Deb Mukherjee
Here’s the truth: ecommerce customer service is one of the most underrated avenues for blowing up your business.
Why? Because modern consumers place customer experience on par with both ‘product’ and ‘price’ when making a purchasing decision.
Despite this, research shows that just 8% of consumers say online retailers currently deliver ‘excellent customer service.’
So, how does such a discrepancy happen?
Well, the thing is, most ecommerce belgium mobile phone number list
brands make it their goal to create satisfied customers. And while such customers are better than unsatisfied ones, they’re not the ones who’ll sing your praises from the rooftops.
In this article, you’ll learn how to go beyond creating indifferent shoppers and discover how to transform your customers into a tribe of irrationally passionate fans who grow your business on auto-pilot.
Sounds good? Let’s jump in!
Table of Contents
What is Ecommerce Customer Service?
Why Amazing Ecommerce Customer Service Matters More than Ever
5 Tips for Mind-blowingly Good Ecommerce Customer Service
Go forth & Serve Your Customers!
What is Ecommerce Customer Service?
ecommerce customer service is the support you provide to customers both before and after and after purchasing from you.
Exceptional ecommerce customer support involves things like:
Helping your customer choose the right products
Fixing customer issues quickly when they arise
Educating customers about how to get the most out of their purchase
Making the customer feel valued and appreciated
Some of the challenges facing modern eCom customer service are:
High volumes of support tickets
Providing fast response times across multiple channels
Maintaining a consistent brand voice across all customer interactions
Later on, we’ll address these challenges and overcome them. But for now, let’s tuck into three reasons why customer service is more important than ever.
Why Amazing Ecommerce Customer Service Matters More than Ever
In modern times, ecommerce customer care is becoming more critical for brands that want to excel. Here’s why:
1. Customer Service Allows Small Business to Beat Big Business
Big players like Amazon and Walmart pack massive firepower in terms of logistical prowess and buying power.
Trying to compete with eCom behemoths head-on is likely to leave you feeling outgunned and under-resourced. But when it comes to customer service, their sheer size is their disadvantage.
Consumers, especially younger consumers (whose buying power is increasing by the day), are gravitating towards brands that provide personalized service with a human touch.
So, going beyond the robotic service of today’s ecommerce titans is vital. If you can relate to customers in a way that matters, you’ll win their hearts, minds, and business - even if you can’t compete with the big boys on price.
2. Social Media Is Amplifying Your Reputation
Thanks to social media, it only takes a short series of poor customer experiences to send your business into a downward spiral that’s hard to break.
Some studies suggest that 92% of customers will call you out on social media for inadequate customer service.
On the flip side, a steady stream of positive customer interactions can quickly pump-up your growth and create a passionate customer base who’ll tell their friends about you.
This means that the potential for damage to your brand from sub-par service is enormous. But so is the potential for gain if you can consistently delight your customers.
3. Excellent Customer Service Boosts Revenue
Get this: a whopping 84% of consumers consider customer service a key factor when deciding whether to purchase, and only 3% percent say it’s unimportant.
What’s more, 78% of customers have backed out of purchasing based on a poor customer experience.
The implication? If you’re providing substandard customer service, you can bet your bottom dollar you’re not maximizing revenue.
But customer service doesn’t only affect front-end revenue. It has an enormous impact on retention and loyalty too.
For example, 52% of consumers say they’ve made more than one purchase from a business following a positive customer service experience (plus they’re more likely to tell their friends about you too).
And when you consider that a 5% increase in customer retention can produce 25%-95% more profit, it’s easy to see how delighting your customers is like rocket fuel for your business.
Indeed, Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, wasn’t wrong when he said: “Customer service is the new marketing.
5 Tips for Mind-blowingly Good Ecommerce Customer Service
Ok, so we’ve covered why it’s super important to have fantastic ecommerce customer service. You know the impact that it can have on your reputation and your bottom line.
Now, let’s jump in and figure out how to get started delivering remarkable support.
1. Make it Dead-Easy for Customers to Reach You
If you’ve ever shopped online and needed to reach support, you understand how frustrating slow responses can be.
That’s why if you want to leverage customer service to grow your business, there are three things you need to do:
First, figure out what channels your customers gravitate towards online.
Do they prefer to email you?
Use live chat?
Go to your self-service help center?
Tweet you?
Hit you up with an Instagram DM?
Secondly, decide to what extent you can cover all of those channels. Alternatively, determine if your resources could be better spent directing customers towards the top 1-2 channels they generally prefer to use.
Thirdly, once you’ve decided on your channels, make it crystal clear on your website, socials, and emails where customers can reach you (via tweet, email, chat, etc.) and when they can expect a response.
For example, if you’re selling to a younger audience like Gen-Z, you may find that many people are trying to reach you on Instagram, but you’re not responsive.
Instead of merely sending the old canned response that redirects customers to email, why not pivot your approach and start providing proactive support directly through Instagram instead?
Finally, when figuring out which channels to prioritize, don’t just choose the most convenient ones for you. Instead, choose those that are most convenient for your customer base, and make it genuinely effortless for them to reach you.
Key Takeaway: Evaluate the channels customers are using to reach out to you. Decide if your current support offering matches your customer’s ideal offering. Always ask: how can we make it easier for customers to reach us
