Customer service impacts new and existing customers, heavily affecting your business sales. According to a Zendesk trends report, nearly 50% of consumers would move to a different brand after just one negative encounter.
This number plays a more vital role as companies struggle to stay competitive in today’s business landscape. COVID-19 paved the way for a whopping 5.4 million new business applications in 2021, surpassing the 4.1 million in 2020.
Globally, there are over 9.1 million online retailers today, which means all the more reasons to give your business that X factor. What better way to showcase your unique selling proposition than by offering superb customer service? However, as the world changes, so do standard customer service strategies.
To become a customer service expert in e-commerce, check out this helpful infographic. It’ll give you the tools to stay on top of the industry.
E-commerce customer service is when businesses provide customer service to consumers purchasing from online stores. Retailers who invest in enhancing their online customer care, supplied through various channels like live chat or an e-commerce call centre, typically reap the benefits of more devoted clients, improved conversion rates, and competitive advantage.
With this particular type of customer service, businesses take out customers’ long wait times to get the assistance or response they need for their purchase. In today’s fast-paced world, the best e-commerce customer care interactions are quick, positive, and successful.
Customer service plays a vital role in brand interest and brand loyalty. The quicker you solve customer problems and answer their questions, the higher the chances of earning their trust as they would feel heard and valued.
According to Invesp, 60-70% of sales will likely come from repeat customers, compared to only 5-20% from new prospects. Also, returning consumers are 31% more likely to spend more money and are 50% more inclined to explore new products.
To further drive the points above, here are some undisputed benefits of e-commerce customer service to your business.
There are several options available when purchasing online, and if your customer finds your process complex, it can quickly become overwhelming for them.
Customer service for e-commerce helps ensure your leads get fast, comprehensive assistance at the outset. It increases your chances of attracting clients who may have let their worries prevent them from looking up your business again.
Customer service is crucial to customer retention and brand loyalty. Existing customers spend 67% more on average than those who have just come across your company. To keep customers loyal, offering quick, effective customer assistance is essential to retain your current clientele.
Providing an all-encompassing customer experience strategy guarantees that you keep your clientele regardless of their problems. Remember that even one bad experience might cause a valuable consumer to never return.
Another crucial aspect of e-commerce is the conversion rate, which can be challenging to raise. Sales are among the key performance indicators you can monitor to improve customer service, specifically for your e-commerce call centre metrics.
Customer service representatives help build customer trust by offering excellent service and getting to know them. These efforts create a network of customers who will recommend the business to others. These prospective customers can increase revenue, brand recognition in new social networks, and overall corporate visibility.
While some business owners might be apprehensive about integrating technology more heavily into their operations, many use them for a reason.
When performing customer service tasks, integrating e-commerce customer support tools like software management systems and other artificial intelligence (AI) solutions helps save time and streamline your workflow. This implementation can give your consumers more personalised, attentive care, improving your brand image to target and general audiences alike.
While customer service work is vital for all industries across the board, its approach in the retail and e-commerce setup differs. To help you better understand, here’s a comprehensive look to explain the two types and their differences.
Today’s clients use various communication methods. Thus, e-commerce businesses must be present in most (if not all) of them to reach customers. If you have been thinking of how to improve customer service in e-commerce, here are some support channels you can explore.
Using social media for your business allows you to be present on more platforms where your customers are. This way, you know what they want and need from your brand when you do social listening regularly. Engaging customers on their preferred channels also demonstrates your interest, which fosters trust.
Consumers appreciate real-time support, with 90% of customers saying an “instant” response is vital. As a business, real-time replies can help you retain potential customers who might otherwise abandon your site. Not all companies can have chat agents available 24/7, so integrating this feature can set you apart from your competitors.
Live chat is available when human customer support agents are online. Otherwise, consumers can “leave a message” and receive a response later.
Many people assume that social media or instant messaging have completely replaced email as a form of communication when running a business. That’s not the case for online stores, as email remains a widely used method of communicating with customers.
Managing your inbox becomes crucial as more people expect timely responses when contacting brands online. Also, remember that customers still desire a personal touch, even if they’re asking typical questions, so avoid using standard template responses when attending to requests or inquiries.
E-commerce chatbots are computer programs that communicate in real-time with website visitors. They offer customer service, respond to inquiries, provide quick product recommendations, collect feedback, and monitor engagement.
Businesses can provide customers with quick answers to their questions by adding an FAQ section on their website, chatbox, or social media page. This section can provide customers with instant solutions to their concerns, meaning they don’t have to wait for an agent to be available to get answers.
Phone conversations help you produce great customer experiences through quick engagement and personalisation. Through this channel, customer service representatives can more easily discern the client’s emotion, combined with the convenience of instant solutions, leading to true personal interactions that will improve the client’s overall experience.
Because the customer service team is at the forefront of a company’s interactions with consumers, they play a critical role in developing relationships and establishing trust. As such, businesses must adjust their strategies to keep up with the evolving buyer landscape.
Here are a few ways to enhance your e-commerce customer service approach.
The world has come a long way from the typical brick-and-mortar stores that used to be prevalent everywhere. With millions of new online stores available today, it’s no surprise that customers expect more efficient ways to have a seamless buying experience from start to finish.
The customer service trends and points above only touch on the benefits of enhancing your customer service efforts. However, if you’re thinking of outsourcing an e-commerce call centre for assistance, it’d be best to ask the help of professionals who can better explain why you need their services.
Select VoiceCom is a call centre in the Philippines specialising in multi-channel support solutions for businesses that want to maximise their customer service tools. If you’re interested in partnering with a reputable company that can assist with their customer service functions, send us a message today to learn more!