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One of the most important strategies to boost sales and increase revenues in e-commerce businesses is to provide customers with a great shopping experience and earn their satisfaction. While customer satisfaction during the shopping experience is crucial for conversion, your ultimate goal should be to attain customer loyalty.
If your customers have a terrible experience with your brand during the purchase, you can still improve their overall buying experience by providing strong after-sales customer support.
Most small businesses usually focus on attracting new customers, generating leads, and increasing conversions while missing out on post-sales services. Yet, when a customer buys your product, they would want to be able to reach out to you for any queries. According to Hubspot, 90% of consumers rate an immediate response as “important” or “very important” when they have a support question.
By providing good after-sales customer support, your customers know they can rely on you to help them resolve any issues they may have. The following three reasons will further show the importance of offering this service:
Effective customer support helps to retain customers: If they have a good experience with your brand, there is a higher chance of them returning. This also helps to boost customer loyalty and help spread positive word-of-mouth.
Customers satisfied with your post-sales services are willing to refer your brand to others: Neilsen research revealed that poeple are four times more likely to buy when referred by a friend as 92% of consumers believe in referrals from people they know.
Good customer service helps promote a positive brand image: The reputation of your brand is essential to ensure longevity in your business and increased sales in the future.
The types of customer care after-sales services can vary between businesses and industries. In the paragraphs below, we will share a few companies that stand out in providing such services to their consumers, resulting in great consumer experiences and satisfaction.
According to the Philippines Customer Service Index (CSI), