Customer ServiceKeeping Your Customers Happy


If you don't have an inexpensive or unique product, how will you separate yourself from your competitors? One of the ways to stand out from the rest of the pack is to provide not only a great buying experience, but the ability to cater to your customer needs. Buyers do not base their buying decisions solely on price or availability. They also base their decision on how comfortable they feel doing business with you. Can you answer their questions in a timely manner? Can you deliver the product in the promised time frame? Will you be there when they need assistance with your product? Will you stand by your product if there is an issue with it?

With all the advances in technology, customers expect more than before when it comes to customer service. Communication tools such as instant messaging, email, cell phones, wireless Internet, personal digital assistants (PDAs), text phones, and more have given businesses the ability to respond quickly. It is assumed that if you have an online business, you have access to one or more of these communication tools.

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The 24-hour Rule

Your customers expect that if they send you an email or leave you a voicemail, you will respond within 24 hours at the latest. Not responding within 24 hours can send the wrong message to your customers. It will make them wonder if you are still in business, a fly-by-night company, or whether you just don't really care about customer service.

If you need additional time to respond to an inquiry, just let your customer know. They'll appreciate the notice as long as they know you are working on the issue. Also let them know when they will hear from you again.

When you do respond, make sure you completely answer all their questions and concerns. Not responding to all their questions will delay the purchasing process and may drive them straight to your competitors. You'll never know if one of the questions you didn't answer is a deal breaker.

Tip:

Be sure to have a contact form or contact email link on your website, and set up your email to auto-respond to the customer. An auto responder is an email reply automatically sent to customers when they send email to you. You can include a message that you have received the email and a customer service representative will contact them within a given time period. This is also a great tool when you are on vacation and will not be able to respond to them within 24 hours.

When you do use an auto responder, make sure you take that opportunity to market to them. Throw in your latest special or value added offer in the auto responder. You might make a sale right then and there. And don't forget an FAQ page (frequently asked questions) where the merchant answers (and updates) the most frequently asked questions. This may be enough to get a shopper to place an order and will help keep support costs down.


Answering Questions

More traffic and exposure to your website usually means more questions and inquiries about your products. Answering emails and phone calls can literally take hours out of your day. Each inquiry is unique and needs to be crafted for that particular customer.

Here are some tips to help reduce customer inquiries:

  • If you start receiving the same questions over and over, create an online knowledge base or FAQ section.

    And, try to fix it! Add more information, diagrams, flow charts, or even a video.

  • Create a spreadsheet of answers to common questions for you to cut and paste into the emails.

  • Be as descriptive as possible on your product pages.

  • Create an audio or video "How To" on your website.

  • List resources of other websites that may help them.

  • Also, if the question relates to a specific product, make sure the answer is included on revisions to text of that product page. Some buyers will ask questions, but others will just leave and you can lose sales. Rule #1provide all info to allow shoppers to make a purchase decision.

Making the CallGet Personal

Email is a fast and efficient communication tool, but it has become very impersonal. Whatever happened to the days of meeting clients and doing business over a handshake? Although this hasn't completely disappeared, it has become less frequent. Online stores have even made it more impersonal because your customers are not going to a physical store and meeting someone in person before purchasing a product.

So take the extra step and get personal. Sometimes it's faster to speak to someone then compose an email. You will be amazed at your customers' reactions if you pick up the phone and call them in person. You will not only close the sale, but maybe up-sell your products while you have them on the phone (up-sell and cross-sell!). With inexpensive and unlimited long-distance calling plans, it has become cheaper to call across the country. If you have a cell phone, almost every cell phone calling plan comes with free long distance. Also, consider acquiring a toll-free 800 number. There is a cost to these numbers, but they lend credibility to sites and make your small business seem larger.

Here are some customer service tips to follow:

  • Respond in a timely manner

  • Under-promise and over-deliver

  • Be courteous when speaking to customers

  • Have a can-do attitude

  • Diffuse anger by apologizing

  • Ask if there is anything else you can do for the customer

  • Address the person by name during the conversation

  • Know your product

  • Make sure the product arrives in good condition

  • Show your appreciation by thanking customers for their order

  • If you get too many email questions, create a FAQ page and address the issues

Under-promiseOver-deliver

Receiving your order before the promised time frame is like getting a birthday or Christmas present before the actual date, especially if it's an item your customers can hardly wait to get their hands on. For example, suppose your regular shipping option takes 57 business days to receive. You might want to ship the item Priority so the customer will receive the package within 23 business days.

Another way to under-promise and over-deliver is to add a bonus to your package. Throw in something extra for the customer. Find something inexpensive that complements the product and send it with the package. This will surely put a smile on your customer's face. If you do decide to give a little something extra, include a note. This will let them know that you went the extra mile for them.




Launching Your Yahoo! Business
Launching Your Yahoo! Business
ISBN: 0789735334
EAN: 2147483647
Year: N/A
Pages: 149

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