Customer service influences if your customers will come back for more (retention) and how loyal they will be (customer loyalty). As for a small business, interacting with your customers determines the long term growth and success of your business.
Managing customers properly can become a huge task and you might find yourself confused in certain situations.
To help you make better decisions when it comes to customer service, we have collected tips and advice from online business owners about managing customers online. In this blog, you will get first-hand tips on customer management and how to overcome common customer service challenges.
Common customer service challenges
Here are some challenges faced by small business owners when dealing with customers online and how they overcame them.
Customers tend to bargain
It’s common for customers to bargain in the DMs. They try to get a lower price deal. And this annoys business owners. The best way to deal with this problem is to politely inform the customer that your prices are fixed. You can also mention ‘fixed price’ in the captions of your social media posts.
Remember to never lose your temper or reply rudely. This may affect the face of your brand. It’s okay if you lose a customer if you don’t agree with their rates. You’ll find others soon.
Having an online store can also solve this problem. “There’s no bargaining because payment needs to be done up front. It helps customers to see the products properly because of the space given”, says Heena, who owns an online postcard store.
Getting ghosted by customers
When you receive a lead and reply to them, some reply quickly. But some customers just ghost you. If you find yourself in this situation, remember that it’s a common problem faced by online business owners.
Instead of ignoring them when they don’t reply, the ideal thing to do is to follow up. If they haven’t responded or made a sale after three days, follow up mentioning that your product is still available.
Don’t take ghosting as a sign of a lost customer. Instead, take it as a chance to retarget them and gain conversions.
Also, you can send them a DM if the product they were interested in has a discount. Sending them coupon codes or limited time deals can also help you convert them.
Going back and forth
A problem when running a business on social media is that there will be a lot of questions before they make a purchase. Everything from price, product dimensions, and shipping details should be communicated via DMs.
Many small business owners solved this problem by starting an online store. This has reduced queries from customers significantly. Also, online sellers can include an FAQ page to clear common queries which saves a lot of time. Customers can easily look up products and make a purchase.
Customer service tips from online business owners
For a business to thrive in the long term, you need to manage customers properly. Here are four tips from online business owners:
Be courteous and set boundaries
Regarding answering customer queries, here’s what Niharika, founder of WildberryOrganics says:
When replying to customer queries, always be courteous and polite. Consider their point of view and answer carefully. Don’t leave any space for doubts and ambiguity.
Along with this, don’t forget to set boundaries. An online business is a 24/7 shop, and queries may come in late at night. This doesn’t mean that you should answer them late at night. Set a time for your business tasks and don’t let it interfere with your personal life.
Build a relationship with your customers
Here’s what Disha, founder of ThatArtGirl, says about the importance of building relationships with customers.
When it comes to small businesses, customers expect a more personalised experience which cannot be found with big brands. So, you must constantly work to connect with your customers. Use social media for this instead of just using it as a means of getting sales.
Interacting with your customers will help you grow via word-of-mouth, which is especially important when you’re starting out.
You can also put out content that speaks to your customers. This will help build trust with them and create a long-term relationship. The key is to put yourself out there and let your audience know that you’re a brand that cares about them.
Collect customer feedback
Speaking of building customer relationships, another important thing to do is regularly collect feedback.
Growing a business online is much easier when you get feedback from those who matter the most to your business — your customers.
The secret of a successful business is evolving according to the demands of the target audience. So, you need to constantly ask for feedback. Here are some ways you can do this:
- Ask for product reviews
- Send out forms via dms or emails regarding your products or business in general
- Ask your audience what new products or features they would like to see
- Put out an Instagram story with questions regarding your business
After sales customer service
After-sales customer service is simply how you treat customers after they make a sale. Most businesses do not communicate after a sale. But you’re losing out on repeat customers.
Retaining existing customers is much easier than acquiring new ones. According to a Harvard Business Review, it is 5 times more expensive to gain new customers than to retain existing customers. So, make sure you retain customers by making after-sales customer service a priority.
Related Read: Retention marketing: the secret sauce for repeat customers
Here are a few ways you can get after-sales customer service right:
- Send Thank You emails and leave a request for a review.
- Offer instant refunds if customers payments failed. This reassures them of your credibility
- Collect surveys and feedbacks
- Send emails regarding discount sales or free shipping offers
How Instamojo helps in managing customers
We asked Instamojo merchants how their online store features help in managing customers. Here’s what they had to say regarding the customer service features on Instamojo online stores.
1. Scripts feature
The scripts feature allows the merchant to add a chatbot on the online store. A chatbot helps customers to ask questions regarding products directly from the store. It also helps add popups to the store to showcase different offers on the store.
2. WhatsApp feature
There’s a WhatsApp feature that can be added to the store. This helps a customer directly chat with the store owner without reaching out for a contact number. Having this feature saves a lot of time for merchants and makes answering queries easier.
3. Collect orders without conversations
Unlike selling on social media, an online store helps sellers collect orders without the need of conversing with customers. They can easily browse through the store and make a purchase.
Apart from these features, Instamojo online store also comes with powerful CRM features such as solving cart abandonment, leads manager, and customer insights.
Want to start your own online store? Instamojo has many customer management features which allows you to run your business smoothly. Sign up for an online store on Instamojo and make your business processes easier!
