When a customer completes their onboarding on Instamojo, they officially become online store owners. They are now in charge of their own business journey. But does that mean they are left to fend for themselves?
Absolutely not.
Some might face unique issues, and some might take some time to get used to the features. We pride ourselves on ensuring each customer is comfortable using our platform.
I am Syed Bareed, a member of the Instamojo customer support team and here’s why I think the Instamojo support team is responsible for turning a sales number into an experience.
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Role of the Instamojo support team for DIY plans
The DIY plans at Instamojo refer to the Growth Plan subscriptions. It is an annual store subscription, wherein the merchants get access to all the features and functionalities of our online store, with a complimentary domain worth ₹1000.
But where do we come into it?
Why are we needed for the ultimate personalisation experience?
We cater to a diversified user base with a majority of them as MSME merchants. Typically, they have had less exposure to digital platforms and tools.
Most of the merchants we interact with are new to the online store platform and need more guidance on how to start their journey.
After a merchant has completed the purchase of their Instamojo online store, a product consultant is assigned the task of calling the merchant and giving an end-to-end walkthrough of the online store, in other words, we call this activity a Deployment Call.
The call is mostly done over an e-meet (Zoom/G-meet/Anydesk), whatever the merchant is comfortable with it and each call lasts around 1 Hour.
In this 1 hour, the product consultant will give a complete tour of the online store and address the merchant queries if any.
We help them kick start their online store by giving them a walkthrough of the Instamojo Seller dashboard.
The support we provide helps them navigate through the dashboard and understand the different controls that can set up their online stores with ease.
This matters to us both professionally and personally. Our merchants have paid for the services/product and are enthusiastic and curious to start their online business venture but are often unaware of where and how to start.
We understand their emotional need and state as entrepreneurs which is we try our hardest to ensure we help them seamlessly overcome any frictions during the onboarding process.
The guidance we provide instills confidence in the merchants to set up the store by themselves and also gives them hope that they are not alone in their business journey.
The overall activity is designed to provide a delightful experience to the merchant that encourages the business owner.
We are the pillars behind converting a sale from a number into an experience. Our motto is “Customer First” and we work closely with our diversified merchant base post-sale to address their needs.
Challenges that we overcome
Every Instamojo consultant is skilled enough to handle issues and concerns while displaying empathy and ownership during each touchpoint with our users. We shadow the users during their onboarding process and consistently coach them so that it’s easier for them to adapt to the functioning of an online store.
This is an intense process, and we often do face issues that we attempt to resolve at the earliest. Some of the challenges that we have to overcome on a daily basis are:
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Scheduling conflicts
Sometimes, multiple calls are scheduled simultaneously. In that case, we have to connect and convince the merchants to reschedule the calls.
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Prolonged and extended calls
The other challenge is to close the call within an hour since there are other calls that have been scheduled. Sometimes the merchants follow up if haven’t understood all features clearly. This might increases the call duration impacting the rest of the calls that have been scheduled for the day.
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Unavailability of merchant
Sometimes, the merchants are not available as per the scheduled time and this leads to multiple follow-ups between the merchant and the product consultant.
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Technical issues at the user end
Usually, network or technical issues at the merchant end prolong the call due to which we have to do a partial demo and then reschedule for the next day.
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Exceptional cases
Some cases are exceptional and require our services even beyond operational hours. We try our best to match their expectations so that they can fit within the set processes with the least amount of inconvenience.
The crucial role of the Instamojo support team when deploying DIFM plans
The DIFM (Do It For Me) plan comes with everything on the Growth Plan and with a dedicated product consultant who will be with the merchant during the entire onboarding and online store setting up phase.
A product consultant is assigned to a merchant who opts for the DIFM plans. This consultant shadows the merchant during the entire store development process. The consultant starts by gathering the requirements of the merchants and then starts the store development activities.
Product consultants often work tirelessly till the online store is ready to collect payments and is delivered according to the merchant’s likes and dislikes. The merchant then also receives a detailed walkthrough of the seller dashboard for a seamless takeover.
The team is in constant touch with the merchants throughout the development process through multiple channels of communication- email, call or WhatsApp. The consultant consistently strives to get all queries answered quickly.
Instamojo support team’s role in bridging the digital divide
Not all our clients are well informed about the technology, and tools or are deprived of time due to their busy schedules to engage in-store setup tasks. It becomes challenging for them to set up the online store on their end.
This DIFM plan is to cater to this set of users who wish to go digital with minimal effort from their end.
Why does it matter?
Essentially, the merchant needs to put in minimum effort. All they need to do is give the Instamojo team relevant data. Once the merchant hands over the data to us, they can sit back and relax as we set up the store for them.
This saves the effort and time required by the merchant to understand and set things up things on their own.
Major challenges that we face when deploying DIFM plans
The DIFM plans typically are a much lengthier and more complicated process than the DIY plans. On one hand, deploying DIY plans require customer support for an initial onboarding, They are in contact for an hour, or when a specific issue crops up.
But, in the case of DIFM plans, consultants support the merchant throughout the deployment process. Not only that, for the entire year, the merchants are personally informed of newer features that can help their business.
Here are some of the challenges that the support team often has to tackle when deploying DIFM plans:
Insufficient time
The merchant is unable to prepare and provide the store data in a timely manner, due to this the activity goes on hold.
Meeting deadlines
Data is ready and the merchant wants to go live immediately, here we have to be on our toes to deliver the store immediately. We burn the midnight oil at times to take the store live.
Inadequate sourcing of data
The merchant does not provide us with the data and asks us to source the data at our end. This is a challenge since we then have to convince the merchant. We also assist them so that they can prepare the relevant data for us to utilise in the store set-up process.
Frequent follow-ups
We often have to conduct frequent follow-ups when the merchant never turns up after availing of the DIFM subscription.
Meeting expectations
Merchants’ expectations for the online stores are way higher than the current store features can match. In fact, the expectations for the user interface and user experiences are sometimes according to expensive independent websites.
Clearing misconceptions and myths about the Instamojo support team
Support teams are not well equipped:
We are the bible when it comes to knowing and addressing customers’ problems and queries whether it’s new or old issues. So, we do our best to amplify the customer’s concerns and ensure their voices are heard by the respective internal stakeholders.
We take ownership of the problems until we resolve them. When we engage with merchants, we immediately help remove any existing notions of us being ill-equipped.
Our work clarifies any unjustifiable opinions when it comes to addressing concerns or queries. We handle all concerns with empathy and we help them understand the present ground realities to manage expectations.
We are well equipped with all the required technology, tools and soft skills to address queries to the best of our abilities.
Also, we carefully scrutinise the case of every dissatisfied customer to learn from our mistakes and then refine all loopholes going forward.
We have placed internal audit measures to provide freedom to the merchants to voice any concerns they have. All of which are then handled with due diligence.
It is better to invest in marketing and advertising than customer service:
The best way to grow and sustain a business is to keep your existing customers happy. In fact, it costs more to acquire new customers than to retain existing ones.
Instead of spending significant funds on a new marketing campaign, it is wise to invest in the customers we already have.
Give your employees the customer service tools required to help improve the customer experience and invest in your existing customers and your customer service initiatives – your bottom line will thank you.
Want to start your own online store with guidance from the best team? Sign up for free on Instamojo.
This article was written by Syed Naqhib Bareed, the assistant manager for service delivery at Instamojo. You can connect to Syed on his LinkedIn.
