Online Customer Service

What is Online Customer Service?

Online Customer Service is defined as any service that helps customers solve problems via the internet. This is done by customer support agents, whose primary goal is to assist customers. Such a service is usually connected to a business or brand which sells products and offers support.

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There are different types of online customer service, depending on the type of industry involved. The exchange of messages is mostly done in real time and involves channels like live chat, phone call, e-mail or social media.

Picture 1. Customer service representative

5 Ways To Improve Online Customer Service

Customer satisfaction is the goal of every business. Here are 6 tips to improve online customer service:

Don’t Let Your Customers Wait for a Reply

Customers are needy and they demand a fast reply. They don’t want to wait on hold or to get an automated reply. Or don’t even get a reply. And you know what happens after that. Bad news start spreading too fast, and you sure do not want that.

So, implement internal policy in your customer service philosophy and respond to your customers as quickly as possible.

Don’t Forget About Social Media

Social media is where almost every complaint is said. Reply as fast as you can with a way for them to get fast help. Providing customers with a support email address or a link to your customer-support ticketing system will definitely help them. It will satisfy their social media request and it will be easier for your support team to properly solve the problem.

Follow-up Immediately

After a customer successfully completes their purchase and receives an item, send a follow-up email to see how they’re liking the item. This is where you can give them a discount for next time, offer a wishlist option or simply send thank you notes. By making a message more personal, you will immediately catch customers hearts and loyalty.

Implement Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are an important part of your online customer service. They are here to help you inform your potential customers about what to expect from the product you offer. For many companies, this is sometimes the decisive factor.

Research from Vendasta says:

92% of consumers now read online reviews
80% trust reviews as much as personal recommendations
63% of shoppers are more likely to make a purchase from a site that has user reviews
48% will visit a website after reading positive reviews

So, if you haven’t already implemented a customer review on your website, you should. You can see that they are highly important as they can help your company to grow.

Eliminate Common Questions Immediately

FAQ helps your customers to find a self-service place where they can find what they are looking for immediately. By establishing the most common questions you will eliminate a lot of repetitive questions customers usually ask. It will be easier for your support agents to quickly handle some other requests that may be urgent. So meet with your team and together put a list of the most common questions and answers.

Also, by having a FAQ page you can boost customer service, as responding to the questions can make you understand customers better.