 Customer service might not be the first topic to come to mind when brainstorming solutions to improve your ecommerce store’s sales conversion rate. But it should absolutely factor into every business owner’s equation. Good customer service is one of the main drivers of customer attrition, i.e. the retainment of existing customers. And “it costs 5 to 25 times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one," according to a Bain study. Good customer service also safeguards your store’s reputation from bad reviews. And this is critical because it can take almost 40 positive reviews to undo the damage of a single negative one. This reality applies just as much to online customer service as it does to brick-and-mortar retail. In fact, online customer service may be even more important since online shoppers expect everything – from finding products to transactions and deliveries – to be quicker and easier than in-store. Delivering quality ecommerce customer service is essential to improving the overall user experience of your site’s visitors. And a better user experience means that the traffic coming onto your site will be more likely to convert. Read on to learn 10 simple and effective ways that you can improve your ecommerce store’s customer service game: 1. Know your customers  In the spirit of customer attrition, knowing who your repeat customers are is critical. Without knowing who your customers are, it will be difficult to provide them exceptional online customer service. If you’re wondering how you can know your customers, try answering the following questions:
If you can’t answer any or most of these questions, consider sending an email blast questionnaire out to your customers to learn more about their needs. 2. Be available  This one’s pretty simple, but is often overlooked. Ask yourself: Is it easy for customers to reach my business? Try navigating your own website as if you were a customer with an issue that would require ecommerce customer service. Some important things to think about are:
Remember, one of the few downsides of ecommerce is that your competition is only a couple clicks away. If you’re not available or responsive to your customers, they’ll go elsewhere – and fast. 3. Seasonal ecommerce customer service agency  Are there certain times of year that are abnormally busy for your ecommerce store? Many online businesses see an uptick in sales around the holiday shopping season. With this, however, they also see an increased burden on their ecommerce returns management departments and the need for online customer service. To remedy this, some businesses opt to hire seasonal ecommerce customer service agencies. Outsourcing some or all of your online customer service efforts during busy periods can take the stress off of your business. It can also make for smoother interactions with your customers so that your reviews stay strong. 4. Improve ecommerce returns management  Let’s face it, returns are a total buzzkill for business owners. Ideally, you want your customers to be satisfied with all the products they buy from your store. But in the real world, this is simply not the case. That’s why every ecommerce store needs a return policy. Liberal return policies promote increased sales and long-term customer loyalty. And, in the Age of Amazon, they’re expected by most consumers. Google even requires a visible return and refund policy in order to list your products on Google Shopping or run a Google Smart Shopping campaign. But having a liberal return policy also means that you’ll need a robust ecommerce returns management system in place. Ensuring smooth returns is part of customer service. And research shows that quality online customer service during the returns process can lead to long-term loyal customers in the future. 5. Make sure your website’s user experience is on point  User experience is everything. It’s important to remember that the main reason people shop online in the first place is that it is easy and convenient. So your store’s website should be simple and straightforward to use. In addition to website design, this should include an easy checkout process and an accessible online customer service portal. Customer service not only affects user experience but, at the most basic level, it is user experience. 6. Optimize your site for mobile  Is your website just as accessible on mobile as it is on a laptop or desktop? In 2021, 72.9% of ecommerce sales occurred on mobile devices. So it’s imperative that your ecommerce customer service and user experience on mobile is up to snuff. Ensuring that your customers can easily reach you on mobile is a great place to start. 7. Live In-App Chat  Live chat apps are there to engage with your customers in real time. It’s quite possibly the best type of online customer service out there. Live in-app chat apps can be installed on your ecommerce store’s website to support the process of transactions as they occur. Even better, there are hundreds of companies out there that offer this service at affordable rates. 8. Keep them updated: customer service doesn’t end after the transaction  Ecommerce customer service doesn’t end right after a transaction has been finalized. Keeping customers updated on the status of their order is expected. Also, being available for them to voice concerns or contact you while a product is out for delivery is a critical aspect of online customer service. 9. Provide a multilingual customer service experience  In our multicultural world, being able to communicate with your customers in several different languages can give you an edge over the competition. It can also open your ecommerce store to markets outside of North America. At the very least, having a Spanish option on your ecommerce support hotline will prove to be helpful for your business. Google Shopping powered by Kliken for your ecommerce store  Now that you’ve got a handle on ecommerce customer service, flood your website with the internet’s best high-intent shoppers by partnering with Kliken. Whether you’re just starting out or you want to take your existing ecommerce business to the next level, Kliken makes the process of syncing your store with the Google Shopping & Ads platforms seamless. So you can start running Google Smart Shopping campaigns almost immediately — we'll deal with the onboarding headaches. As the world’s #1 Shopping and Ads marketing platform, Kliken has helped over 1,000,000 small businesses worldwide grow their sales on Google and get a return of up to 7x their original ad spend. Its proven marketing solutions can help you to unleash the potential of your ecommerce business. Learn more about how customers use Kliken to grow their businesses online here. Author: Michael ArnoldMichael is a freelancer from New York City. When he isn’t writing about how Kliken unleashes the marketing, you can find him reading, writing for pleasure, or traveling the globe.
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