So
you've probably heard a lot about how great customer service can
transform your online
store...
How if
you retain the customers you've got, it will be a lot more profitable
than trying to acquire new ones...
And
you'd be right.
But what
actionable tools can you do to improve your service? Take a look at
these 5 customer service hacks to find out...
Hack
#1: Set up support emails
Every
online shopper is different, some like to visit social with their
problems, some like to talk to you on the phone, and some prefer to
email. Email is an ideal way of resolving shopper issues because it
gives the customer the freedom to explain it in their own time, and
it gives you the time to be able to look into their problem in depth.
So what
does a good support email look like?
The
first thing to do is acknowledge their email and reassure the
customer that you are looking into their problem. Take this email
chain below for example...
The
first email was sent to H&M from an unhappy customer who did not
receive a refund that she'd returned.
H&M
then contacted the customer immediately to resolve the issue. The
email was personalized, helpful and apologetic.
The
customer then came back to H&M with the proof of shipping, and
the advisor confirmed that she would be refunded the cost. The below
email clearly explains when the customer can expect to receive her
refund, and they also offer her a discount to use on future orders as
a way of an apology.
By
setting up support emails, you will be able to build a stronger
relationship with each customer by resolving their problems,
therefore turning a bad situation into one that benefits both you and
the customer.
Our top
tips for the perfect support email:
- Keep
it personalized, use the names in all correspondence.
- If
the customer is unhappy, take responsibility and apologize.
- Reassure
the customer that you are dealing with their problem as quickly as
possible.
- Give
the customer exact times and dates as to when they can expect to
hear from you.
- Offer
a freebie to make up for the mistake and to encourage them back in
store.
Hack
#2: Reduce the effort in making the sale
In the
world of Ecommerce, the competition is fierce. Your visitors probably
could name a handful of other places that offer the same product as
you, so it's all the more important that you offer a flawless
shopping experience and give them a reason to choose you.
Studies
show that
to be able to make a customer happy, you need to create an easy
shopping experience from start to finish.
So how
can you make life simple for your customers?
With
cart abandonment averaging at around 67.91%, we believe that this
should be a huge focus of your efforts. After
you've let that shocking stat sink in, it's important to understand
why
they are abandoning their carts.
This
infographic
shows that some of the biggest reasons for cart abandonment rate
include:
- Unexpected
shipping costs
- No
guest checkout
- Insufficient
shipping options
Understandably
you want to encourage the sale by enticing customers in with a low
price, but if they get all the way to the cart and find out that they
have to pay a huge shipping and returns fee, then this is going to be
a major turn off.
Related
reading: A
guide to ecommerce guest checkout best practice.
In
this instance, we'd recommend highlighting the shipping fees next to
your CTA button. So for example on Amazon, you'll always be able to
see the shipping information listed before you get to the checkout.
Another
great hack would be to include the shipping label next to the product
incase they want to return it. This further builds up reassurance
that they can send the product back if they don't want it, and that
you've made it incredibly easy to do so.
A
guest checkout - like this example from M&S below - is one of the
most favored choices for shoppers. If you're making your visitors
sign up for an account before they've even bought your product, then
it's unlikely they'll want to buy as it's another obstacle that they
have to overcome.
Alternatively,
if you want to make it really easy for customers to create an account
then give them the chance to do so via social media. This is
something that Airbnb does very well. All it takes is one simple
click for the customer to plugin to their social feed, and the
account is automatically created.
Our top
tips for a seamless checkout process:
- Be
clear on pricing before the customer reaches the checkout.
- Include
shipping labels for the customer to print out if they wish.
- Limited
the amount of details a customer has to enter to reach the checkout.
- Include
guest checkout and social sign up as viable options.
Hack" class="redactor-autoparser-object">https://americommerce.leadpage...
#3: Implement live chat software
Why are
your web visitors not converting? What are their biggest objections?
Does your FAQ section answer issue they have?
As Bill
Gates once said: “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest
source of learning” and he was bang on the money.
If you
don't know why your visitors are unhappy, then you'll never be able
to make changes for improvement.
