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Delivering products is a major part of the sales process, but delivering customer service is an ongoing process that starts well before home delivery of products and goes well beyond the physical delivery date.
The continuation of customer service is vital, because it keeps your customers happy and loyal, and according to Lee Resource Inc., attracting a new customer costs five times as much as keeping an existing one; your customer service—or rather, lack of customer service—could be hurting your bottom line.
Whether you own a furniture franchise or an independent furniture store, customer service is significant in both the physical and digital world. Your Web properties need to reflect your readiness to aid customers, whatever their needs might be—recommendations, complaints, industry updates, etc.
Do your Web site and social media properties serve as elite customer service outlets? Do they address the needs of your consumers and meet their expectations?
The Web Site
Providing clear navigation for site visitors is key for a positive customer experience. Do visitors have to spend more than a few seconds searching for what they are looking for? People visit Web sites to complete specific tasks, and they expect instant results. According to research conducted by Nielsen, the average visitor spends only 56 seconds on a site. Make sure your Web site consists of clear action paths, so during that precious time visitors can accomplish what they came to do. Remember, they aren't always there to buy.
Assuming a visitor is on the site to seek customer service, do you display easy and direct ways for them to ask for help? For instance, does the contact page display a specific phone number for users to reach a customer service agent? Does a customer service page display an FAQ section, so visitors don't have to spend time asking questions? Does the site provide live chat where visitors can instant message customer service reps? These features quickly help visitors resolve issues and get questions answered.
Customer service isn't just about being reactive to problems; it's also about meeting the consumers' initial expectations. One of the most common reasons consumers contact a customer service department is because they're anxiously awaiting a delivery. The consumers' expectation of company updates has increased with the growth of e-mail shopping confirmations, making it apparent that you allow customers to track various issues (shipping, backorders, recalls, product releases). According to research conducted by Aberdeen Group, 91 percent of best-in-class companies allow customers to track issues over the Web, and 57 percent offer customer support across Web, e-mail, video and chat. Online chat is becoming more preferred by companies' customers, because it's satisfying to receive instant communication. Remember, you only have 56 seconds to please consumers online.
Lisa Wehr is CEO and founder of Oneupweb, a digital marketing agency. To contact her, visit OneUpWeb.com, email info@oneupweb.com or send her a tweet @LisaWehr.
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