On-line customer service strategies

Customer service is just as important to your on-line clients as any storefront type business. Buyers rate their satisfaction with sellers, and your rating can make a difference on whether potential prospects are going to purchase from you. Customer support techniques for your on-line clients start by providing an accurate product description or explanation. Displaying clear photos and talking about any imperfection shows the customer what to anticipate and instills trust. It’s far better for client satisfaction if the purchaser receives more than expected as opposed to overseeing and disappointing your customer. Customer service strategies for your on-line clients include order acknowledgement and prompt shipping. Use an automated response to let the buyer know you have received funds and keep them posted as to the status.

Let me share how I spent about $100.00 of my time on a $5.00 item and how a business should not to do it. Recently, I purchased a subscription for a link building service. The communication was acceptable but slow and the correspondence received had nothing to do with my order or my problems. There was no ticket system for tracking customer service questions or issues so the responses were inadequate or non-existent. You had to start over with every e-mail sent because there was no paper trail. By the time I was refunded on PayPal I bet it cost me more than $100 of my time and I had to issue a request via PayPal before the company provided the refund. I became agitated and could not believe how this person survived on-line. I even started to wonder if I should go into competition with this business …if others were experiencing similar issues my customer service would blow them away and I would easily earn their business. I did not pursue this but sure was tempted… my question why do people waste time sending irrelevant e-mails when they can simply respond to the issue or complete a refund in the same time it takes them to send a flowery response?

Some managers are unwilling to delegate and they try to run their business independently and with out-dated systems or technology. Other mistakes often made are they are afraid to invest in software or client management tools to help them deliver a higher quality service level. Customer retention should be your #1 priority and responding with flowery e-mails on how busy you are is a total waste of time. Your auto responder should show action and that the user is getting one step closer to a resolution. People are busy and a response should have some meat to it. If you are going to provide a refund why not just do so rather than pen numerous e-mails saying what you are going to do. Instead of e-mailing the client and saying you going to e-mail a refund just do it. Wow, can never understand that…the seller wasted 2 minutes telling you they will refund you instead of just completing the task which would have saved everyone time and frustration.

Customer service is important to your on-line clients. Use an automated response to let the buyer know status of orders or refunds. Acknowledge payments quickly. Ship immediately, and inform the customer when the product is in transit or shipped. Customer service strategies include providing a tracking link to the product whenever possible.

Let’s recap — customer service strategies for your on-line clients are not any different than traditional on-line stores. Make sure the product is as good as you say it is, don’t inflate shipping and handling, ship quickly, and have a liberal return policy. Always keep the client in the loop with relevant facts relating specifically to their order. This is the best method to ensure customer retention, to achieve high customer satisfaction and grow your business.