Good Customer Service Online Can Reduce Your Costs, Too

By Trisha Torrey, IntegriMark Communications

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A.  The quality of your relationship with your customers – good customer service – is an important element of keeping current customers, or impressing new ones. There are a number of ways you can use your Web site to provide positive customer service that will also save your business some money, too.

Give some thought to providing information that will either allow customers to help themselves, or will help you to manage their expectations.  Most of them will effectively help you retain customers, which is less expensive than finding new ones.  And providing tools for them online will make them value their relationship with you even further.

The #1 Must-Have Customer Service Content

… is your contact information, and it’s surprising how many Web sites lack this basic. Sometimes the only reason someone looks at your Web site is to get your phone number, location, postal mail or email address.  Make sure your contact information is found on every page of your site, including your homepage, since engaging in a relationship with your client or customer is your number one goal.

Your Location

Providing travel directions, including a map, is a great way to make it easy for customers to find you.  If you are located in an office building with several stories, or if one parking lot is better than another, then cite that information, too.  While you are at it, make sure your business hours are posted on your homepage.

Providing location and business hours on your site will save you time and money since your staff won’t need to spend time on the phone repeating this information over and over again.

Returning Purchases

Whether or not you use e-commerce to sell your products, you can make it easy for customers to understand your return policies, and perhaps even return their purchase more smoothly. 

The key is to manage customer expectations.  At the point of purchase, make sure your return policy is very clear, then repeat the identical information on your Web site. In addition, consider providing the address a package must be mailed or returned to, the process for obtaining an RMA number, and your process for issuing credit.  By managing your customers’ expectations, you’ll be providing a more positive experience to them.  You’ll be saving the time you would spend fielding questions by phone, and may even avoid a disagreement. 

Assembly Required?

If you sell products that must be put together, or provide any types of goods or services that require a process or background information, then providing the answers through Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) is a great way to make it easy for customers to get answers, and to save you from answering them over and over again. 

Think of those questions your clients or customers ask you repeatedly, and find a way to provide the answers they need on your Web site.  It’s easy to provide applications, forms, diagrams and drawings, step by step instructions, policies, or any content that will make it easy for your customers to help themselves, once again, saving you time and money.

Spend some time thinking about those customer issues that could just as easily be managed online, and you’ll find their implementation will make your business more efficient, too. 

© 2005 Trisha Torrey

Trisha Torrey, owner of IntegriMark Communications and author of http://411, has been helping businesses score on the Web since the mid-1990s. From large corporations, to non-profit organizations, to individual entrepreneurs, her advice, planning and development services have helped raise the Web marketing bar while keeping a keen eye on the bottom line.

Email questions to her at: questions@http-411.com .