Live
chat is an awesome tool to use because it gives you that insight to
find out what's going wrong on your site, and where. It also gives
the customer the opportunity to instantly get the help that they
need, and this tends to be most applicable right before the purchase.
Take a
look at this study and you'll see that people prefer to talk to you
via live chat because:
- Questions
are answered instantly
- The
customer can multi-task
- It's
better information than email or phone
- The
customer is in control of the conversation
- It
can be used at work
Live
chat
really is a convenient tool to plug into your store and it can be
used to encourage the sale. You can set it so that it pops up when a
customer has spent too long on a product page, and ask them if they
need help.
If you
are there to help them answer questions right before they add a
product to the cart, this could be the difference between making the
sale and losing it to a competitor.
Related
reading: How
to sound like a human over live chat.
Or it
could be that they're not sure how to access something like this
example below. The customer couldn't work out how to make a booking
and live chat offered an instant result to help that customer.
Our top
tips for live chat:
- Automate
the chat so that it appears on product pages.
- Keep
it personalized and speak like a human.
- Provide
all the information that you can to help move the customer towards
the sale.
- Check
out our app page for a Live
Chat plugin
to your store.
Hack
#4: Create a dedicated social support team
Did you
know that when companies engage and respond to customer service
requests using social media, those customers end up spending up to
40%
more with that company?
And 71%
of those who experienced a positive social experience with a brand,
are likely to recommend that brand to other people?
With
pretty much every brand now establishing a presence on social,
customers have started to use it as a way to get their questions
answered. If you get many enquiries on social then we'd recommend
setting up a dedicated support team that's separate from your main
social page.
For
example, In addition to the main Nike account, they have one that
focuses sorely on resolving customer problems.
This is
great for two reasons:
- It's
easier for you to keep customer complaints and social media
marketing separate.
- It
keeps potential customers from reading negative comments on your
main social page.
One of
the biggest challenges with having a presence on social is that you
don't have control over what people say about you, which could be
damaging to your reputation.
The best
action you can take is to respond to every comment, and if it's
negative, work towards a resolution. For example, this customer made
a complaint to Arby's via twitter. The support team got involved,
took responsibility, addressed the problem, and even gave away a gift
card.
This
speedy response and excellent service helped resolve the issue,
resulting in not losing the customer to a competitor.
Our top
tips for awesome social support:
- Set
up a separate support page to focus on questions and complaints.
- Be
quick in your response.
- Offer
your email address to take the conversation off social media.
- Do
everything you can to turn the situation around.
Related
reading: 4
examples of excellent twitter customer service.
Hack
#5: Continue to nurture after the sale
We've
already mentioned how it costs more to attract a new customer than
retain a new one, but did you know that the official cost is actually
five
times
more?
Once
your customer has made their purchase, their journey with you
shouldn't end there, it should have only just begun.
The
steps you take after the sale are crucial for your business. With a
little bit of nurturing you'll be able to get those customers to come
back for more - and if you're lucky - turn your customers into raving
fans of your store so that they do the selling for you.
One of
the most popular examples of this is the one below from Jimyz
automotive. It's a simple gesture that made a lasting impression on
the customer, who decided to tell the world about it.
If you
don't have the time to be sending out hand-written notes to every
customer then email offers the perfect solution. When a customer
purchases a product from you, send them a thank you email and offer
money off their next order with you.
You
could even follow up a few days later to see if they like the product
and if they'd like to write a review for you, like this example email
below.
So now
you'll not only have gained a review on your site, but the customer
is more inclined to come back and shop with you again because you've
given them a reason to.
Another
great tactic for nurturing your customers is to send them relevant
content such as blog posts, videos, or eBooks, that would be useful
for the product they've just bought, or to help up-sell them to a
different product.
Related
reading:
Our top
tips for nurturing customers: Best
practices for up selling and cross selling.
- Send
thank you emails to show your appreciation.
- Offer
promotions or discount off their next order.
- Nurture
customers with relevant content to up-sell or cross-sell
Takeaway
By
plugging these 5 customer service hacks into your online store,
you'll be well on your way to keeping your customers happy and
improving your bottom line. The key to keeping customers on side is
to make their lives easier, apologize if mistakes are made, and show
them the human side to your brand.