This article reproduced by permission from https://www.bloglovin.com/@ashleybryan1/how-customer-care-helps-online-businesses
Customer care should be a priority, it keeps your customers happy, knowing that they are important. Providing outstanding online support is the most crucial way to create an unforgettable customer experience. There are many ways to take care of customers and many reasons why it is important to take care of those customers.
Retaining Customers is Less Expensive than Acquiring Them
It costs about five times more to attract a new customer to your business than it costs to retain an existing one. This fact should completely drive home how important it is to offer top notch customer service. Why would any business want to run the risk of losing a customer once they gain one? It is so expensive to locate a customer initially that all businesses should do whatever they can to keep each customer happy and keep them doing business with their company.
Great Customer Service Means Fewer Issues
When you treat your customers well you will reduce background issues that can arise regarding your business, products, sales or any associated potential legal problems. When you treat your customers badly you are guaranteed to run into issues down the road. These problems can result in the untimely death of your business. If customers are unhappy with your product or customer service, they can take down your company very quickly through posts on social media and word of mouth.
Existing Customers are Likelier to Purchase from you Than new ones
The chances of selling something to a new customer is between 5 and 20 percent. There are many reasons for this, including that the customer has no experience with you or your company. If you are not well known, a customer may not want to risk a purchase with you. Selling to an existing customer is much higher, in the 60 – 70 percent range.
You Strengthen Your Brand when you Provide Excellent Customer Service
Your reputation and the strength of your brand is based on you providing a very high quality of customer service. Excellent customer service results in positive reviews from people and this helps potential customers to make the decision to consider buying from you. When a potential customer comes across a review from a customer of yours and is reassured that that person received amazing customer service, they may feel confident that they will receive the same treatment. You might be surprised how many websites get this very important piece of the puzzle wrong.
Great Customer Service Means Longer Customer Retention
Offering great customer service helps you to retain customers. When a customer experiences superior customer service, they will tend to stick with your company and purchase things that they need from you when possible. Customers want to deal with a business that they have had a good experience with rather than find a new company to deal with.
Word-of-mouth Advertising is The Best Kind
Word-of-mouth advertising is the best kind of advertising that you can get, and you can’t buy it from any website or supplier. Word-of-mouth advertising comes for free from your satisfied customers when they are pleased with your service, your product and your customer service. When you make a customer happy, you will have a repeat customer who will discuss their experience with their friends and family and anyone who wants a recommendation. Great customer service creates a fan base of your website and services that will spread the word about your business on your behalf.
Great Customer Service Conveys Your Strong Values
When you take care of your customers you convey your strong values and a belief in the mission of your company. When you are focussed on providing great customer service by focussing on the needs of your customer you will access profits more easily than if you didn’t. Strive to help people, be passionate about your company and the profits will follow.
Respect the Time of Your Customers
If your customers have questions or issues and submit those to your website, how long does it take for them to get a response? The longer a customer waits to get a response from you, the more likely they are to explore other options and look at what the competition has to offer. Make certain that you have a customer service help desk that can deal with all your customers’ issues. Keep track of your service metrics so that you can find opportunities to optimize your customer service.
Customer Service Extends the Life of Your Business
Only four out of one hundred businesses will make it to their tenth anniversary. That means ninety-six percent of businesses will fail. When you don’t listen to your customers and give them what they need, then you may be affecting your business’ potential for survival. If you are serious about your business, you must focus on the core of it – your customers.
Determine What the Support Needs are of Your Customers
Online customer service should be aimed at the needs of your customers. You must consider what your customers will need from your support team and then train your support team to deal with those needs.
Make Sure Your Team Understands Your Products
Online customer support offers help to your customers, but what kind of knowledge does your team have about your products and services? Support teams need to know more than what a product information leaflet provides. They need to understand how a product works, common problems that it can experience and easy ways to fix that product without having to return it.
Educate Everyone on your Team so they can Assist Customers
When you ensure that your entire team is educated about how to handle the questions of customers and to deal with them professionally, this is a great way to provide good customer service. When you train everyone so that they can do support then anyone can deal with customers meaning that any customer can be helped by anyone on your team.
Customer Care is the best way to sustain and improve your business. When you work towards dealing with the concerns and questions of your customers you increase confidence in your products and services. If you haven’t considered the importance of customer care, it may be time to educate yourself on its importance and ensure that everyone is ready to assist.
