Category: Customer Service
10 Facts About Customer Service Every Company Needs to Know [Infographic]
There’s only two ways you can improve the operations of your business, increase sales or decrease costs. While outsourcing is a proven way to decrease costs, but did you know that it’s proven to increase sales?
Customers are the lifeblood of any business and far too often companies become laser focused on customer acquisition while paying less attention to individuals who already have already demonstrated interest in their offerings. Every time a customer reaches out to your support team, an opportunity is created. Now days, most companies understand they need to support their customers, but what many fail to do is energize their customers by creating an overwhelmingly positive experience.
As the saying goes “it takes years to build a reputation but just moments to ruin it.” If you think about this for a moment, you’ll understand just how one bad experience can cost your company enormously in the long run.
If your company isn’t focusing on its customers, soon you won’t have any to focus on. The reality now days is customers have a voice in the success of your business and they can very quickly change the direction your company is moving in.
Here’s some facts about customer services every manager needs to know.
Drive more eCommerce sales with 24/7 live chat
44% of online shoppers state that the ability to ask questions to a person questions via live chat is one of the most important feature an online store can offer.
As you may have heard, Customer demands are changing dramatically. Offering limited channels for your customers questions will result in dissatisfied customers, which leads to bad reviews and lost sales. Now days, offering only email support complemented by limited phone support hours just isn’t going to cut it anymore.
Hello merchants, and welcome to our new service-based economy.
Lucky for us, live chat is here to help us save the day. And our business.
“Customers are gravitating more towards live chat as their preferred channel”, as per the senior manager of data and analytics at Zendesk says. Chat tool has been building more confidence in a user’s experience simply because it added a sense of human touch. The hyper-connected society just needs someone to be always there when they need to have information.
42% of consumers say that they prefer live chat functions because they don’t have to wait on hold.
Now days potential customers want instant answers. They want instant communication, and they want your company to be available when they want to talk, which isn’t always during typical work hours.
Adding 24/7 live chat will increase sales.
Not only does it result in increased customer satisfaction, it has a direct impact on sales. One company, Paleo Treats estimates that as much as 20% of their sales occur after a live chat conversion.
Why? Engagement is important to customers. As an owner of a business, or a person responsible for bringing sales into a company, you need to take advantage of every engagement opportunity a customer gives you. Engage, Engage, Engage! Yes, the human touch still matters.
Even today, 83% of online shoppers need support to complete a purchase. And if they don’t get that help, they’ll abandon the online purchase and find another company who will give them quick answers to their questions.
Keeping the customers happy with your products and services is always non-negotiable. Adding live chat to your eCommerce store gives you the opportunity to create an exceptional customer experience.
63% of customers said they were more likely to return to a website that offers live chat as opposed to one that doesn’t.
Getting Started with Live Chat
Finding a cost-effective live chat solution for your businesses isn’t incredibility difficult. A simple Google search for “live chat software” will produce hundreds of results from companies like livechat Inc, LivePerson and more. Most of these companies price their software on a per-seat or per-agent basis. Prices range from $14.95 per seat and up.
Many live chat services want to charge you for additional features and engagements beyond what’s included in their standard packages. Therefore it’s important to thoroughly research each one to insure you don’t get unexpected charges at the end of the month.
Also review the features they provide and make the platform you select aligns with the needs of your business.
92% customers feel satisfied when they use the live chat feature
Adding 24/7 Live Chat
Live chat is only effective if someone is on the other end of the chat answering customers questions. Nothing is more frustrating then seeing a live chat button and clicking on it, only to discover they live chat system wants you to “Leave a message” so someone can get back to you later.
End result of that exchange? No sale.
The good news is adding 24/7 live chat isn’t nearly as difficult as you might think. Companies like OnSource.co specialize in building impactful customer engagements that drive sales 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can build entire omni-channel support teams, or complement your existing team through cost-effective staff augmentations. So now, you can have someone answer your calls and responding to your live chats.
Conclusion
As competition in business is increasing every day, there is no wrong on staying ahead of your competitors. This isn’t just applicable to big companies but business of all sizes. Clearly, the live chat tool gives importance of providing real-time customer service and selling in an upturn. All business minded just want to be one step ahead of the competition.
It can be a huge factor in the growth of your business and the live chat option is definitely a good idea.
Let us know what you think about adding the live chat tool to your eCommerce business. We’d love to hear from you.
5 Ways Amazing Customer Service Increases Sales
Can great customer support increase sales? Without a doubt, support and sales are directly tied together. Business nowadays realizes that customer service is one of, if not the most important part of the customer journey.
Here are quick ways your business can increase sales by improving your customer service:
- Make a fantastic first impression.
Create a small script that all customer support representatives use to set the tone for the upcoming conversation. Not only does what they say matter but how they say it is just as ( if not more ) important. A great first impression not only goes a long way in creating loyalty for your brand, customers are less likely to post negative reviews if something goes wrong in the order process.
- Shorten your companies response time.
Even if you don’t have an answer for the customer, it’s important to know you’ve received their request and the team is actively working to provide them the best answer possible. I recently submitted a support request to zapier.com and within 5 minutes I had a personalized response back from one of their reps. Was it the answer to my question? No. But it clearly wasn’t a canned response either, and I felt reassured the rep was knowledgeable and actively working my ticket. Couple hours later, I got another email with my solution. Even if the answer they provided required a follow-up, they could have done no wrong in my eyes. The tone of our conversation had been set with their speedy initial response.A recent study by the Northridge Group found that 42% of consumers expect a response from companies on social media within an hour. Yes, an hour. - Dump autoresponders and canned responses when possible.
A customer isn’t stupid, so don’t treat them like they are. Value them and it will pay off. In 2011, an American Express survey found that 70 percent of customers are willing to spend 13 percent more on average with companies they believe provide exceptional customer service.Don’t value them, and they’ll leave. According to NewVoice Media, 44% of US consumers switch to a competitor following a poor customer service experience.
- Cross-sell, cross-sell, cross-sell
So what exactly is cross-selling? if a consumer is purchasing a coffee cup, the salesperson should be recommending the bag of ground coffee beans the store currently has on sale. This shouldn’t come off as a sales pitch, the rep is just giving helpful suggestions about some additional products they might like. - Create an incentive for referrals and positive word-of-mouth
Smart marketers now know the exact cost to acquire a customer. So why not create a discount or incentive for your customers to who refer you business via reviews or through social media. So how do you do this? A quick Google search will give a number of different companies that can assist you with this.
Conclusion
It’s hard to believe, but just doing these 5 simple things can have a dramatic impact on your bottom line. The days of treating customer service as an afterthought are over. If you didn’t get the memo, social media has given the consumer a very powerful voice and the sooner you embrace this the sooner your company will learn to use support to its advantage.