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

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Michelle Lee is the publisher of the @UltimateResourceBarn
Newsletter and owner of the ezine website
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