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The Secret to *Instant* Customer Service © 2003 by Michelle Lee, http://www.UltimateResourceBarn.com ----------------------------------------------------------- *Instant* response. Yes, I am as guilty as the next person of wanting a response to my question immediately when I am interested in a product. I am sure I am not alone in this expectation. Typically, at any professional website, you will find a "Contact Me" link somewhere in the web pages. In normal circumstances, you will proceed to email your queries to the contact email address provided. Oh great, you get an email response immediately! Upon reading it, you realized that the email is sent from an auto-responder, telling you that they got your email, they will response as soon as they can and in the mean time, here is some additional information which may be just what you are looking for. Great! Except that the auto-response you are given does not even begin to answer your question. Ok, you waited and waited but still no reply. You move on, and that business just lose a potential sale. Let's look at another example. As a online business owner, you may be faced with technical problems with your website, or email service from time to time. You would want to have a fix instantly if you could. Once you send that email to customer service, you will probably be checking your email every few minutes to see if anybody from the customer service department has answered you. Your want to resolve the problem as soon as possible. Every passing minute and every passing second counts; you could be losing potential sales as long as the problem is not solved. You waited a couple of hours and still no answer. You are totally ticked off. You tell yourself it is time to change web hosting company. Sounds familiar? I bet! In today's world of instant everything, you can still meet the expectation of people who want instant everything from you. The secret weapon is a live chat tool. The live chat tool is an application that facilitate real- time sales and customer service for e-commerce. With just a click of a button, any website visitor can communicate instantaneously with you or your customer service. It is similar to Instant Messenger where you chat with people by typing into your side of a screen. To implement such a technology, you need to engage the service of such as a technology provider. After selecting the package that suit your business needs, you proceed to place the tool as buttons on your web pages. One such service provider is Click121 and the website is http://www.click121.com. Another is live2support.com, which gives free trial. There are many others as well. Do your due diligence and homework, compare the different packages being offered and pricing. Choose one that suit your budget and business needs. The advantages of having a mean to response instantly to any enquiry are obvious. Here are some of the benefits of having such a tool readily accessible at your website. 1. Instant Human Touch It's no secret that online buyers want online customer service. Many a time, when we do not have answers to our questions, we simply move on. The teeth-gritting frustration with pre-canned responses is that it may not answer specific question that the customer may have. Auto-responders save time and they are wonderful tools. Once these special email addresses are set up to send out "pre-written" messages, you are saved from a lot of manual work. However, over-uses of automation or form letters can tick people off. Imagine the aggravating when you just can't seem to find a real human being to talk to and your enquiry after enquiry is greeted by another automated robot. Instant human touch can mean a lot and work wonders! 2. 24 by 7! If your business is relatively small and does not have customer service personnel to attend to prospects or customers 24 by 7, you can still provide good quality customer service. Typical the live chat tool comes with a feature allowing people to leave a message if you or your customer service personnel are not online. Sure, you do have the Contact Information somewhere on your website where your email address, street address, phone and fax numbers. And if the person really wants to contact you, you figured that he would either write you an email or giving you a phone call at the listed number. But are you going to leave it to chance that the interested prospect or customer will contact you? Every sale counts and we certainly do not want to lose any opportunity. The convenience of leaving a message via the live chat feature on your website ensures that customers' enquiry are captured, even when customer service is not available online temporary. With the captured information, you can then do the necessary follow-up as the logical next step. 3. Build Trust and Professional Image To be successful on the web, you must be able to gain the trust of the people who visit your site. The challenge of a web presence is that these visitors can't see or hear you. You would have to gain their trust through your words and actions. With a live chat channel available for that instant connection to someone real, your business will look more legitimate to your customers and potential customers. You are also indirectly building a professional image for your business at the same time. 4. Communication The difference in a company that provides good service and one that provides great service is communication. With a live chat feature on your website, you are providing a good channel to communicate with your customers, supplier, and just about anybody else. The instant response you are providing leave no doubt in the customer's mind what to expect of your service and your commitment to them when they do business with you. 5. Get Instant Feedback One way to improving one's business is to get customer feedback. Customer feedback is vital to a business's success; without it, the business will not know how it can improve. It would be very effective to allow customer to feedback via the live chat feature. Make it an easy task, and you will have more feedback coming in. Now that you know the secret to instant customer service, get your live chat tool today! You know why and how individuals make their buying decisions. Give them one more great reason to buy from you - give them your *instant* attention. © 2003 by Michelle Lee ----------------------------------------------------------- Michelle Lee is the publisher of the @UltimateResourceBarn Newsletter and owner of the ezine website http://www.UltimateResourceBarn.com . Both the website and newsletter are jam-packed with Informative Articles, Tons of Resources & Tools, Ready To Use Tips & Tricks, Proven Internet Marketing Concepts, Affiliate Programs & more. Claim your FREE eBooks + 1 FREE Ad view by over 10,000! mailto:subscribe@UltimateResourceBarn.com?subject=artclsub ----------------------------------------------------------- If you wish to publish this article in your own ezine or newsletter, you are most welcome to do so. However, please publish this article as it is. No modification, alternation should be made to the content of this article, including the resource box.
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