Online Customer Service

The radio industry took 38 years to gain an audience of 50 million listeners, the television industry reached that figure in half the time, and guess what, the Internet took just a mere four years to surpass that mark! Absolutely incredible. So what has this got to do with Customer Service? Everything, especially so if you are in the online business or your company has a huge web presence. As internet use is almost doubling every 100 days, the opportunity for you to utilize the web to boost and enhance sales and service to your customers is both astounding and unprecedented. So how can you ensure that your online sales and service are web-wise and customer-friendly?
1. Make it easy for customers to find you online. Visibility online takes the form of directory listings, search engine listings, backlinks or links that point people to your site, and several other forms of online marketing. Do you have your company website address on your name card? It's a form of offline advertising and incredible effective in getting traffic to your site.
2. Keep your site navigation simple and clear. A page which takes 2 minutes to load the flash and graphics will turn away lots of potential customers. The web is about speed and convenience, so you want to take full advantage of them having clicked your link and making it easy for them to get the information they want in the shortest time possible.
3. Give reasons for customers to visit your site. Offer tips through newsletters or email, create some resource sites where your customers can connect with companies which compliment their business, publish articles providing the type of information which your customers would be interested in, have a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section where they can access to, a 'Contact Us' form for complaints or suggestions, create a chat or forum for your customers to interact with each other, or set up a teleconference call on a subject of interst to your customers.
4. Answer all your emails promptly and professionally. Nothing is more annoying than posting a support question online to the help center and never receiving a confirmation receipt email from them; worst still when the entire query goes unreplied after two to three weeks. Take note that answering customer emails promptly and professionally is as important as picking up your company phone within three rings.
The time-tested principles that apply to traditional methods of serving customers face-to-face and by phone are just as relevant to the electronic media of email and e-commerce. Being user-friendly, offering quality products and services, standing behind what you sell, and being responsive to customer inquiries and problems are very critical in providing excellent service online.