Online Customer Service... Do It Well Or Die.
By Kenneth Doyle - e*Analyst, Sat Dec 10th
Online Customer Service... Do it well or die. There are some fundamentals in marketing anything, ONline orOFFline. EXCELLENCE in customer service ranks very highly on this "mustdo" list... and digital marketers ignore this fundamental ruleat their own their peril.
Why is it that some digital marketers think that the basic rulesof marketing only apply to the OFFline world? Excellence in customer service has ALWAYS been one of the tenetsof a successful business. It has always made the differencebetween an average business and an extraordinary business. For example, examine the success of a major, internationalhamburger chain. Do they sell the best hamburgers in the world? No, they don't. However, one thing they've got completely right- and this company spends huge amounts of money training itsstaff to get it right - is customer service. This company treats the customer service aspect of its businesswith the respect it deserves...and this is one of the primaryreasons its become an international chain. It has a Customer Service FORMULA. So, how does this piece of information about an InternationalHamburger Restaurant chain relate to you and your web basedbusiness? MULTIPLE effects X 10 Very simply it's this. Webmasters need to pay very carefulattention to the elements that create business success in anoffline world, and recognize that in the digital world thecritical aspects of offline business success have justcompounded the game tenfold. So, is there a FORMULA for ONline Customer Service? Well, yes there is... I've just made one up :-) T.. R.. U.. T.. H T=TRUTH creates trust. Tell the truth at ALL times. Unlessyou're an e-sociopath you'll forget your lies anyway. So, whybother? R=RESPONSE, automatic. Always
have an automatic - "Thank you foryour query. We will respond in person within 24-48 hours" - typemessage in place. This is VERY easy and inexpensive to set up. The most sophisticated value-for-money auto response system onthe planet can be found at:http://hyperTracker.com/go/WEBpro1/PAR/ U=UNDERSTAND that a query means an opportunity. The personemailing you has a problem. If you treat this person well you have an opportunity to createa life-time customer who will actively promote you and yourbusiness. This type of advertising cannot be bought. It's called Goodwill.Treat it like Gold, because it is. T= TIMELINESS of a response from a Human Being. Whatever you'vesaid you'll do in your automatic response, do it. H= HELPFULNESS. If you have a web business, then you're in theHELPFULNESS business. It comes with the territory........................................................ REMEMBER THIS - Your sole purpose in business (ONline orOFFline) is to solve people’s problems, excellently. Solve their problems well and you'll have a vibrant, lucrativebusiness. This is called excellence in customer service. Remember this - Your customers are only one click away fromanother web site, and its products. Do ONline Customer Service well, or die. Kenneth Doyle - e*Analyst http://www.feedyourhungrymind.com ___________________________________________________________ "If you haven't worked this out, you soon will. There's a lot ofNONsense zapping around in cyber-space. Find out what works, what doesn't... and what's worth yourmoney." Subscribe to the e*Analyst ezine -mailto:editor@webpro.par32.com?subject=subscribe___________________________________________________________ About the author:Born with the promotional strategist's gene... followed bytwenty successful years in Media, Marketing, PR and copywriting. http://www.feedyourhungrymind.com |
