The role of customer service is integral to the success of any online business. By properly looking after your customers and exceeding their expectations, you’re more likely to retain their loyalty and extract more value from them over time.
While your customers will expect good customer service as standard, “going the extra mile” means going above and beyond for them. Doing much more than just providing a slick ordering process and delivering a quality product in return for their money.
Here are some suggestions as to what “outstanding” customer service might look like
Say thank you
Every customer has choices. By placing an order with you, instead of your competitors, they should at the very least be acknowledged. Sending a personalised communication to say thank you lets your customers know right from the start that they’re important to you.
Offer a loyalty program
By providing your existing customers with an experience-based loyalty scheme (not just a discount), you can help improve customer retention rates. A loyalty program gives you access to valuable data, and you can begin to understand more about your customer’s shopping habits and behaviour when purchasing online.
In turn, you can leverage this information to cross-sell relevant products/services to your existing customers, resulting in extra profits for your business.
Actively listen - and act on your customer’s needs
Another way to go above and beyond for your customers is to recognise when they have a need and then come up with a solution to meet that need. This might involve new product development, or could be as simple as creating a Facebook community for additional support.
Engage with customers on social media
Social media provides an effective way for customers to ask questions, provide feedback or join a debate. Invite them to follow your social media channels and host a regular Q&A session, as well as posting useful information about your business to keep customers informed.
Be quick at responding
When you receive an enquiry, respond as quickly as possible. 24-48 hours used to be an acceptable response time, but nowadays, customers aren’t prepared to wait that long.
If you receive a complaint, deal with it professionally in a timely manner. Send a “holding” message to let your customer know you’ve received their complaint and are in the process of dealing with it.
How Tobi can help you deliver outstanding customer service
Tobi is the most powerful, fully-automated SMS and Facebook Messenger app on Shopify. It allows you to send instant clickable messages to your customers/subscribers so you can:
- Thank them for their order;
- Send them delivery updates;
- Ask them for feedback;
- Send them reminders if they abandon their shopping cart;
- Wish them Happy Birthday;
- Promote other products they may like (cross-selling)
- And much more!
Once a customer or subscriber has signed up to receive your push notifications, Tobi cleverly tracks their online behaviour, enabling you to send communications at the right times (for example, when someone doesn’t complete their order).
The Tobi app puts your business in front of your customers wherever they are. Your messages are guaranteed to be seen, as many people keep their phones close to them at all times. There’s very little chance of SMS and Facebook Messenger messages being filtered as spam, unlike emails which can go into a subscriber’s junk folder before it’s been read.
Tobi will improve your customer service efforts hugely, not least because this app can save you a lot of time and money. Tobi’s Facebook Messenger Bot, for example, is entirely free to use.
Thousands of online businesses are already reaping the many benefits of Tobi. Yours can too! View Tobi on Shopify today.
