Customer Experience News & Trends

11 ways to make your online customer service stand out

Everyone offers online service these days. Make sure yours stands out from the crowd of so-so or half-baked service.

Here are 10 things most companies and their contact centers that claim to give good online service aren’t doing – and how you can do them right.

  1. Offer an interactive live agent chat option. More providers offering chat technology is making it an increasingly affordable option.
  2. Prominently post all contact options – e-mail, chat icon, phone number, etc. – on every Web page.
  3. Send an order acknowledgment e-mail to every customer.
  4. Send a follow-up e-mail and satisfaction survey once the order has been shipped.
  5. Personally respond to any negative comments or suggestions revealed by the surveys. Make a call if you have the number.
  6. Offer loyal customers something special in exchange for a testimonial to post online.
  7. Give current customers the first opportunity to take advantage of special offers. Send e-mail messages to promote them.
  8. Include your business card with a telephone number in each order that is shipped. Sure, it’s old-fashioned paper, but it contains your website and e-mail address.
  9. Keep customer profiles marked with some personal information so you can send e-mail cards for birthdays and anniversaries.
  10. Personalize messages on subscribers’ log-in home page.
  11. Deal with problems promptly before they’re complaints. Use your database of e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers to notify customers of potential errors or problems and what’s being done to resolve them.

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