The importance of not just good, but great ecommerce customer service is often underrated by online retailers, and I suppose, understandably so. Many are fighting a continual battle of resources, whether a small retailer with a husband and wife team, or a well-known brand with an established ecommerce team; there’s always more to be done than time in the day to do it. So why then spend time and extra effort on your customers – surely just getting the goods to them is enough?
Perhaps not.
Reputation Really Matters
With vast quantities of information available at the click of a button, online shoppers are becoming increasingly savvy in their pre-purchase research, reportedly often consulting more than ten sources before making that final purchase. Now, more than ever before, reputation really matters.
It can take months of hard work, dedication and an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction, to build up a good reputation as a trusted online retailer, a reputation which could be shattered in a matter of hours or even minutes by a silly mistake, handled badly. Tough, yes. Fair? Maybe not. But unfortunately, that’s life in online retail. Retailers need to treat their ecommerce brand and reputation with great care, nurturing it and ensuring that every single customer transaction goes smoothly.
It’s All in the Mind
The first step towards achieving not just good, but great customer service, is to get in the right mind-set. Your customers are (usually) not out to scam you. The vast majority are genuinely just looking for a safe way to spend their hard-earned money on something they want or need. They want to feel valued, that you appreciate their business and that you are there to help them if something goes wrong.
Why then do so many retailers assume the worst?
Unfortunately, there are a small minority of customers that aren’t 100% honest in their online transactions, perhaps attempting to return a worn or used item. However, this is a minority, don’t let that affect your relationship with your genuine and very valuable customers.
Many of the largest online retailers offer a no quibble returns guarantee. Now this is partly because they can afford to do so, but is also because they have the statistics to prove that the percentage of their customers that have less than honourable intentions is so small, that the no quibble guarantee brings far more benefit than it does cost. Clearly this depends on your audience, but in the majority of cases we can assume this rings true.
By making that shift in mind-set from a customer service policy that swings in your favour, to one that clearly favours your customer; you are sending out a message of total commitment to customer satisfaction, perhaps even customer delight! One of the clients we work with (OXX Digital Radio) here at Metakinetic does this brilliantly despite being a relatively small online retailer. They commit to customer service in epic proportions, providing product support from knowledgeable staff, high quality delivery service and a personal service. They even sent new batteries to a customer who was unconvinced that batteries were the cause of their problem. It solved the problem. They may not sell the cheapest digital radios online, but you only have to read their customer reviews to see that they are offering an unrivalled quality of service, which is undoubtedly contributing to their impressive ecommerce growth.
Stand Out From the Crowd
Using great customer service to differentiate your brand is a smart strategic move. Not only does it allow you a little bit of flexibility with your price (many online shoppers will choose the safe option over the rock bottom price which often sets off warning bells), it’s also really hard to copy / credibly fake it.
Now I’m not suggesting you go all out on your customer service as soon as you finish reading this article, but I would suggest you start by taking a look at how you look after your customers, what they say about you and your products online (not just reviews on your site) and compare with similar sources about your competitors. Can you see a correlation between success and online sentiment? What areas of your service receive criticism? Take a long hard look in the mirror, and even if you don’t like what you see; it’s better than burying your head in the sand. It won’t go away, and your business could suffer as a result.
A Few Ideas to Try
Here are a few things you could consider trying out; this is not an exhaustive list by any means – but please do come back and let us know if any of these points make a difference to your business.
- Display a prominent telephone number – it’s like a safety blanket for your customer and demonstrates that you are available to speak to, should they need help with any queries or problems that may arise
- Don’t skimp on the shipping service – name one of a small handful of the cheapest couriers and you will hear a unanimous groan – some are cheap for a reason, just don’t go there. Choose a decent courier that gives a good service – it will reflect well on your business and won’t cost you the earth.
- Publish a good returns policy – offer the best returns policy you can afford, really shout about it and make sure you honour it, regardless of your personal opinions. It will pay you back many times over in increased conversion rate and recommendations.
- Say you’re sorry – if you do make a mistake, admit it, say you’re sorry, and make amends. A well dealt with dissatisfied customer could become your biggest champion.
- Enter some awards – get your customer service spot on and you’re worthy of an award or two – don’t be shy – tell everyone about how you look after your customers – after all, if you’ve put the effort in, you deserve to get recognised for it. An awards logo on your website is a great endorsement for your brand, and should give you a bit of extra exposure too.
The list that I could continue with would be pretty immense if I noted down all of the different ways in which you could improve your customer service, so I won’t go into that now. However, I shall leave you with one final piece of food for thought, which is one of my favourite, and one of the most cited marketing quotes of all time:
“Don’t sell on price. Focus on creating so much value that the perception of price becomes insignificant.”
