If anything has become incredibly important in the current business world it is customer service, especially service regarding uncertainties, questions and comments in the online ecosystem. It is no secret that e-commerce sales are constantly growing. This creates a new code of behaviour or consumption that makes it easier for potential customers to ask questions through your online platform. As a result, attention must given to the service we’re going to offer the public. Because of that, we want to explain how you can do it.

Do you want advice in choosing the customer service tools that fit your business?

Importance of online customer service

These are some of the factors which determine its importance:

– It increases sales. Very necessary, obviously. Put yourself in the place of a customer who has a question about a product that is not answered directly on the website and wants to clear it up then and there because it has to do with an immediate online purchase. If you provide service online and are able to satisfy the request or question, then the customer will end up buying it. Otherwise, the most likely outcome is that the customer goes to a competing company and gets it there.

– It builds customer loyalty– Something very much like the preceding example. If a customer receives a product and has questions about how to use it, they are going to ask your company. If the company does not respond in a short time, they will start searching for the answer on the internet and in all probability will end up on a competitor’s website. This may chip away little by little at the loyalty generated previously.

– It avoids returns. The more information and service you provide about your company and products, the happier users will be and the greater will be the satisfaction they show, so they will be content with your products and will not see the need to return them at any time.

– It is immediate. It is usually used for quick questions or enquiries: where to find the product, how to use it, etc. This means that you have to build a system up to the task of responding to questions immediately. The reward, obviously, will be what has already been stated: increased sales and a greater volume of purchases by your target audience.

Main tools for website service

Let’s see the primary resources you have as a company for dealing with any online enquiry. One thing must be kept in mind: the use of one tool does not mean that others become useless, not by a long shot. The idea, in fact, is to use all of them in a measured and coordinated way to be able to offer the best service possible.

Livechat

This is a service that is done online and in real time. That means that your own customer service team would be able to receive enquiries directly from your customers. This allows you to improve the relationship with online users, but you have to have a team willing to respond to these enquiries.

¿En qué casos se vuelve necesario optar por este modelo de atención? Principalmente cuando sean dudas complejas, como una formación, una avería importante…etc. Es decir, si no es posible contestar rápidamente por otro medio, es cuando la consulta ha de pasar a tu equipo de atención personal, y una forma online de solucionarlo es el livechat. ¿La ventaja? Que así puedes tener clientes en cualquier parte del mundo, por que puedes utilizar traducciones simultaneas durante la conversación y ofrecer un servicio de asistencia en línea con profesionales.

Chatbot

The chatbot is an artificial intelligence resource that works by responding to the questions of visitors to your website, blog and social networks. In addition, you can distinguish between more complex problems and those which, in reality, are easily solved.

An example: when a customer wants to know if you have a product or not, or when they make enquiries about technical problems, but not complex ones (the guarantee, terms for returns, etc.), a chatbot will help you deal with all these questions, and do so quickly. This mechanism has a very interesting advantage, which is that being a result of AI (artificial intelligence), it can learn from previous response patterns.

In addition, if the bot receives complicated enquiries it can send them to the operator to respond to the question by means of livechat, video call, email, etc.

Email marketing

This means of customer service can seem quite clumsy, but it has its role in a general communications strategy as it allows you to measure satisfaction via tests, questionnaires and other means. Furthermore, if a product’s instructions or the way of taking care of an enquiry is long, but not complex, you can send them by this means. In fact, it can be automated such that an email is sent with the pertinent explanations whenever a specific product is purchased.

Questionnaires

These can be present on the website or other online spaces, as well as being in an email. They are used to measure customer satisfaction or the response to a product (to see, for example, if it meets expectations). They are not only a way to monitor the product and its value, they can also be used to respond to enquiries.

An example is that, before receiving more personalised service, you can send a questionnaire with only a few questions to ascertain what the problem is and so reduce the number of steps to be taken in the technical assistance the customer needs.

Social Networks

Social networks are a quick way users have to connect to your company. They just have to toss out a question on Facebook, Instagram or their social network of choice. This involves either having automated messages that know where to send them (to email or the website, for example) or employing a community manager with enough knowledge about the product to be able to help with the enquiry.

In short, customer service has also been moved online. This means that the ways that enquiries can be made have increased, but also that they can be organised to build an efficient response system which helps and improves engagement with your company.

Are you ready to help your visitors online?