eCommerce is a rising industry like no other. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, eCommerce takes place entirely in the abstract space of the Internet. With such distance from the physical world of brick-and-mortar storefronts, eCommerce customer service can be a unique challenge. Thankfully many of the principles of customer service that have stood the test of time can be adapted and applied to eCommerce as well. There are five key techniques to remember and implement when building a plan for your business’s eCommerce customer service playbook.
1. Hire Professionals and Keep Professionalism in Mind If your eCommerce store will have dedicated customer service agents, make sure you are hiring true professionals. Customers are the lifeblood of any business, after all. They deserve your best. Professionalism in customer service communicates to your customers that you take them seriously, while additionally building a sense of trust with your store. Return customers are valuable, but you need to build trust with them if you want them to be willing to shop with you again. If you are a smaller store and handling customer service yourself, it can be hard to keep personal feelings out of customer issues, since, after all, you have invested so much in your own business. Try to remember that keeping a cool head and professionally handling customer issues will result in a company that you and your customers will be proud of!
2. Remember the Personal Touch It can be easy to forget that there is a person behind every username while dealing with issues online. This is especially true on social media, where many people are much more candid with their online identities. Always remember to try and connect with the person behind the name and empathize with their issues. Customers who know they are cared about and who understand that they are dealing with another human being are more likely to be satisfied and are also more likely to help your customer service department come to a conclusion that fits their needs.
3. Make Communication Easy The more ways your customers have to reach your company, the more likely they are to reach out for an answer to their questions instead of just moving on or being silently dissatisfied if a small issue arises. Email and telephone are essential, but more and more customers are using Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ to reach out to stores they buy from. Having these avenues open and active for customers can make a huge difference in your customer service department.
4. Respond Quickly Like it or not, the world of the Internet is one of instant gratification. Internet users are busier than ever, and that includes many of the customers who will purchase from your storefront. While no response can be instant, keeping on top of customer inquiries and issues is remarkably important to good customer experience. Try to have a plan for a clear, quick response time. Even if the first response is only to reach out for more initial information, touching base with a customer quickly can make a world of difference.
5. Follow Up Following up with a customer after an initial solution has been established is almost as important as the initial reach out. Follow ups with customers not only let your customers know you care, but they provide an opportunity to iron out any minor unsolved issues and answer any questions for that customer. Follow ups establish rapport, and rapport leads to return customers.
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Author : Dan Kogan |
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