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.
- Offer an interactive live agent chat option. More providers offering chat technology is making it an increasingly affordable option.
- Prominently post all contact options – e-mail, chat icon, phone number, etc. – on every Web page.
- Send an order acknowledgment e-mail to every customer.
- Send a follow-up e-mail and satisfaction survey once the order has been shipped.
- Personally respond to any negative comments or suggestions revealed by the surveys. Make a call if you have the number.
- Offer loyal customers something special in exchange for a testimonial to post online.
- Give current customers the first opportunity to take advantage of special offers. Send e-mail messages to promote them.
- 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.
- Keep customer profiles marked with some personal information so you can send e-mail cards for birthdays and anniversaries.
- Personalize messages on subscribers’ log-in home page.
- 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.
