Thursday, July 18, 2013

7 Ways to Generate Revenue through Customer Service

Good customer service goes a long way. But it is great customer service that turns one-time buyers into loyal brand advocates and repeat purchasers. With more customers choosing to shop online and through their mobile devices, it is more important than ever to ensure your online support system does exactly that. 

As you build your online customer service platform, keep the following guidelines in mind. The extra effort can have a serious and worthwhile impact on sales growth and profit.

1.     Reduce the size of the support team - Customer service representatives (CSRs) are expensive. In fact, CSRs make up the majority of customer service costs. Reduce your numbers and use artificial intelligence technology to answer repeat questions. As a result, CSRs can focus on engaging customers with more complicated questions and they will feel more productive and efficient.     

2.     Learn from customers’ repeating questions - Customer comments are revealing. Take note of trending problems and concerns and adjust the product or service accordingly.   

3.     Make support easily available throughout the sales process - When online customers have to navigate away from the product page to get help, there’s a chance they won’t return and complete the purchase. Make support available on every webpage to avoid losing a sale.  

4.     Focus on high-value customers - Certain customer interactions are more likely than others to lead to add-ons, up-sells, or accessories sales. When CSRs have the time to focus on these particular customers, they will be able to use their expertise more efficiently. 

5.     Replace FAQs with interactive software - Look for software that answers questions directly. This saves the customer time and frustration and accelerates the sales conversion rate.   

6.     Use contextual assistance to improve service experience - Navigation-based search capabilities allow customers to ask questions from any product page and see results related to that product alone. This stops them from having to search through categories to find the answer they are looking for. In other words, it makes the support experience simpler, quicker, and more direct. 
 
7.     Provide mobile support - More people now rely on their smartphones to look up product information and even make purchases. Look for support solutions with an optimized mobile version or in-app experience.    
 

Why settle for good when you can achieve great? Maximize every moment of customer interaction. Engage with your customers, listen, and react. Every opportunity to connect with customer is an opportunity to grow.

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