer Service Techniques
- Feedback. Have a means for customers to provide feedback for their online experience. If it is possible try to have live chat with a customer service professional available. If that isn’t possible, a monitored e-mail box or feedback can be critical. Most customers won’t respond but the few that do can alert you to problems.
- Survey customers. There are a variety of methods for doing this including pop up survey boxes. The feedback from these can show you what you need to improve.
- Offer order tracking. If you’re selling something online that has to be shipped offer order tracking. Services like UPS and FedEx make this available. You can offer it to customers, they can track their order and see when it arrives.
- Offer a full refund. Using methods like Paypal it is possible to provide an instant or nearly instant refunding. Refunding money to a customer quickly builds a strong relationship and can prevent problems. Only a small of customers ask for their money back but many customers will trust a business that offers a refund more.
- Offer Live Phone support if it is possible. Many people still prefer to talk to a live human being. Offer live phone support that is truly helpful can really help your business. Customers will appreciate it and it can turn a casual visitor into a full time customer.
- Consider outsourcing your customer service. There are many professional customer service providers out there some of which will work with very small companies. Contracting with an outside firm with an expertise in customer service can allow you to concentrate on your core areas and deliver first class customer service.
- Make sure your customer service promises are realistic. Never promise customers service that you can not deliver. Don’t advertise 24 customer service or support when it is not available. If the best you can do is respond to e-mail within 24 hours come out and say so. Customers do appreciate honesty.
- Have special offers ready for customers that request customer service. In many cases you may not be able to fill a customer’s request but you can still satisfy them. For example offering every customer that makes a complaint a discount or a free item can turn dissatisfied customers into happy ones. Something as simple as free online coupons for everybody who e-mails you can satisfy customers.
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