Internet businesses came into existence in 1991 when the Internet became a platform for commercial use. It has become a very profitable sales channel for well established and newly formed companies. Online Shops are relatively easy to manage and with a small investment your company can increase sales & improve customer satisfaction as you have an open forum on a 24 by 7 basis.
Online selling is a fast moving and dynamic medium with most business opening shopping cart to generate a additional sales stream. It is important to keep abreast of developments and differentiation is a key element.
“Customer care can be your e-commerce competitive advantage”
Our expert contact centre team ( Arema Connect has been working in the e-commerce space for the last 6 years) have developed 5 tips that you should consider in order to improve your e-customer satisfaction level.
1. You should have clear concise instructions in relation to your delivery & refund policies
In our experience 52% of all interactions are in relation to the delivery & refund process: namely: when will I receive my product? What happen if I am not at home? How long do I have to wait? Has my product been shipped? (…)
Your website should inform your e-commerce customers when the goods are dispatched and how many days to allow before the goods will be delivered to your door.
You should inform your e-commerce customers by e-mail or sms when the good are picked in the warehouse with a tracking ID option so that they can check on line where they are. This is all part of the fun when shopping on-line.
If there is a delay for whatever reason, you should inform your customers in order to avoid disappointment and improve your customer satisfaction levels.
2. Support your clients during the payment process.
Customers do not return to your site if the payment gateway is cumbersome or has software glitches. Nothing is more frustrating that being unable to purchase your goods when you have made a decision to buy.
If a customer spends 5 minutes browsing your website, once they select the product, insert all their personal details and then the payment process is cumbersome they surf elsewhere Our research shows that 85% of customers that find problem during the payment process abandon the shopping cart and they don’t return to the site again.
Customers with problems during the payment process require assistance immediately and live chat or a 24 by 7 customer support phone number will help you improve sales and satisfaction levels.
3. Make it easy to reset their password and user name.
Your internet business will be linked to a repository (“data base”) where users information will be stored. You should make it very easy & pleasurable for your e-commerce clients to reset their password and user name easily and quickly.
On a personal level, Ten days ago, I was shopping online and I wanted to place an order but I couldn’t remember my password. I requested a password reset option and I receive 4 hours later. This website lost a sale.
If they had a live chat option or a 24 by 7 phone number it would have ‘Saved the Sale’ as they could have processed the payment for me.
4. Expect the unexpected.
On average 5% of the enquiries are “unexpected questions”.
Live Chat & a 24 by 7 support line will allow you build a database of ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ so that you can include these in your software development budget and improve your customer experience.
5. The Old Saying still holds true ‘Customer is King’
A thank you e-mail, a follow up message, a special promotion only for them, a happy birthday… they are all small elements that will help you grow your online business and improve customer satisfaction ratings.
Remember: Online shopping is impersonal by virtue of the channel type so any strategy you can use to make it personal will increase sales.