Internet supplemented with a smart phone is incumbent to our daily life operations! From the time when we reach office to get the work rolling to the time when we get back home where we have to strategize our cooking options. We need it while we are partying or when we are on a vacation, we need it even while we have to appear for exams, we need it for almost every purposes without which our life becomes dysfunctional. The dependency on the Internet was mainly due to implementation of the e-commerce industry. What is this segment and how does e-commerce help make our lives easier?
E-commerce
Dealing with products and services using the internet is termed as e-commerce. The various elements included in this segment are, Internet Marketing, Mobile Commerce and Funds Transfer. This has helped ease the life of Business people, Service providers and Customers respectively. There is a comfort level associated with all these segments, for an example we can shop from home, we can deal with banking transactions at a go, we can in fact set up our own business just by setting up a website. Due to this ease in the life of citizens, e-commerce helps in generating more than half of country’s total turnover. According to statistics there are 6 million new entrants every month.
The association of internet users and the e-commerce is intertwined. Considering every phase of business transaction be it B2B, B2C and C2C there is a direct affiliation with customer support, without which the functioning of all these segments is impractical.
When I as a customer face a few problems during my online transactions the first thought that clicks into my mind is, “Customer Care”. I need them most at the time of my distress. As a customer these are the times when I will judge the company. Are they fulfilling their services to the utmost care or they have an attitude that once the product has been sold the services will no longer be needed? The best way to deal with customers is to make them feel that their concerns are being addressed and they can receive assistance anytime.
So it becomes imperative for Business house to have a proficiency in customer services. Now that every business is opting for online transactions through e-commerce, it becomes imperative for all these firms to have a department of customer support. The various tools that is required to enhance the customer services are as:
- Social Media – Almost all of us are present in the social networking sites, as a company your presence in these forum will get you to interact with your customers on a regular basis, which will help you enhance your relationship with them.
- Quality of response time– In this fast paced world, everything needs to be done at a click of the finger. It is of utmost important that the time gap between a query and response to that query is minimalistic. As a company this will convey a lot about your attitude towards your customer.
- Live Chat – Live chat is a web service that provides open communication to the web site visitors. This tool provides immediate information support to clients.
- After sales service – It is essential for customers to feel that you were just not there to sell your product but you are there after the sales.
- FAQs – Including a section of, FAQs in your website, it will save the customer from the hassles of calling the customer care every time for a small issue.
- Prominent contact details – Make it a point that the contact details of the customer service department are highlighted.
- Reply to everything – This is a must, even if it’s an embarrassing statement or a negative feedback, Reply!
- Keep your staffs well-trained – A well trained staffs is one who can speak confidently without hesitation. Even if the staff is not well versed with English what matters most will be the confidence in his voice, this will provide an assurance to the client.
- Delivering a Wow Experience – Make sure you go above and beyond the guidelines. To deliver the best experience you have to break the norms. The customers will feel good and the boss will always be happy.
- Greater your widespread greater will be the comfort level of your customers. The more easy your company will be to deal with, lesser will be the complication and greater the interactivity, which will help build your rapport with the clients.
The Benefits of having the above tools:
- Building your brand image – There are thousands of companies in the market today and everyone is struggling to create their reputation through different channels. You are ought to find a competitor and to stay ahead, it is imperative to sustain the brand image. Problems are a part and parcel of life and dealing with them defines the strength of a company. Once the brand image is built, it will create a strong foundation for the company in the long run.
- Transparency – If you are willing to give information, when there is a negative feedback, this will provide a transparency, which will help the customers generate confidence in your services.
- Customer Retention – When you can make your customers feel valued, they will by all means never take the risk of shifting with other services. This will help you generate loyal customers.
- Customer Patronage – A good service can never go waste, they will support you among their own group, which will help you generate customers through word of mouth.
- Goodwill – Most of us may have short-term goals, but these short-term goals often mold into long-term strategies. If you treat your customers with care now, you are ought to generate fruits in the long-term, enhancing the good will of your company. Trying to generate customers through goodwill is better than generating them through various marketing channels.