Companies need to have various online channels in order to respond efficiently to customer requests, regardless of the chosen communication channel, as online customer service primarily focuses on building relationships and being available to customers in the ways they prefer.
There are several ways to communicate with customers online, but the primary methods are:
- Chat
- Social media
- Self-service via a website
In order to thoroughly understand each online customer service option, we will analyze them individually and provide guidelines for their effective utilization.
Live chat and chat bots: Fast, one-on-one conversations
If live chat is not within your budget, consider alternative forms of messaging as they are more cost-effective without compromising online customer service. Live chat is an excellent method, but it incurs higher expenses due to employee overhead.
Chatbots are essentially like live chat, but without any human involvement. Basically, customers can pose their queries and a computer program generates pre-written responses utilizing artificial intelligence. While earlier versions were rudimentary and clumsy, the present-day chatbots are considerably refined, user-friendly, and advantageous. In fact, interactions with them now resemble more of a dialogue with a human being.
Email: Creating a “paper trail”
Email has been a long-standing tool in the business industry. Its familiarity and reliability make it popular among experienced customers. It serves as a fantastic means of offering online customer service. By utilizing email, customers can conveniently reach out and reply at their convenience. Additionally, some customers favor email for instances where they need to provide elaborate explanations and desire a documented conversation or when they want to include attachments like images or other files. Moreover, it allows for easy categorization and preservation of emails for future reference.
One way to effectively utilize email is by configuring an autoresponder that notifies customers about the estimated time for their response, which could be either within 4 hours or 24 hours. This automated response acts as an acknowledgement of the received message from the customer, enhancing professionalism and instilling confidence in the process.
Social media: Meet your customers where they are
While social media sites are typically designed for marketing and customer engagement purposes, they are frequently utilized as platforms for online customer support. Certain customers publicly post their help requests on these channels, aiming to ensure prompt action regarding their complaints. Additionally, some may opt to send private messages. To maintain clear boundaries, it might be wise to establish a distinct social media handle dedicated solely to customer service, while using your main profiles primarily for outreach activities.
Social media also provides an avenue for customer service through chat. Small businesses have the option to employ chat software for their website or utilize social media messaging apps like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger to engage with customers. It is even possible to establish chatbots within Messenger.
Your website: Offer self-service tools
Online customer self-service tools help to minimize the amount of repetitive, manual tasks such as taking orders or scheduling appointments. These tools are vital for numerous small businesses as they offer a service at a much lower cost compared to hiring an employee. Moreover, they enhance the customer experience by eliminating any obstacles. Customers have the freedom to seek out solutions at their own convenience, even outside of regular business hours, and receive prompt responses without having to wait for a reply.
Benefits of Online Customer Service
Customer service has consistently been significant for maintaining the ongoing relationship between businesses and customers. Whenever customers encounter problems with products or services, or have inquiries about warranties, sales, or repairs, they directly communicate with the company. This communication serves as the primary reason why customer service is important—it facilitates the exchange between companies and their customers.
Over time, companies have utilized various types of medium to offer customer service. However, due to the rapid advancement of digital marketing and widespread acceptance of social networking, a new medium for customer service has emerged. Presently, online customer service is increasingly becoming the most efficient and effective medium for many companies, and the reasons for this are evident.
Here are the key benefits of an Online Customer Service:
It’s Less Costly
By adopting online customer service, there is no need to invest in expensive phone lines and manual line-monitoring equipment. The only requirements are a computer and internet access. Additionally, it is possible to create the most widely used social media accounts without any cost.
Unlike traditional call centers where one operator responds to one customer at a time, online customer service allows multiple people to see one answer. This increases the efficiency of online customer service by reducing the likelihood of repeated questions. Additionally, this setup requires fewer employees to build a robust customer service team.
Improved brand exposure
The importance of “Social Media is the new platform for word of mouth” cannot be overstated. By investing in effective online customer service, your brand can reach a wide audience – not only existing customers. Social Media allows satisfied customers to easily promote your products and services to their loved ones and the general public. Additionally, even potential customers who are undecided about your product can observe how you address customer concerns through your social media interactions. This emphasizes the need for a capable customer support team to respond to these concerns.
Better customer service
A good customer service is composed of three essential elements: immediate response, empathy, and solution. Additionally, to enhance customer service, it is important to go the extra mile. One way to do this is by acknowledging customers on your social media wall. This not only solves their problems but also helps build a relationship with them. Furthermore, with online customer service, hold times, which are common in call centers, are eliminated. This allows for simultaneous responses, making it easier to improve customer satisfaction.
