Helping customers via online channels is faster, easier, and cheaper than doing it through a call center. While sometimes in-person interaction is simply unavoidable, it still helps to beef up your efforts, with web-based customer service platforms. It doesn’t just boost your bottom line, it also satisfies customers who would rather get their problems resolved in a few clicks instead of than spending time on the phone.
If you want to make the most of your web-based customer service, follow these four simple tips.
1. Include An FAQ Section
The more proactive you are in addressing customer issues, the fewer calls you’ll have to field at your call center. Your website should include an FAQ section that covers all the most frequently asked questions by your customers. To make sure this section is as comprehensive as possible, use actual data from your call logs. Keep it updated frequently to ensure that new issues are appropriately discussed.
Your main website and customer emails should also frequently refer to the FAQ. After all, solving issues online won’t help you if no one knows how to get help on your website.
2. Devote A Single Website To Specific Issues
If there is one issue in particular that you feel is worthy of addressing directly, go ahead and devote an entirely new URL to it. It will give you an additional property on the web that will rank for your brand name, and prove to your customers that you take their issues seriously. For example, Instant Checkmate, one of the largest people search engines in the world, has a website dedicated exclusively to helping customers cancel a membership. By giving their customers an effortless and transparent way to cancel, they not only reduce the volume of calls at their member care center, but also prove that they really want to make things easy for their members. (Even the ones who cancel!)
3. Include Instant Message Ability
Even if there is an issue that can only be solved by communicating with a customer service representative, you can still avoid a call by using an instant messaging system. These have the advantage of helping solve customer problems extremely quickly and providing an alternate channel for customers who don’t want to call in. But you should make sure to log the customer interaction as if it were a phone call. That way, if they choose to call in the future, you will have their issue and all of their information on hand.
4. Harness The Power Of Social Media
Involve your marketing team in helping customer issues by reaching out on social media. For example, if someone bashes your service or product on Twitter, have someone reach out to them and try to make it right. If a customer leaves an angry remark on your Facebook page, apologize and offer to make it right online. Showing that you genuinely care about when customers are unhappy, even when they aren’t going through the typical customer service channels, will reduce the load on your call center and prove that you’re willing to go the extra mile.
