5 tips to improve your customer service on the web

Your relationship with your customer is certainly a determining factor in the success of your business as well as its sustainability. In the past, customer service was essentially done by a person on a telephone. Now, following the arrival of the Internet and its influence in our daily lives, we’ve reached a turning point in this area. 

The web is proving to be the field on which many customer exchanges play out, it’s essential for every business owner to ensure that customer service offered through their mediator is of the highest quality. But, how is it possible to improve your customer service on the internet?

5 tips to improve your customer service on the internet

1- Implement a CRM in your company

As we mentioned in a previous article, using a CRM has many benefits. These include the ability to keep track of conversion rates for the various measures that you’ve implemented to interact with your customer base. Being able to track these pieces of information as closely as possible can help you to identify areas of weakness in your customer service strategies. This will allow you to develop a list of alternatives to remedy anything that’s not working. 

Moreover, as a CRM can be integrated into an email system, the quality of email follow-up exchanges can be greatly optimized. While we should mention that a CRM is not a factor that directly influences customer service over the internet, it must be recognized that its ability to organize customer data, analyze and share it among different departments within the same company is an aspect that can help improve customer service efforts. 

2- Integrate a webchat on your site

Setting up a chat on your website can really improve the quality of your customer service on the web. Indeed, a chat function allows your customers' quick access to support if they come across any problems or questions. In most cases, a customer needing assistance will appreciate the immediate help of a technician or qualified employee that’ll be there to respond quickly to their needs.

Even if your customers' questions can’t be immediately answered or they don’t receive an immediate solution to their problem, the chat function still offers another communication channel. It should also be noted that live chat is appreciated by people who aren’t extroverted, as direct contact can sometimes be uncomfortable.

3- Customer feedback

What’s the best way to improve your customer service on the web? The answer to this question is fairly simple: by asking your customers how to do it. To access their opinions and receive critical feedback, consider sending them a short form which asks them specific questions such as whether or not they’re getting enough online support, if your email response times are fast enough and so on.

4- Provide a contact form

In order to provide good customer service, the implementation of a contact form on your website is essential. Offering your customers a way to immediately provide information and specifications for their needs will allow you to come up with better strategies and solutions for ways to meet them.

Then, when you do come into contact with them, you’ll be able to approach it with a more strategic method. Remember that timeliness is critical to people’s satisfaction with customer service. Therefore your customers will read your efforts as proactivity, and thus, this will help to reinforce a positive brand image for your company. 

5- Create frequently asked questions

Offering good customer service is knowing how to take the lead. One way to do this is to provide answers to the frequently asked questions on your site by going ahead and creating a “Frequently Asked Questions” section. This highlights your ability to take charge. Without even having to contact you, your customers will find answers to their questions, aside from those that are very specific. 

Offering good customer service in a nutshell

To provide good customer service on the web, your customers need to feel as though you are doing everything you can to meet their needs, be they technical, information-based or otherwise. As we’ve demonstrated in this article, proactivity, availability and speed are key elements that will have a decisive influence on the success of your customer service on the web.