E-commerce is now the backbone of retail and this year, it’s expected that it will be responsible for a fifth of all sales in the UK. Whilst it’s extremely popular, it’s also extremely competitive.
If you’re starting out in this sector, then you must take steps to stay ahead of the competition and ensure repeat custom. This means focusing heavily on customer support.
Customer service
As an e-commerce retailer, the key to your success is an exceptional customer experience and a high level of useful service. If someone comes to your site and can’t quickly find answers to queries or solutions to problems, they will go elsewhere.
E-commerce is increasingly merging with mobile online shopping (m-commerce), and this also must be considered. The Turner Little team has put together a few tips for e-commerce customer service and best practice:
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Multi-channel support
Customers today engage with businesses across many different channels. Often combining in-store experiences with online platforms to decide on purchases, customers expect customer service that spans all available channels.
Long gone are the days when customer support meant providing a helpline. Today, customers expect to be able to reach you via text, social media, live chat and video chat, among other channels. If you craft your customer service offering around what matters to your customers, you will instil trust and show you value their business.
Businesses that provide quality customer service seamlessly across many different channels can claim an 89% retention rate – that’s how much it matters.
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Effective social media
It’s inevitable that your customers will spend time on social media. At the very least, you must engage effectively with them through the obvious social media channels, such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can extend this to newer channels including Snapchat, and video channels such as YouTube, for the complete experience.
Many customers will hear about you first via social media, and it’s vital that you have support easily available on their channel of choice. Responding to queries within a certain timeframe is an important factor in effective social media customer support. People expect a fast response, with around 42% expecting a response in under an hour.
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Text messaging
SMS messaging can be a very effective customer support channel for small businesses. Most customers are familiar with SMS, including those who may not be part of the online community, so it allows you to communicate with a wider audience.
It’s perfect for situations that are time sensitive, such as reminding a customer they’ve left their shopping cart full, or for information on the delivery status of their items.
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Video and mobile use
Creating a simple ‘how to’ video is a popular customer support method and means customers can get the information they need straight from the source. Often, written instructions aren’t clear enough, so a video can help customers to help themselves.
Your website must be optimised for mobile use, as more customers are choosing to engage with businesses through social media, text, apps and searches on mobile platforms.
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Self-service options
Customers are happy to find information themselves if it’s fast and simple. A thorough FAQ page can help customers in a way that saves them time and hassle. Ensuring product information is easy to read and covers all relevant information, such as size, cost, stock levels etc. is also important.
Policies should be simple and written in plain English. For example, spell out your returns policy and flag it up front and centre. People don’t want to waste time wading through lots of fine print to find the information they need.
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Train employees in customer service
Whether you have a staff of one customer support person or 10, it can seem like an extra job to train them in customer service, particularly when you’re starting out. But it is essential to customer retention and will save you time later.
Business owners have the responsibility to train staff in effective customer service so that they can respond appropriately across multiple channels.
Seamless integration
Many sources, including Forbes Magazine, are talking about the integration of customer service support with AI (artificial intelligence). A seamlessly integrated customer experience across all relevant channels will give businesses a real understanding of their needs and how to bring them back again and again.
Above all, keeping up with customer expectation in a fast-changing sector is vital. Be proactive and reach out to customers by solving problems they don’t know they have. For more help on starting up an e-commerce business, talk to the team at Turner Little. We’d be happy to help.
About Turner Little
Founded in 1998 in Yorkshire, UK, Turner Little is a specialist UK and offshore company formation, banking and corporate services provider. Our services include company formation, UK and offshore banking, asset protection, credit correction/repair, trademarking and trusts. Other services include Internet services, mail forwarding, wills and probate. Turner Little’s vision is to offer the best possible service, together with market leading products.
