Customer Service Article by Michael Dylan |
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Michael Dylan
Internet Entrepreneur and Businessman
Michael Dylan is a successful entrepreneur
and business enthusiast. He has owned
and managed several successful business
online and offline.
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Customer Service Tips for Online Businesses -
Article by Michael Dylan |
In
'real world' shopping you can look your
customers right in the eye, chat with them
and thus understand what they want, or guide
them to a certain item. And if they come
back again and again, it's partly because
they like you or your staff, as much as
liking your product (unless you're in a
specialized field).
But with so much online business, we need
to establish good customer relations in
cyber-space, including ways to find out
what the customer needs and what they really
value in your business. Is it just the product?
Or is there some sort of 'online rapport'
that also helps? As well, 'real world' customers
can't hop around from store to store as
easily as they can on the web. So it's imperative
that you NOT ONLY know how to give your
customers what they need, but also how to
keep them on your site.
Good, consistent customer service can increase
your customer loyalty rate, leading to greater
profitability. Studies show that it takes
six times as much money to acquire a new
customer as it does to keep an existing
one.
One important aspect of customer service
is your employee's attitude toward customers.
If you have employees who answer your e-mail
or phone your customers you should consider:
1) how
they treat customers all day long,
2) how
they want to feel about themselves at the
end of the day,
3) how
they want their customers to feel about
themselves and about the company at the
end of each interaction,
4) how
they see the purpose of their job,
5) how
they work together with others on the team
for their customers benefit.
Beyond employee attitude, we see that shopping
online should be quick and easy, much as
it should be in a real world store. If a
main street customer has a question, or
wants a product that s/he doesn't see, it
should only be a moment before they can
find an employee to ask. And if the question
or answer is unclear, it can be clarified
in a moment.
A single unanswered question online can
make customers reluctant to complete a purchase;
who can blame them?
One poll notes that almost 62 percent of
Internet consumers would purchase more products
online if live customer support were available.
So, whether or not you can provide live
support, here are some hints to help you:
1.
Be accessible
Show very clearly on your site all the ways
that your customer can contact you - including
e-mail, phone and fax numbers, and your
office hours.
And, if it's practical give your visitors
a real person to call who has a name, as
opposed to sales@mycompany.com
Of course, if you're really upscale, you
can include a "Call-me" button
on your site.
2.
Return every e-mail or phone call in the
same day, as far as possible
An experiment with the top Fortune 100 companies
showed that nearly a third failed to respond
to e-mail sent through their website within
one month! Some of these companies still
don't provide a usable e-mail address on
their sites.
3.
Acknowledge all orders
Send e-mail confirmations (this can be done
very effectively with autoresponders), and
if you're shipping actual products, give
tracking numbers and expected delivery dates.
4.
Provide a clear return policy, honor it
and learn from it
This may give you more information about
what's working and what's not. If a product
is returned with no explanation, call the
customer and see how you can satisfy them.
5.
Expect more phone calls
If your website traffic and response rates
grow (which is, of course, what you want),
so will the volume of phone calls, whatever
your business or industry.
So regardless of modern technology and the
efficiency of the Internet, customers still
require human interaction. If you treat
your customers well, it greatly increases
the chances of your business growing.
"This may seem simple, but you need
to give customers what they want, not what
you think they want. And, if you do this,
people will keep coming back."
John
Ilhan Quote
This article by Michael Dylan may not be
reproduced online in part or whole. Copyright
© Woopidoo.com
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