Seven Tips for Delivering Successful Customer Service on the Internet

Today, customers have become accustomed to faster and better service. Long gone are the days when customers would send a letter to a company and willingly wait weeks for a response. People have gotten used to getting what they want, when they want it. Pizza within thirty minutes, cash from an ATM 24 hours a day, and cable movies on demand have all helped to set that expectation.

With the advent of the Internet as a tool of mass communication, people are always looking for "faster and better" with regard to the Internet, too. Dial-up modem services that once blazed surfers across the Internet at a whopping 56K are now archaic. High-speed cable and DSL connections are now the standard for connecting to the Internet. And just a few years ago watching small, low-quality video feeds on the 'net once seemed cutting edge, but now it's almost comical.

So, with all of the advancements of "faster and better" on the Internet, one thing can still seem painfully slow on the web... customer service.

A good web site can draw customers in, but it is great customer service that keeps them coming back. Here are seven tips for making sure your Internet customer service is "up to speed."

Customers want, even expect a quick answer on web sites. Make sure your web site has a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section. Put up a list of commonly asked questions and their answers. This will help your visitors by answering their most common questions quickly, and without the need to contact you. Be sure to include a form where your customers can ask their own questions if they don't already see it posted.

Don't hide the help. Make it easy for customers to locate the customer service section of your web site. Put a link on each page of your site, in the same place on every page, so that when a surfer on your web site needs help, he or she knows where to find it. Imagine a customer's frustration if there is no link to a help page when they need it, or if there is a link, but it is only on a few pages and the surfer can't remember on what page they saw it!

Respond to customers' emails - fast. Companies that are at the high end of response time will respond to customers' emails within three hours. Over on the low end of the scale, three days is the normal response time. Customers expect a quick response, especially on the Internet. And why shouldn't they? After all, as soon as they hit the "send" button they know you have their email. Make sure you respond to emails no later than twenty-four hours after receiving it. If you know that you can not always respond within twenty-four hours, set-up an auto-responder on your email service. This is a message that is automatically sent when someone sends you email. Your auto-respond message should state when your customers should expect a response from you. "Thank you for emailing XYZ's Customer Service Department. We have received your email and will respond to you within 48 hours."

Make sure your emails are professional. Image is everything, so make sure the image you're presenting is the image you want to present in your emails. Although it's tempting to respond to emails with a casual tone because it's not a "real letter," remember that it is still a business communication. Keep it professional, free of spelling and grammatical errors. Make sure your email program is set to automatically check for spelling and grammar errors before the email goes out. It's also a good idea to make sure your email's subject line states your company's name. Because peoples' email inboxes are often bombarded with junk email, your message might be deleted before it's even read unless the recipient knows it's from you.

Get personal with your customers. Many companies that use email for customer service have automated the process by having prewritten, "canned" responses they send to customers' email inquires. If you use prewritten responses (which are not a bad thing if used correctly), make sure your response addresses the customer's specific request or comment. There's nothing more annoying than getting a "canned" response that doesn't address everything you've asked.

The web is great... for some people. Although it seems as if the whole world is getting wired, there are still those who prefer to deal with live people. Make sure to give your customers options for contacting you. Some people would prefer to email you, while others might like to call and speak to a customer service representative. Still other might like to write a letter and mail it. By only offering only an email address as the method for contacting your customer service department, you're sure to annoy quiet a few people.

Hooray for technology -now put it to work! There are always new technologies to help make your web site more customer service friendly. One new technology that will enhance your customer service is available from companies such as HumanClick.com and Liveperson.com. These companies offer a service to add live customer service to your web site. Your customers simply click on a help button and are connected to a customer service representative though a live chat session. The customer and your representative can "chat" with each other in real time. And, you can use your own customer service representatives or use representatives that are outsourced.