You have taken your business online to meet evolving customer demands and stay in the competition. Having carefully selected the technology platform for your online store and curated your product catalog, you have also started marketing it. Now that customers have started using your online store, ensuring your customers get world-class, personalized service is the most critical step in succeeding. But why is that? Consider these statistics:
How different is customer service for the online business?
Customers can either visit the site or call the store to get support in the brick-and-mortar store. Also, you can understand your customers’ preferences and buying behaviour by physically observing them as they walk down the aisle. On the other hand, you don’t meet your customer at all in an online way. So, getting personal, understanding your customers, and building trust is a significant challenge. The traditional store format enables easy customer communication and helps you understand their expectations.
Your customer’s journey from discovering your store to buying from the store is technology-driven. There are multiple channels for your customers to come to your online store. It could be from your online store website /app or social media platforms. So, it is essential that you, as the business, are also available across these channels to address customer queries and concerns.
Key differences between online and offline customer service include:
Interaction Mode: While most of the customer support is enumerated online through the web, there are options like live chat, e-mail, or social media profiles, the offline stores provide direct customer service. This means that online service may feel less personal, though it may be convenient to automate online services through the use of bots for instant feedback.
Response Time: Customers want quick attention in physical stores but may have to wait for a while for a response to their online queries. According to surveys, the mean time for businesses to answer Internet-based inquiries is more than 42 hours, unlike physical stores where people can get immediate assistance.
Tangibility of Products: Indeed, customers can touch and feel products in real life, a factor which builds their confidence in the products to be purchased. Thus, while operating online businesses, there is no physical product that the buyers can touch, feel, taste or even smell; Online retailers need to make up for this lack of physical presence by providing thorough product descriptions, excellent photos, and flexible return policies to ease customers’ fears of buying a product they haven’t seen in person.
Scalability and Cost: Online customer service may be more efficient and less costly than offline service. An online customer outlet may involve less manpower and may rely on an automated response system. However, human personal interaction in stores can develop a better business-customer association.
Customer Expectations: As the growth in the e-business environment advances, customers’ demands similar services to the ones provided physically. This incorporates fast problem solving and individual attention, prompting online businesses to integrate the digital & physical worlds of convenience known as Omnichannel approach.
Consequently, as both online and offline customer service are designed to make customers maximally satisfied and loyal, they differ in terms of the processes implemented and the problems they face, which need to be addressed in different ways.
Aspects of a robust eCommerce Customer Service
Give them an excellent 1st impression
As you would neatly arrange your physical store, ensure your online store is also neatly arranged with commonly purchased products appearing up front, clean images, error-free descriptions, and a simple check out. This will create an excellent 1st impression of your store.
Watch for abandoned carts
A statistic shows that almost 80% of customers need assistance to complete their purchases. Customers can abandon their shopping for various reasons, including difficulty in the process, products/brands not being available, and price. One of the critical, implicit reasons for abandoned carts is inadequate customer service.
Ensure that these factors are consistently monitored and addressed to ensure a good business from an online store. If you still have abandoned carts, reach out to such customers with personalized offers and messages to persuade them to continue shopping. This approach can help you recover at least 35% of abandoned carts.
Ease the returns process
One of the major concerns for customers in online shopping is the ease with which they can submit a return. Have a simple and easy-to-understand returns policy and let your customers know. Your returns policy details can appear across various app pages, particularly on the product catalog, descriptions, and check-out pages. You can also include the same in the order confirmation email/notification. Once the policy is clear, customers tend to shop with confidence.
Flexible returns policy will prompt customers to shop and return to your online store. For instance, having a “credit to source” instead of a “credit to app wallet” will make it more customer-friendly.
Be human
Customers prefer to talk to real people about any issues and get them sorted out. So, it’s crucial to have a dedicated customer support person(s) to take care of your online customers. Also, have the same person follow up with the customer they spoke to till the issue is sorted out. This gives a personal touch to the whole process.
Be Trustworthy
Another critical aspect customers worry about while purchasing online is the security of the site/app from where they are buying. Peer-reviewed sites also add to the credibility of online stores. So, encourage your customers to share reviews and rate your products/services.
Be Social
Reap the benefits of social media and have a strong presence across platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. With billions of users being on social media, such a presence can help you convert them into your customers.
Building a Stellar Customer Support Team for Your eCommerce Store
1. Prioritize Product Knowledge
Train agents extensively: Make sure your team is aware of your products & offerings, their attributes, and values.
Encourage continuous learning: Offer a way for agents to receive information on product modifications and changes in the market trends.
Empower agents to seek answers: If an agent is in doubt, you must persuade him or her to consult co-workers or specialists.
2. Invest in Ongoing Training
Regular training sessions: These should be held at least once a month to update everyone on new software, changes to products, and new brand objectives.
Skill development: Candidates should pay attention to personality-related aspects such as interpersonal skills, understanding of others’ needs and ability to solve a problem.
Customer feedback analysis: Use customer feedback to identify training needs and improve agent performance.
3. Hire for problem solving and critical thinking
Assess problem-solving skills: Always look for candidates who exhibit strong problem-solving ability.
Value critical thinking: Look for people who can analyze complex situations and find effective solutions.
Emphasize empathy and patience: Make sure your team can find solutions to customer’s complaints with goodwill.
4. Equip Your Team with the Right Tools
Customer relationship management (CRM) software: A CRM is useful in capturing data on clients’ activities, preferences and their past purchase pattern.
Knowledge base: Develop a list of questions and answers which can be collectively stored in a single location.
Help desk software: Make ticket management easy and fast. Increase the ticket response time.
Live chat and messaging tools: Provide real-time support and engage with customers directly.
5. Streamline Checkout Process
Fast and easy payment process is crucial for online business since complex checkout process results in cart abandonment. To minimize this:
Simplify Steps: Minimize the number of actions a consumer must take in order to make a purchase. Always ensure the checkout process is easy to navigate.
Multiple Payment Options: Provide different payment options which are convenient for a person, for example; MasterCard, visa cards, mobile money among others.
Transparent Costs: It is also important to state the shipping cost and expected delivery time clearly to the customer in advance of his payment.
6.Optimise its Shipping Strategies
Shipping plays a crucial role in the online shopping experience:
Fast and Reliable Delivery: Partner with secure shipping companies to guarantee your products get transported on schedule. Provide and make accessible special convenience like expensive shipping for emergency purposes.
Order Tracking: Forward the tracking information right after the order was placed so the customers can track their shipment in real time.
In Summary
It pays to provide the best customer service by putting yourself in your customer’s shoes. Understanding that the failure or even a delay in service can impact reputation and customer relationships will help you offer top-notch offers customer service.
Modern-day customers expect hyper-personalization from businesses, including eCommerce. You need to have a simple but effective customer support system to meet this expectation. Focus on the entire buying experience through your customer’s eyes to make sure it is seamless, friendly, and personal throughout. When you put your customers first and take care of their needs, they will, in turn, ensure your business is booming.