How To Provide Excellent Customer Service On eBay
You already know how important it is to provide great customer service when running a business. But providing great customer service in your boutique is a bit different than providing customer service in traditional retail system.
Here are some tips on how to provide excellent customer service in your boutique -
Prompt Reply to Queries:
One of the advantages the customers have online is the accessibility of the sellers. They can contact you with their questions or concerns, all you need to do is get back to them as quickly as possible. If you wait longer, chances are they would browse around for similar products or buy from someone who answers their questions on time.
Have Clear and Concise Business Policies:
State your business policies in your item description for them to be visible to the customers, making it easier for them to know what they are getting into. It makes it easier for the customer to decide if they want to abide to the policies and buy from you or not. Re-evaluate your policies if you are worried that they would drive your customers away from your store.
Provide Prompt Service :
Whether you are dropshipping the item or selling them from your garage, you need to have a system in place that processes and ships out the order withing the stated time frame. If your policies says delivery in 10 days, do your best to get the item to your customer within 7 days; they would be pretty happy with the experience. However, if due to some reasons, you fall back by a day or even 2, be sure to keep them into the loop at all steps so they are not disappointed.
Add A Little Extra:
Best publicity is word of mouth publicity. If you have answer your customer queries on time, provide them with clear business policies and prompt customer service, adding a little extra into your package is a gesture that would take you a long way. People actually remember your store name and come back to you for more or recommend you to their family and friends. It can be as small as a Thank You note or a discount coupon for next purchase or even a small add on that goes along with their purchase.
Resolve Their Issues:
If you dropshipping from a 3rd party, no matter how great your customer service is, issues tend to arise. You package can get lost in transit, customer did not read the description properly before buying the product or they gave you a wrong address, may be your supplier shipped out a wrong item or a different color. Several things can go wrong. But when these happen, it is important that you resolve them in a way that keeps your customer happy and does not cause any loss to business. But remember, you can not always please everyone.For related articles, check out the links below –
The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them - preferably in unexpected and helpful ways. - Richard Branson