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Want to provide great
online customer support? Want to provide the kind of customer support that
will grow your business, by building customer loyalty and satisfaction?
It’s not as hard as it sounds! Just remember your ABC’s.
Add value
Don’t just do the bare minimum when it comes to providing customer support
on your website. Go above and beyond to provide the customer with an
exceptional experience. Remember, there are probably several sites out
there right now trying to sell the same products or services that you are.
Differentiate yourself by the high level of customer service you provide.
Don’t simply answer questions. Provide solutions. Don’t just give a
suggestion. Be an expert! If your customers or potential customers come to
your site with a question or problem, help them as if you’re the foremost
expert in your field. For example, let’s assume you run a website that
sells bird houses. A potential customer visits your site and has a
question about a specific model. How do you help them? First and foremost,
I hope that you answer their question. But you have a great opportunity to
go above and beyond. Ask the potential customer what types of birds she’s
hoping to attract, where she is going to be putting the bird house, and
where she’s located. With this information, as the world’s foremost expert
in bird houses, you can recommend the right model in size, style, and
material for her desired result. Now, you’re more than just a bird house
salesman to this customer, you’re a bird house expert! You’ve added value
through your online customer support.
Be There
A customer is on your site looking at your information and they have a big
question. Where are you? The idea of ‘being there’ is twofold. First, it
means making customer support channels easily accessible via your website.
Regardless of what channels you use, you want them to be easily accessible
from any page on your site. Either put your customer support channels on
each page, or provide a clear and easy-to-find link to your support page
from every page. As soon as your customer has a question, you don’t want
them to have to look far to find a way to get in touch with you. Second,
‘being there’ means being available when your customers contact you. Be
ready to answer the phone when they call, respond to all emails within a
couple hours, or be prepared to handle incoming chats or support tickets.
What good is customer support when a customer finds no one on the other
end to assist them immediately? ‘Be there’ for your customers and you will
be rewarded with better relationships and stronger loyalty.
Count the Cost
Let’s face it, your time and money are valuable. So, how do you provide
great customer support on a budget? Come up with a plan. Determine what
options are available to you, weigh the advantages vs. the costs, and
implement your decisions. Here are some considerations regarding different
online customer support options:
Phone support: Convenient for your customers, but potentially
costly and time consuming for you. If you have an 800#, that is a large
expense, and you can only talk to one person at a time.
Email support: Less effective for the customer than phone support.
It is quick and easy to send their questions to you, but uncertainty over
the length of time for responses is a concern. For you, email is one of
the cheapest and easiest forms of support. You probably already have
email, and you can respond to inquiries on your time.
Live chat software: Most effective channel of online customer
support for the customer. Their questions can be answered immediately on
the website by a real person. For you, the key is finding quality and
affordable live chat software, and it is available. Also, live chat
requires that you, or an employee, are available to handle incoming chat
requests as much as possible.
Knowledge Database/FAQ/Self-Help: This can be a quick and easy way
to get answers for your more savvy customers. However, it can also be
burdensome for customers if they aren’t quickly and easily able to find
answers to their questions. This is probably the easiest channel of
customer support for you. After the initial time investment required to
dump all of your information to the site, it is there and available for
customers from then on.
These are just 4 of the channels for online customer support. You may also
consider support tickets, forums, and others. As you can see, each channel
has its advantages and disadvantages, both for you as the business owner,
and for your customers. The best websites for online customer support
usually offer a blend of several of these channels.
Providing great customer support on your website is not difficult, and it
will have tremendous advantages for you. To provide excellent support for
both you and your customers, simply remember the ABC’s of online customer
support: Add value, Be there, and Count the cost. |
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