If you have an online business you definitely need online customer service strategies. Thanks to them you will be able to improve your service and boost your sales. However, it is crucial that you understand their importance and know how to integrate them into your sales plan. And here we will explain to you how to do it.

What is online customer service?

First things first. This is a service provided in e-commerce or web portals to users who are going to hire a service or going to buy a product. At this service all the doubts that may arise are solved. The idea is that you can provide immediate help as the doubts appear. It must be a help that, effectively, can solve real problems your users have.

It can be facilitated in many ways. There are various customer service tools, from the use of bots to internal staff, there are various models of online support. It will depend on many factors. From the volume of requests to the type of specificity of the queries. But how are you going to manage this customer care strategy?

How does online customer service relate to sales?

It’s not just an orientation service for customers. The fact is that the quality of the online service you provide can influence (and a lot) your sales volume. What is the direct reason?
To begin with, online customer service explains how to solve the doubts of potential customers. So many of these doubts will be questions about your products. If you are capable of resolving them satisfactorily, it becomes more likely that they will end up buying something. It’s all about logic. In the online environment, where they can’t test or touch the products, as more information you are able to give, more accessible your sales will be.

Brand image that is created is another reason. A company has to offer trust and closeness to its customers, no matter what type of business it is. And good service is synonymous with proximity, and that it is a reliable business.

Finally, online customer service also has an impact on the degree of customer satisfaction. If someone has a question that is not resolved correctly, they will be dissatisfied. And this can negatively affect the company’s own sales.

As you have seen, the relationship of online support with customer satisfaction and purchase volume is very significant.

How to improve online customer service strategies

Let’s take a look at some ways to make customer service one of your company’s flagships.

1. Constant communication

Try to always have an open channel for communication, regardless of the sales volume of your e-commerce. Just the way a person can shop in your store at any time, they also have the right to be served at any time. Therefore, even if you implement bots or standalone solutions, always have an uninterrupted communication channel.

2. Do not let the response take too long

The answer model has to be similar to the one that a customer receives in a physical store. When they go to buy something, they can ask their questions to the manager. In the online environment, the idea has to be exactly the same. You have to look for a low response time.

This is why response automation is often used. But when this is not enough, it is important to refer the potential customer to an operator as soon as possible. Keep in mind that the goal is that they stay on your website, not to get tired of it. Therefore, if he waits too long, he will end up abandoning it.

3. Offer information about frequently asked questions

Have you noticed that there is a particular question that often appears? There are many users who do not go to the customer service center because they prefer to search for the information themselves. Have a FAQ section with assistance guides in your website communication window for this type of audience. And don’t forget to update it regularly. This way you can take a lot of work off your online customer service department. As more information you provide, fewer questions will appear.

4. Train your team in social skills

Online customer service does not mean that every employee of your company should be solving doubts and answering calls. At the end, it produces poor communication between your brand and your customers. The best is having your own team, or some professionals who occasionally take care of this, but who are trained on social relations. And, in the same way, try to always have a script or an outline of how to deal with them. It will make communication smooth, and help your employees to have an outline of how to behave.

5. Look for feedback

There is no better way to know if customer service has been good than to ask questions. That is why you should encourage your customers or users to leave their opinions, comments and feedback about their experience. This will help you to locate possible mistakes and polish them. This will help you to gradually improve your online customer service.

6. Look for automation tools

Here’s a dangerous tip. You can’t leave all customer service in the hands of bots. But it can help you to locate the type of doubt, or to know to which department refer the query. Of course, the step from online customer service to real professionals cannot take forever. As we told you in one of the previous steps, all queries must be dealt with quickly and efficiently. Therefore, automation should be a way of speeding up the process, not a way of delegating responsibilities.

As a conclusion, online customer service strategies are a very important point in your sales plan, because they can influence them directly and indirectly. Therefore, it is an aspect on which you have to start investing. If you don’t do it yet, you can count on us and ask for a demo.