I’ve been saying this quite many times, but I will repeat anyway: customer service for eCommerce websites is no different from handling relationship in real life.
The below tips aren’t not really dating techniques (smile) but they surely can help you get personal with your customers and eventually touch their heart to maintain a loyal relationship.
1. Start by the name
Calling your customers by name makes them feel more comfortable and special. You’re a human being talking to them, not an automated robot. Don’t forget to create a personal profile with your name and your position – maybe in a funny way, like “Batman Support Assistant” to shorten the distance between you and customers.
I would enjoy a customer service when the people I’m talking with know my name and not call me “hey there”. Furthermore, it would be very engaging to know his name in our interaction also. You know, people are responsive with being called by their name. Embrace this tip, I’m sure it will add much trust and confidence of customers in your brand.
Having a superb customer service team means your team needs to be tech-savvy as well as experienced in communicating with people. Remember that!
2. Live customer support is always on the front line
Your customers love live conversation and direct interaction with your brand. One of the most preferred channels to reach a company is via live chat (don’t believe it? Check out these mind-blowing facts about live chat here).
A proactive chat invitation is always a good way to make customers feel special and gives a message that they’re treated well with care. Craft an honest and dedicated chat invitation for people when they’re visiting your website the first time, when they’re browsing a product page and when you want to help them decide on the product they need to buy, etc.
Using pre-chat survey is another good idea to know more about customers and their problem. Not to mention that you can use these data for your own customer service and marketing program later. All you need is a smart live chat tool like Subiz to perfectionize your live chat support.
3. Be their helping friend, not a soulless service machine
It’s not so hard for customers to realize you’re trying to sell something to them or are just trying to help them with their problem. How could you be their best friend each time they have trouble?
Ask. You can use a survey or a quick poll on your website, an email or Facebook poll. If you could, personalize the questions – you’re revising your service for their own good. Having a natural and honest two-way interaction with customers makes you a good listener.
Avoid the general boring phrases like “We highly appreciate your feedback” or “Our customer service always welcomes you if you have any questions”. Those machine-generated sentences just make you look so fake. Instead, show them the way to tell about their trouble, like, “how was the last time you use our product? Is there anything that bugs you?”.
Plus, make it a lot of fun when you’re engaging customers. This should be your unique trait that competitors can’t copy. And that’s how you make customers remember about you. Informal talk and a heart-warming customer experience will bring you a long-lasting relationship with customers.
4. Ask for feedback and follow up
The mantra here is simple: keep in touch with your customers. But don’t just send them a come-back email when you have something new to sell. You should have a follow-up email series which are sent to customers after their purchase to thank them, or to keep track of how they’re doing with your products. Show that everything you do, you do it for your customers.
There are many reasons you could think of to send your current customers an email. And that’s how you keep your relationship alive. It’s their birthday? Send them a happy birthday card with a special treat (a massive discount, for example?). They just got some achievements? Congratulate them with a small free gift. Or, it’s been a while since the last time you talked to each other? Why not warming up the atmosphere with a greeting email?
5. Don’t forget to thank customers whenever you can
Good attitude will take you further in the relationship with customers. A “thank you” after finishing a live chat session along with letting them know what a great talk you’ve shared together can make them smile when thinking about you.
Sending customers your “thank you” is not literally via a plain text. It could be an email showing how you appreciate your customers for spending their precious time on your website. It could be a customer’s loyalty program to honor all the long-term supporters of your store. It could be a personally free vamped up series of tips for using the product they bought.
Or, you can feature your customers who creatively utilize your product in their daily life in a “Customer Showcase Spotlight” series. The ideas could be as long as the Great Wall of China if you dig deep enough into your customer’s database.
Note: Make sure that every “thank you” you sent is personalized with the customer’s information. The rule “one size fits all” isn’t applicable in nowadays customer service management any more.
6. Let’s forget about the sales
When supporting customers, forget about how you’ll make them pull out their wallet and buy from you. Stay real, stay close to their heart and build your relationship first. Place personalization at the heart of your customer service. Put aside all the profits and leave them for later, when you’re alone with your plan or discussing with your team.
Did you succeed in winning your customer’s heart? Or have you ever enjoyed a truly “human relationship” from a customer service somewhere? I’d love to hear your story. Feel free to spread the words and share your experience here.
