Ecommerce has transformed the way customers interact with retail businesses, offering convenience and accessibility like never before. However, just as with brick-and-mortar stores, it’s vital to provide the highest possible level of customer service.
While live chat, messaging apps, social media and email all play their part, it’s crucial that you include a phone number on your online store and ensure that customers who call can always get through to a real person. This is because customers who reach out via the phone usually have immediate concerns and a friendly, understanding voice can make a significant difference in their experience.
Yet ensuring calls are always answered, promptly and professionally, can be particularly challenging if:
- You’re a sole trader or small team with customers across multiple timezones, as is always the case if offering shipping nationwide in Australia let alone if you also ship internationally, as it’s impossible to answer calls at all hours.
- You have a spike in call volumes during or after traditional peak sales periods – the lead-in to Christmas, the Boxing Day Sales, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day – or mega online promotions such as Afterpay Day, Click Frenzy, Black Friday, Cyber Monday or Free Shipping Day.
As online shopping continues to grow, providing optimum customer service over the phone remains crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty.
The importance of ecommerce customer service
Customer service in ecommerce isn’t just about solving problems; it’s about enhancing the customer experience, building long-term relationships and improving customer retention.
A Forbes article “Tips to Improve Customer Service on Your Ecommerce Site” states: “While ecommerce is convenient, it lacks the in-person shopping experience of brick-and-mortar shops, making excellent customer service a vital differentiator.”
According to popular ecommerce platform, Shopify, “customer support is an integral building block for any ecommerce business” and vital for customer retention. It adds that with customer interaction often limited to digital channels, phone support can play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between virtual transactions and real-world customer service.
Another leading ecommerce platform, BigCommerce, says it’s essential to include a phone number on your website. “Simply as there are now more support channel options, you can’t neglect phone support,” it says. “Many consumers still prefer phone calls to get answers to their questions. ”
Providing optimum phone support
While multichannel support can help cater to customer preferences, customer service software company Zendesk advises online stores to offer 24-hour phone support. It says: “When was the last time you left a voicemail for an ecommerce store? If the answer is between ‘never’ and ‘rarely,’ then you’re not alone.”
So, what does Zendesk recommend? “Use a 24-hour live-answering service so that your customers are always talking to a live human, leaving you free to call back during office hours.”
OfficeHQ’s virtual receptionists are available 24/7 and can not only answer your calls, but answer FAQs, take orders, process payments and more – depending on your preferences or needs.
If you’d like us to, we can even use the CRM or customer service software you use (such as Zendesk) to help streamline processes and ensure a seamless customer experience.
Coping with a spike in call volume
Mega promotions like Afterpay Day and Black Friday can lead to a significant increase in call volume. Managing this effectively is key to maintaining customer satisfaction.
Before a big sale or promotion, it’s crucial to prepare your support team for the influx of calls. This includes training them on the specific details of the promotion and ensuring that your phone systems are capable of handling higher call volumes – including concurrent calls.
Planning ahead for peak times can help you maintain a high level of service even during the busiest periods, however you may still need external support – such as our overflow call answering service.
Or, if you’re running your ecommerce business on your own, you may prefer to temporarily outsource all call answering to prevent missed calls or keeping customers on hold for long periods. This provides peace of mind that the customer always speaks to a real person, while enabling you to make any necessary callbacks when convenient.
