Customer service is extremely important in the day and age we live in today. The relationship between businesses and consumers is totally different from what it was a few years ago. Today, consumers give importance to customer service almost as much as product pricing and quality.
In fact, according to a survey done by Zendesk, 84% of customers think that customer service is an important factor to consider when deciding to buy from a company.
This factor especially weighs heavily in the case of eCommerce businesses. Millions of businesses probably offer products of the same quality as you, so why should customers prefer you? In such scenarios, customer service can be the distinguishing factor.
If you want to up your eCommerce game by offering premium customer service to your customers, then this is the guide that you’ve been looking for. Read on to learn some super-actionable tips and strategies that you can start implementing for offering premium customer service for your eCommerce customers.
1. Offer Live-Chat
Today, consumers are extremely impatient. If you do not service your customers immediately, it is highly likely that they will move on to other eCommerce businesses.
Usually, eCommerce customers have tons of questions and objections before going ahead with the purchase. They would have questions about your pricing policy, your shipping terms, refunds, and return policies, and the list goes on.
If you resolve these questions immediately, the chances of conversion will significantly increase. And the best way to go about it is to integrate live-chat with your eCommerce site.
2. Use a Proactive Customer Service Approach Instead of a Reactive one
There is no use in offering live-chat if the customer doesn’t know that such an option exists. Hence, instead of waiting for the customer to find your live chat option link and ask you a question, you take the first step.
This works well because most customers would hesitate to take the first step to ask questions. They would rather drop the idea and move on with their day. Hence, when a user navigates through your site, use a pop-message to let them know about the live chat feature. You can also add CTAs to redirect your customers to FAQ’s page or your knowledge base.
3. Optimize your Order Fulfillment Process
eCommerce customer service doesn’t end with the purchase order made by the customer on your site. The process of order fulfillment also plays a massive role in determining the quality of your customer service. Hence, you must give special attention to your eCommerce fulfilment process.
You should try to keep the shipping time to a minimum as this will lead to a more satisfactory experience for your customers and lead to an increased number of repeat customers. You must also ensure that your entire order fulfillment process is done hassle-free. Otherwise, you’d be bombarded with emails from unhappy customers, and you definitely don’t want that to happen.
4. Provide Self-Service Options
Apart from having live-chat options, you should also enable self-help options for your customers as this is preferred by many. In fact, 67% of customers prefer self-service options over talking to a customer service representative.
The best way of offering self-service to your customers is through AI-chatbots. This way, the most frequently asked questions would be taken care of by the bot, so your customer service team doesn’t have to answer repetitive questions.
Another way of offering self-service is by providing a comprehensive knowledge base with documentation and QnAs on every possible topic. This may not be necessary for all types of eCommerce businesses, but you can consider this option based on the kind of questions you receive.
5. Use Social Media Channels for Customer Support
If you didn’t know this, then here goes – social media can be a great customer support channel. Especially the ones like Twitter, where you can create a special customer service/support handle for your eCommerce brand. Many top brands use this way to provide omnichannel customer support.
Social media, as a medium for customer service, works great for many reasons. First of all, social media is easily accessible to everyone, and customers can easily come to you with their queries.
The next and most important reason is that using social media for customer service improves your brand’s reputation. When you answer customers’ queries and provide an optimistic resolution, you’ll get noticed more, and prospects will form a good opinion about your brand.
6. Automate Processes Wherever Possible
Finally, automation is a great way to put most of your customer service systems in auto-pilot mode. This ensures that everything is happening on time, and your customers remain happy with your service.
You can take your customer service up a notch by automating various elements such as email notifications, invoicing process, shipping notifications, and collecting reviews from customers. This will make your eCommerce business more efficient while ensuring that you are not compromising on customer service.
Key Takeaways
Now you know the top 6 techniques you can start implementing right now to offer your customers premium-quality customer service. Implementing the strategies mentioned above will increase your revenue and your overall ROI. It will also improve your brand’s awareness and reputation over time.
Hence, start using these strategies and watch a massive boost in your eCommerce business growth.