Good customer service can make all the difference -
especially in ecommerce where there is no face-to-face
contact.
By offering excellent service you have the opportunity to
turn happy customers into loyal customers. What's more,
business studies have shown that happy customers tell 4
people about their positive experience. Unhappy customers
on the other hand tell 10 people how unsatisfied they are
with your company.
Do the math... If you are able to offer excellent service,
your bottom line will thank you for it. But in ecommerce
this is easier said then done. Customer support requests
can be inundating and highly time-consuming for many
growing businesses.
How do you offer excellent customer service that creates
growth - without sacrificing your time and sanity? What is
Customer Service?
You can't build a good e-business without solid customer
service. This means responding to customer enquiries,
dealing with lost packages, payment problems and returns -
and finally answering questions from customers.
Good customer service is all about bringing customers back
to your site and turning them into repeat buyers. You want
to send them away happy and impressed enough to tell their
friends - who may also become repeat customers - about your
business.
The good news is that a customer service system that's
fast, efficient and delivers excellent value to the
customer can be set up with very minimal cost, technology
and time.
You'll notice that few books on ecommerce deal with
customer service.
After all - can customer service really boost sales and
increase the bottom line? We believe it can and it should.
The key to good customer service is responsiveness. This
doesn't just mean responding to your customers demands, try
to anticipate them. Good customer service exceeds your
customer's expectations.
A website with 100,000 subscribers and turnover of close to
$1 million a year only needs ONE customer service rep
working 20 hours a week if the proper systems are set up
well.
2 Key Concepts of Online Customer Service
As mentioned earlier, the single most important aspect of
online customer service is responsiveness. You can increase
your responsiveness by focusing on its 2 key components:
communication and interactivity.
1. Communication
Communication should be transparent and painless:
· Visibility: clearly display your contact
information on your website. Provide easily accessible
email links, phone numbers and feedback forms.
· Let your customers know that you'll be happy to
help them.
· Email lists: these are powerful tools to provide
your customers with relevant information, nurture the
relationship and encourage further contact.
· Autoresponders: Autoresponders can automatically
send your customers the appropriate information in response
to a standard question. If a customer replies to an
autoresponder they can receive an automated email with a
link to the FAQ section on your website and the contact
information of your support team.
2. Interactivity
Interactivity can help significantly in building a
relationship with your customers. By showing a personal
interest in your customer you will build trust and
likeability.
Here are some tools you can use to encourage interactivity.
· Surveys: surveys allow you to not only show your
customers that you value their opinion but also gather
valuable feedback in the process.
· Incentives: reward your customers for interacting
with you. These could be discounts for filled out feedback
forms, prizes for creative slogans, bonuses for repeat
purchases, you name it.
Good customer service can make all the difference. The
trick is to offer the best possible service in the least
time-consuming way.
Remember that one happy customer could lead to a lot of
additional sales over the years through repeat purchases
and referrals. It would be a waste not to use this existing
resource to the full extent. But while offering great
service - you need to pay attention to automation and
efficiency so you can free up time to focus on growing your
business.
----------------------------------------------------
Bjorn Brands is a successful entrepreneur who transitioned
from having his own building company to a great online
business. Check out his site and see for yourself how his
FREE course can help you do the same.
http://www.moneyacces.com
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