Archive for the ‘Customer Service’ Category

“Vacation had to get away.” Although almost 30 years old, this Go Go’s song still makes me want to hop on a plane and fly to an island somewhere in the Caribbean. Why is it the when August arrives, we start to hear people say that summer is almost over? Students will soon head back to school as our local meteorologists tell us to appreciate the nice weather while we can, but the fall equinox doesn’t happen until September 22. This means that there is still plenty of time sneak away on a summer vacation.

As an eCommerce store owner you may not think you can get away because your business responsibilities have you chained to your computer. You can break those chains and have a real, relaxing vacation without having to worry about your business. You really can!

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to dive in to this picture.

A very cost effective option that will allow you to escape is outsourcing your customer service. You may have considered it in the past but thought it may be expensive or that the agents wouldn’t be able to answer customer questions correctly. If you have your predispositions regarding outsourcing, here are a few of the benefits it can bring.

1. Saving your sales: If missed calls result in missed sales then the solution is to have someone there to answer the phone. Outsourced agents can answer calls all day, after hours and on weekends. There will always be someone there to take orders and answer questions. And because you can tell the agents what they need to say, how to describe your products and provide them your return/shipping policies, they can function as an extension of your business. Your customers will never know your outsourcing!

2. Saving you money: If you’re thinking about hiring employees to handle your customer service, you may want to rethink this. You’ll be paying people for a days work when they may only answer the phone a few times. Why pay someone to do 8 hours of work when half the day was spent waiting for calls? Typically, outsourced agencies charge for the minutes the agents are on the phone for your business which means you’re paying for the actual work done and not the waiting around.

3. Saving your reputation: It isn’t all about answering phones. When you go away, emails may start to pile up, your voicemail box can fill up and problems with orders may arise. Letting this work go can lead to angry customers who won’t be coming back as well as frustrated manufacturers and drop shippers. Outsourced agencies can take care of your office work too. Virtual office assistants are trained to complete the necessary business functions that can’t wait until you get back in turn preventing you from getting a bad business reputation which can be difficult to clear up.

A seat on the beach is waiting for you!

So what are you waiting for? Get in that plane, train or automobile and begin the well-deserved vacation you’ve been waiting for. Your business will be here when you get back and if you outsource your customer service and office work, it will be as neat and tidy as when you left it.

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What is your raison d’être?

I became interested in this French phrase while watching an episode of Charmed this week where they repeatedly talked about a character’s raison d’être, or reason for being. I’m not sure what my own raison d’être is but I do know what it is, or at least what it should be, for any business owner:

Customer service: Your raison d’être.

Business owners often view making money as their sole purpose, which of course is always a goal. But what you need to ask yourself is, “where is this money coming from?”
You’re making money because customers have decided they want what you’ve got. Whether you’re selling clothes, gift baskets, sports equipment, etc., you’re selling them to an actual person. A person who feels they should be treated with kindness, fairness and swiftness, since they are spending their hard-earned cash. Without these customers, let’s face it, there would be no business (at least no profitable business). So what does all this mean?

Exceptional Customer Service = Exceptional Profit
No Service or Horrible Service = A Horribly Low Conversions

Use exceptional customer service as your lasso, allowing you to capture customers for life.

Problems and issues are going to arise in your business. No one is perfect and people are bound to make mistakes, whether it be shipping the wrong product or overcharging on an order. Customers are going to get annoyed and complain. But what you may not know is that 56% – 70% of the customers who complain to you will do business with you again if you resolve their problem, says the White House Office of Consumer Affairs. So yes, these bad situations are an inconvenience to both parties, but if you handle them with finesse and resolve the issue, you may have just roped in a customer for life.

How you handle the “bad” situations with customers says a lot about the character of your business. If people feel taken care of and valued, they’ll return. I was feeling the love during a recent customer service experience.

She's back home and all better! With higher priced items, customer service is expected to be even greater.

I bought a car in July and a week later I noticed an issue in the way it drove. I took it back and the dealership provided outstanding customer service. They sent it to a garage, fixed the problem relatively quick and now she’s good as new. It was less than satisfactory that the car had an issue so soon, but because they took care of me (and didn’t ask me for another dime) I would recommend them to other prospective car buyers.

So the next time your dealing with an angry customer, yelling and just plain ruthless, think about how if you take good care of them, just as you would like to be taken care of, they may end up coming back or singing your praises later on. “The customer is ALWAYS right” is what we’ve always been told. You may think this is false, but the point is you should never stop treating your customers as if it were true.

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