Five Customer Service Decisions That Will Transform Your ECommerce Business

Have you done anything lately that “earned you the right” to have your ecommerce business talked about by your customers?  Are they spreading the word for you?   Have you done anything lately that was “spectacular” and makes your online store not only the first place that your customer goes to buy,  but the only place they go?  You can decide right now, whether you want to be average, or you want to be exceptional and live by the fruits of  repeat business and “word of mouth” marketing. To do that, you have to decide right now to change the way you do business and stop following the same “business as usual” approach that the majority of online businesses take.  You need to be different.

Here are five customer service decisions that exceptional, well-loved ecommerce businesses make:

1. Exceptional ECommerce Businesses Decide To Believe In Their Customers.  By doing so they are freed from rules, policies, and layers of bureaucracy that some customers are out to get you.  Don’t punish the masses for the few that do.  Eliminate the cynicism from your company’s policies and procedures.  Teach this to everyone in your company and trust in your employees and their ability to do what is right when dealing with your customers.  Set a new standard and a new culture.

2. Exceptional ECommerce Businesses Decide To Run Their Business With Clarity And Integrity: Day to day activities and decisions should be made with the highest degree of integrity and clarity in serving those you serve you.  This means your customers.   Establishing this culture in your business will ensure that your employees are performing customer service tasks at a higher standard and delivering experiences that will bring about repeat customers and word of mouth referrals to their friends and family.

3. Exceptional ECommerce Businesses Decide To Be Real: Relationships begin with people.  Exceptional companies break down barriers between big company, little customer.  If your not a big company, your still perceived by your customer as a “company”.  Interact with all people personally.  A lot of small business literature teaches us to think like a “real” company, act big.  That is fine in some cases.  But when dealing with people, deal with them at a personal level.

4.  Exceptional ECommerce Businesses Decide To Be There For Their Customers: It is your job to earn the right to have a continued relationship with your customer.  When dealing with customers, be their advocate.  Do the hard work for them.  If a customer emails and asks, “Do you sell the model xyz iPad?”,   don’t just tell them you do, and they can find it by typing “xyz iPad” into your search box.  Go look for it yourself and send them the link.  Work for your customer.  Allow your staff to advocate on behalf of your customer and do the right thing.   You are never too busy to work on behalf of your customers.

5.  Exceptional ECommerce Businesses Decide To Say Sorry: Act with humility when things go wrong.  How your company reacts when things go wrong (and some times they do), shows your true colors as a company.  Skirting the issues, or placing blame on others will not help you.  As a frequent online customer, I love it when I hear: “Our warehouse messed up the order, or we’ll check with the warehouse why you did not receive your order”.  Translated to what I hear… “Your using a dropshipper and you have no idea what went wrong”. Your placing the blame on them.

Customers will understand most bad situations if they feel you are honest and sincere.  If they sense you aren’t, well you know the rest.