Your Website's Life Span
If you spend dollars to attract customers, you have to make time for service to keep customers.
Recent research presented by joint efforts of ICSA and esatisfy.com paint a dismal picture of online customer service. Feedback in the study from 56 companies and 9,513 consumers using web-based technology point to a high risk of losing customers if internet companies continue to deliver less than satisfactory service. Customer service is critical in eCommerce sales. Successful websites focus on it. And those that don't may have a short online life span.
Are you aware of these key problems? More important, are you aware how you can sell so that you deliver service your customers want?
Problem #1: Only 36% of e-customers are satisfied with their contact service experience.
A Solution: Aim for no less than one day response time. There are 68% of consumers who say they are completely satisfied with action taken when they get a response within that time. You can gain up to 13% more satisfied customer if you can respond in less than 1 hour. The sale is only a transaction. It's the follow-up after the sale that determines any relationship. And it's the relationship that will bring customers back. Set response time standards that at least meet customer expectations. Regularly review how well you are meeting those standards.
Problem #2: Poor internet handling results in dissatisfied e-customers telling twice as many people about their experience than satisfied e-customers. (Coincidentally, this correlates with a 1981 study for Coca Cola with a bad experience on a small ticket item.)
A Solution: For at least the first contact, set up an automated response. Visit http://ups.com/using/custserv/. Here, you will find a variety of ways to contact Customer Service, as well as being able to view FAQs. It's somewhat of a self-service approach. They have given me 1 day response time on both occasions I have e-contacted them. In your acknowledgement include when the e-customer can expect to hear from you. And then get back with them at or before that time. Minimize an e-customer going to a chat room, newsgroup or listserve to discuss their poor response to your e-contact. The potential damage is immeasurable.
Problem #3: More than one e-contact is needed to solve a problem or answer a question.
A Solution: Because the internet sets expectations of speed of service, self-service in FAQ's is an option that allows this. Some problems or questions are not in the standard FAQs. Or they are unclear. Use the telephone! Call the e-customer to resolve it. Better responsiveness with a satisfactory solution or answer can increase e-customer loyalty and satisfaction. E-customers have higher expectations for responsiveness to problems and questions. Use the telephone to improve your ability to solve problems.
There are some companies that demonstrate their understanding that service is sales by their actions. At Intuit, manufacturer of accounting software giant Quicken, all staff spend a few hours each month on customer service lines. Everyone's job includes customer service. With Service Soft at http://servicesoft.com or http://www.neteffect.com you can get a live chat for service on your website. These are two providers of web-based live help services. Live help services enable real-time text-based conversations between e-businesses and their customers.
Do you want to save marketing dollars? Ultimately, if you want higher conversion, better retention rates and larger purchase averages from customers who visit your website, you want to better respond to customer service. Make it easy for your e-visitors to get their questions answered so they can purchase hassle-free. Give your e-buyers a reason to make a repeat purchase. With increased customer loyalty and profitability, your business can be successful online.
Bolster your customer service and achieve more results in selling.
Patricia Weber is available for teleclasses, workshops and keynotes. Visit her web site at http://www.prostrategies.com for sales and service talk. Subscribe to her free online newsletter with tips and action plans mailto:tips@prostrategies.com?Subject=SUBZINE00
