Customer Service, Digitally
What does customer service look like now that “we” have changed the way we buy? We have shopped for years online. What’s different now is that the pandemic has made us transition to buying online. Now the question becomes, how do we as business owners provide good customer service? Since we don’t know who is shopping at our digital storefront (website), how do we offer good customer service to those that are looking around?
Here’s just one example of what customer service looks like now in the digital age: A friend of mine was speaking with a potential client. They interrupted him to tell him an ironic story. “I was on a website, and I was purchasing various protein shakes and supplements to help me continue on my weight loss journey and diet plan. When I finished loading the items in the cart, I felt the price seemed a little high. I decided rather than checkout, I would visit a nearby vitamin chain to see if I could get a better deal. I never put my information on the website but sure enough just before I walked out the door, I got a call. Even though it appeared to be a spam number, I answered anyway. On the call was a very polished salesman.
He told me he was from the company I had just visited online and that he noticed I left the site with a full cart and wanted to know if he could ask me a few questions. I was a little surprised but obliged anyway. He asked me my age, height, weight and what my goals were for weight loss. I answered all his questions and told him my goals. Then he proceeded to tell me that everything I had in the cart was wrong. If I wanted to achieve my goals, I needed a totally different set of products. We talked at length, and he turned out to be very helpful. My cart was a little more than my original order, but the salesperson offered to overnight the shipment as a courtesy.”
My friend asked him how he felt about the experience overall. He said, “even though he was a little shocked about be contact initially, it turned out to be a good customer service experience.” Why? Because if I were in an actual store that is what I would expect of a salesperson.”
If we are to shift to an online buying experience, we also must shift to an online customer service practice. Reaching out to potential customers, providing information that helps them meet their goals, is what good customer service is all about. The customer may not have bought the products that the salesperson was selling, but at least a connection was made. In the future, that customer may have revisited that site again and purchased the second time. You never know where your next sale is coming from but laying the foundation of customer service is an essential foundation for sales. This salesperson took the initiative to reach out, asked specific questions to help the customer reach their goals and then offered the products that would help him accomplish his goals. That’s good customer service, start to finish.
You might be thinking how did the salesperson know how to contact him if the customer didn’t fill out the information?Great question.NP Marketing can help.We offer a data system that provides contact information such as, name, address, email and phone numbers of those anonymous visitors that come to a company’s website.Email Joy to schedule a demo.
If you would like to connect with Joy, please email her at joy@npmarketinggroup.com