7 Strategies to Improve Your E-Commerce Customer Service Experience

Digital natives are accustomed to using technology as an integral part of their lives. When they need to solve a problem, get an answer, or buy something, they turn to their devices for instant gratification. This has led to the growth of online markets, with Amazon alone receiving over 206 million visitors each month. The competition for consumer attention is fierce, and companies must do more than just offer customer service.

It's not enough to say that you have customer service - bad customer service is worse than having none. Microsoft data shows that 95% of consumers consider customer service important for brand loyalty, yet only 8% of customers agree that companies offer excellent customer service. Millennials are willing to pay 21% more to do business with companies that excel in customer service. Creating great customer service can be a game-changer for your business. Here are seven strategies to improve your e-commerce customer service experience.

1.Get Organized

Organization is essential for a successful customer service department.

Tracking conversations with customers and equipping your team with tools to help them collaborate keeps everyone informed and ensures nothing goes unnoticed. Using a shared inbox, saved answers for repeated questions, and collision detection will allow your customer service team to resolve customer requests in an organized and efficient manner.

2.Personalize Your Approach

Customers expect a personalized approach that makes them feel special. Companies must interact with their consumers to get to know them better and establish meaningful and ongoing relationships. Meeting the expectations and habits of customers is key, as they may want to call, chat live, send an email, or send a tweet.

Forrester data shows that 31% of customers have contacted a company through Twitter, 33% have contacted a company through Facebook, and 45% have used online chat.

3.Support Multiple Channels

Microsoft data shows that 66% of consumers have used at least three different communication channels to contact customer service. Companies should serve customers through their preferred communication channel.

4.Establish a Multi-Channel Strategy

Establishing a coherent multi-channel customer service strategy is crucial if you want to meet and exceed customer expectations.

5.Bring Social Media into Your Inbox

Staying on top of social media support used to be a challenge, but now it's much more accessible with features such as Help Scout's integration with Facebook Messenger. Incorporating social channels into your help desk or shared inbox creates visibility for your team, saves time, and helps you get to know customers wherever they are.

6.Use Self-Service Support Portals

77% of consumers have used a self-service support portal, with knowledge bases being the most preferred channel. Creating and publishing answers for customers can reduce your customer service volume by at least 20%.

Customers are looking for the line of least resistance, so if something is too complicated, they're likely to give up.

7.Introduce Personalized Expert Advice

Antonio King, director of experience at Shinesty, has incorporated this principle into every piece of Shinesty's customer service strategy. By measuring customer effort along with the customer's lifetime value, King has been able to demonstrate the impact of excellent customer service on its results. Using a live chat tool such as Help Scout's Beacon can help companies meet demand during periods of high volume or when customers are looking for quick answers. Beacon allows you to suggest relevant help content offer live chat and give customers instant access to your support history all without leaving your site. Rachel Thaw director of logistics and customer experience at Andie Swim knows that e-commerce customer service is more than just tracking packages and processing refunds To provide the best experience agents must provide guidance to help customers make the purchases that are right for them Introducing personalized expert service is what sets leaders apart from other online businesses.

Conclusion

77% of consumers view brands more favorably if they proactively invite and accept customer feedback. In addition 52% of people around the world believe that companies should take action in order to improve their e-commerce customer service.

By getting organized, personalizing their approach, supporting multiple channels, establishing a multi-channel strategy, bringing social media into their inboxes, using self-service support portals, and introducing personalized expert advice companies can create great e-commerce customer service, which can be a game-changer for their business.