It takes years to build a great reputation and just minutes to destroy it.
The importance of customer service cannot be stressed enough. In a day and age where customers have multiple choices for where they spend their hard-earned money, your business cannot afford to miss a beat with service.
Adopting the best customer service strategy is unbelievably beneficial for managing customers, reputation, and, ultimately, sales.
Below are five of the best customer service tips for online retailers:
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Outline The Journey
Having a customer service strategy is essential for staying on top of your game and growing your business.
Outline your customer journey plans, making sure to cover everything from platforms to products to packaging, and everything in between. Plan how you are going to engage with your customers, both on and offline, and develop timelines for responses and resolutions.
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Open Communication Channels
The last thing a customer wants to do is search high and low for ways to contact you.
Make communication a dream by opting for omni-channel lines. Have a dedicated department for customer service, complaints, and inquiries – and make them available as often as your customers may need them.
While it doesn’t make sense to offer services 24/7, you may need to run 7 to 7 shifts to deal with customer requests. You don’t want potential customers to go to your competition instead because your company was unavailable.
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Be Reliable
Help your customers manage their expectations by being transparent about your delivery terms and conditions, including delivery times. The only way to meet those expectations is by partnering with a reliable company like Chicago Couriers.
Don’t get into the habit of overpromising, as that can be deadly. Only ever promise what you know you can deliver. Practice integrity and be honest with your customers – that will help you avoid disgruntled customers and a bad reputation.
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Implement Quality Checks
That should 100% go unsaid, but many brands out there fail dismally on this one – particularly online ones. Don’t let your product hide behind the safety of a digitally altered image on a screen.
If your team has to edit out flaws, your products need work, and pronto!
One of the worst experiences for your customers is for them to have high expectations from what they’ve read on your website – or from doctored products on your site.
Implement quality control checks before your reputation takes a knock.
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Make It Personal
You don’t need to know every little detail about your life, that is both illegal and creepy, but you do need to know a few things about what makes them who they are. Start with small things like names and birthdays and work your way up to buying preferences once you have an established history with them.
Personalization is one of the most effective methods of making customers feel special and valued. As a bonus, it is easy to implement too!
To End
Customer service shouldn’t be complicated.
Most customers are a lot more understanding than businesses give them credit for.
Put the effort in and make it work, it will be well worth it for the success of your brand and business.