Selling something to a person once is not a very difficult proposition but to sustain it and make the person come back to you regularly is what good business is all about. The best way to beat competition and stand out in the crowd is to build a strong relationship with the customer. Here are some sure winners:
13 Keys to Good Customer Service Online
1. Make sure your product is good, if not excellent. Obviously a product not rated very highly by you cannot make much of an impact on discerning customers either. No ingenuous marketing strategy can work for a bad product. People may get fooled once but it could break your business forever.
2. People are wary of online shopping mainly because it is not reliable. Stand out above competition by establishing a personal contact with the customer. Be available on the phone or online chat 24/7. Human responses attract the customer and create a better, long standing relationship, than automated responses.
3. Another sure way to build up reliability is to adhere to delivery dates and specifications without making false promises and unannounced delays.
4. Products must be exhibited with as many explicit details as possible to keep the customer satisfied. You must remember that customers cannot feel or touch products eliminating the third dimension altogether. Customers get to view hundreds of products at the click of a button, so a well exhibited product will clinch much more deals than others.
5. Provide an FAQ page with common queries and doubts about your products/services to help the customer, along with an e-mail address exclusively for FAQ’s.
6. Put your contact information clearly and make yourself available to respond to customers concerns. Responding personally creates a bank of goodwill for customers, that is known to boost sales by nearly 42%.
7. Personalize your e-mails by including customer’s names and personal details like birthdays, anniversary or important occasions. Send details of new products with personal recommendations that are genuine. This works like magic.
8. Deal with complaints and problems promptly and provide after sales service that is sure to catapult your customer base, as most sales promotional efforts are used only till the transaction is over and customers are clueless about problems that arise after the sales, especially for electric and electronic goods.
9. Build a rapport with customers by including short surveys and suggestions that make the customer’s opinion important, whether it can be implemented or not. This projects a positive image for the business.
10. Offer discounts or special gifts to loyal customers and keep them happy.
11. Do not make empty promises or go back on your word and loose your credibility. There are dozens of online businesses offering the moon and stars. Make your offers credible and stick to them.
12. Give the option of a buy-back offer or a warranty that can replace the product in case of any faults in the product.
13. Automation is an advantage for tracking orders and keeping the customers in the picture where the status of their ordering process is concerned.
All these factors are crucial for building a good customer service and boosting sales to an unimaginable height.
About the author: Margaret covers a wide variety of topics including business tips for budding entrepreneurs, temporary office solutions, online marketing, SEO Morpheus and the perils of being self employed.
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