8 ways to improve your e-commerce customer service
According to Microsoft’s State of Global Service report, 61% of consumers now rate customer service as “very important.” Customer service is expected to supplant price and product as the primary brand differentiators.
A great customer experience builds trust and encourages repeat purchases. In contrast, a negative customer experience can lead to lost revenue, reputational damage, and negative online reviews.
Globally, 60% of consumers say they have stopped doing business with a brand because of a poor customer experience. This figure rises to 68% for 18-34 year olds.
It is estimated to be five times more expensive to attract new customers than to retain them. Satisfying existing customers is therefore essential if you want to be successful in the long term.
The key factors of an excellent customer experience
What does excellent customer service mean? This means being able to respond to customer inquiries effectively and efficiently using email, Live Chat and social media.
Here are the six main characteristics of a good online customer experience.
- Quick problem solving.
- Solved the problem in a single interaction.
- Dealing with a friendly customer service representative.
- Be able to follow up with the same person if necessary.
- Ability to save, print, save a copy of the interaction.
- Have some kind of after-the-fact follow-up to make sure you’re happy.
Growing customer expectations
Customer expectations for customer service continue to grow. We live in the age of convenience, where we want everything right away!
According to a recent survey, 90% of customers consider an immediate response to be “important” or “very important”.
Service and customer experience have become key differentiators for brands and e-commerce businesses.
With that in mind, let’s look at some strategies to boost your e-commerce customer service for new and existing businesses.
1. Develop a multi-channel strategy
Developing a multi-channel strategy means knowing where your customers are, whether on Facebook, instagramWhatsApp or Live Chat, and be present.
When you establish your contact channels, let your customers know that you can help them through these channels. You should aim to provide a consistently high level of customer service across all of your communication channels.
Your goal as an e-commerce business is to provide customer service to your customers and make them happy.
2. Make sure customers don’t have to repeat themselves
According to HubSpot Research, 66% of us find the most frustrating aspect of customer service support is waiting in lines or repeating information to different reps.
This has probably happened to all of us at one time or another and it can be very frustrating and a waste of time for both parties.
Ensuring customers don’t have to repeat themselves or wait days for a response is an important aspect of a good customer service experience.
3. Track your customer satisfaction score
If you want to improve something, you have to measure it.
Measuring customer satisfaction will help you see if the interaction with the customer was successful or not.
There are many different methods, each with their advantages and disadvantages, but the most popular due to its simplicity is the Customer Satisfaction Score or SSC for short.
Customer satisfaction surveys typically use the SSC to measure consumer satisfaction with the product or service. They often include the question “How satisfied were you with your experience today?” and offer a scale of 1 to 10 or 1 to 5.
Getting feedback from customers can give you valuable insights into what’s working and what’s not.
4. Set up Live Chat
Live chat helps increase sales. Studies suggest that having live chat on your site can lead to 3-5x more conversions.
Instant messaging software allows customers (in most cases) to get an immediate response rather than waiting 24 hours or more for someone to respond to an email. Faster response times help improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
It’s very convenient and less expensive than phone support because customer service reps can have multiple chats going on simultaneously.
5. Use support software
Having the right software can be just as important, if not more so, than having the right team or the right processes.
Customer service tools like eDesk, when used correctly, can be crucial to retaining customers and keeping them satisfied.
Help desk software helps customer service representatives better manage customer inquiries and respond to them faster.
It can integrate with social media platforms and contact forms on your website, so everything is stored in one central location.
6. Take advantage of social media
Customer service via social media is increasingly popular. When customers can’t reach you by phone or live chat, they often turn to social media.
And you need to be responsive… 42% of people who contact businesses through social media expect a response within 60 minutes!
Social media can be a place where customers can vent their anger and complain. But they can also be a positive way where brand advocates can sing your praises when you do something right or go the extra mile.
Engaging with customers through social media allows you to communicate directly, build relationships and build brand loyalty.
7. Make key information available online
If you’re considering making a purchase online, one of the most frustrating things is not being able to find the information you want online.
To avoid this scenario, make sure your e-commerce site has an FAQ section and a knowledge base with all the relevant information the consumer needs. For example, information about exchanges and returns should be easy to find.
Having a knowledge base not only reduces the number of customer support requests, but also improves SEO, so everyone wins.
8. Employ seasonal staff
The fourth quarter is the busiest time of the year for the majority of online sellers.
More sales means more returns and more customer support. We’ve already highlighted the importance of taking proactive steps to reduce customer support, such as an online knowledge base and FAQ section.
Longer response times can result in lost sales and potentially customers. So consider employing additional staff to cope with the increased workload and keep your customer satisfaction levels high.
Conclusion
To grow your e-commerce business, you need to retain existing customers and attract new ones by consistently delivering a great customer experience.
We hope this article has given you some ideas that you can implement in your business to improve your e-commerce customer service.