Streamline your Online and Offline Customer Service for Better Results

Missing the obvious benefits of cost effective customer service can hurt your business. Despite all of your efforts, customers will still look for help.

In today’s online marketplace, many e-tailers and direct marketers correctly focus on the presentation and ease of use of their online store and checkout process. The goal, of course, is to increase sales and reduce customers’ dependence on the inhouse and / or outsourced customer service staff.

Although focus on user friendly interfaces and quickly navigated checkout processes are very important pieces to the puzzle, many e-tailers seem to forget or ignore the fact that some customers will still inevitably call or email in an attempt to find further assistance.

For those customers who insist on obtaining additional help, how can they be serviced quickly and effectively in such a way that still preserves the profit margin within each individual order?

Automated Customer Service

There are a number of automated functions you can provide that will help reduce your customers' dependence your support staff and/or contact center. By proactively providing your customers with the information they commonly seek, you will reduce the cost of servicing each order received and shipped.

• Live pricing, shipping and handling, and sales tax calculation – Reduce questions and increase customer confidence with live sales tax calculation in your online store and CRM solution. This has become a common element of most e-commerce solutions. Do not leave your potential customers guessing. They will not enter their credit card until they understand exactly what will be charged.
• Live inventory ping – Let your customers know in the initial stage of the shopping experience whether or not the desired item is currently in stock. If it is not in stock, try to incorporate a system that displays the expected availability date.
• Online real-time order status – In the hours and days following the order capture, provide your customers with a link and corresponding web page to view the exact status of their order. Be as specific as possible. This will eliminate the need for some customers to pick up the phone.
• Order confirmation email – This is another low cost method of avoiding customer service issues that is commonly implemented in most e commerce solutions. Acknowledgement of a properly captured order will always reduce your customers’ dependence on your support staff.
• Shipment confirmation email with tracking number – While this requires a well integrated fulfillment solution, it is a common expectation amongst the growing volumes of online customers.

Contact Center Hours of Operation

A quickly and efficiently serviced customer will likely cost you less than a customer who is not serviced at all. Many would assume that offering limited customer service hours is a great way to reduce costs. However, limited hours such as 8:00am to 5:00pm are much more likely to produce a variety of negative results.

Most notably, product returns can be minimized by offering extended hours of customer service. Aside from corporate customers, the average end user is likely going to open their purchase and attempt to operate it for the first time during an evening or weekend. This is the exact moment when a customer is most likely to call or email for help. Therefore, it is also the time when great customer support is most likely to create a positive return on investment.

The same is true for order status questions and even order placement phone calls. Providing truly accessible customer service is a terrific way to limit returns and increase overall sales. So, what hours of operation are best? The answer is typically “the more the better”. If you are looking to outsource your customer service operation, you will likely find that most vendors offer phone, email, and live web chat services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Contact Center Training

• Company background – Make sure your reps are able to answer simple questions surrounding your company’s background. How long have you been in business? How many employees do you have? What is your mission? What is your brand and how does it distinguish you from your competition? If your rep sounds like a valued employee who takes an active interest in the company’s success, you are much more likely to build credibility within each individual customer interaction.
• Products – Does the rep have an intimate understanding of the products he / she is providing customer service for? While this may seem like an obvious point, you may be surprised to find just how many companies do not put the actual product in the hands of the reps. A rep who uses the product in his / her own daily life is much more likely to explain the products' benefits through well communicated enthusiasm.
• The basics of e commerce – Many customers will call with questions surrounding the operation of the shopping cart and the back end processes involved. Do your reps understand what happens when a customer clicks the “submit my order” button multiple times? Do your reps know how credit card processing actually works? Do your reps understand where and why you charge sales tax? Comprehensive knowledge of these topics will help build credibility with the customer as well as reduce the average length of a customer service phone call or web chat.
• Ease and accessibility of information – Providing reps with easily accessible information is paramount to reducing customer service costs. This topic is usually technology based and is often dependant on the limitations of your customer relationship management (CRM) software or service. In order to effectively handle customer service calls, web chats, and emails, your reps should be able to quickly access the needed information once the problem or issue is identified. This is true for both product and company data.
• Utilize “call-backs” – There are a variety of service methods that will likely result in a reduced average length of call. One of the easiest to implement is the “call back”. If a customer has a particularly unique problem that requires some additional research by the rep, it may make sense to offer the customer a call back later in the day at a convenient time. Customers often appreciate the acknowledgement that their current issue and resulting phone call is not the only priority in their busy day. As opposed to keeping the customer on hold while the rep investigates the problem, giving the customer the option to receive a follow up phone call later at a convenient time is cost effective and provides great customer service. Just make sure you have a systematic way of scheduling any necessary call backs.
• Tools for “tele-stress” – For one reason or another, every rep will have an occasional bad day. Perhaps there are personal issues at home or the rep has answered a series of calls from upset customers. Disgruntled reps will not efficiently service your customers, nor will their negative attitude support a contact center atmosphere in which other reps can efficiently service your customers. Stress management trainings are a great start to reduce the negative effects of a rep that has simply had a rough day. Providing ergonomic work stations, scheduled breaks, and easy access to simple necessities such as food and water are also key to reducing the negative effects of “tele-stress” on your bottom line.
• Frequent review and monitoring – Although this is an obvious point, the number of companies that neglect to review and monitor the performance of their reps is staggering. Record your service calls and emails and review both great and “less-than-great” examples of customer service with reps. Use both individual and group settings for review. Upon review, use praise and constructive criticism. Monitoring customer support will also help you quantify the frequent issues customers are experiencing.
• Fast email replies – Despite numerous claims by many small to medium size businesses as being exceptional in their own customer service management, CRM Magazine reported in the Fall of 2005 that “51 percent failed to respond to emails at all and 70 percent did not respond within 24 hours”. It appears that the industry standard is seriously lagging. For purposes of comparison, Rush Order’s average turnaround for a customized email reply is less than six hours. Email response times should be taken very seriously to preserve the customer relationship.

Pre-emptive Outbound Customer Service

If an order is placed with incorrect address or credit card data, it will likely benefit you to proactively contact the customer in an effort to retrieve the sale. This is especially true if the order in question contains a high monetary value.

Automating this process with systematic queuing of outbound phone calls, emails, and / or written notices can be an extremely cost effective method for maximizing customer service and capturing what otherwise may be lost sales.

A Unified Solution

The efficient coordination of all the resources and processes listed above may appear to be a daunting task to some. As such, many will find that a single unified solution stationed under one roof is the best answer to maximizing the cost effectiveness of customer service. Whether conducted in-house or via an outsourced vendor, a seamlessly integrated order management and customer service solution is likely to provide the highest level of customer service continuity at the lowest cost.

By providing customers with a single point of contact, you can avoid multiple transfers that end up frustrating both your customers and your reps. You will also be able to provide a single order process view for your reps. As such, they will be able to quickly address any issue a customer may have at any point along the order process flow. If your processes must be housed under multiple roofs, make sure that your order management system provides a great deal of transparency throughout the order flow process.

Subscribe to our RSS Feed