Customer Service Skills: Use Them

The following guest post is brought to us by the Internet Marketing Center,  which can be found at: www.internetmarketing.com

There’s a business saying: A happy customer will tell one or two people, an unhappy one will tell 10!

In the Internet age, a seriously ticked-off customer might not only tell 10 people, they might also write a lengthy rant on their blog, post comments on other people’s blogs, write a negative review of your site on a shopping website, or criticize you on forums and message boards. Or all of the above!

It’s easier to prevent complaints than to deal with them once they’re out there in the public eye, so here are some strategies that will keep your customers happy by letting them know how much you value them

Step #1: Automate your sales process to keep customers in the loop

Use autoresponders to thank your customers for their order, welcome them to your opt-in email list, and send them order confirmations and other transactional emails like, “Your item has shipped” notices.

Customers have come to expect these courtesies, but not everyone online bothers.

Step #2: Create a comprehensive FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

An FAQ answers the most common questions about your products or services. You should put it on a page on your website, and create an FAQ autoresponder, an automatic email sent to any customer who emails an inquiry.

To make your FAQ most effective, keep track of the questions that customers or site visitors actually ask, and then answer them. With those common questions taken care of, you’ll be freed up to spend time giving personal attention to the 10% or so that require it.

Step #3: Make it easy for people to contact you

There will always be times when a customer needs to talk to or email someone directly, so don’t hide your contact details away in a dark corner of your website, and always provide contact information on every message or newsletter you send out.

Step #4: Personalize and segment your email messages

You can personalize your communications with customers in many ways, including:

• Personalizing emails with names and other pieces of information you collect
• Sending customers personalized birthday offers
• Sending customers details of new products you know they’ll be interested in.

Step #5: Ask your customers how you can serve them better

People love doing short surveys, and it’s been shown that customer satisfaction is higher among people who have been asked what they want, even if their answers haven’t been acted upon. Just asking what your customers want and how you can make your service better makes them feel listened to.

Actually acting on their suggestions and improving your service is gravy!

It doesn’t cost much… but it certainly pays off!

If you treat customer service as one of the best Internet marketing strategies available, your customers will pay you back by returning again and again… and by saying positive things about you where everybody can see them.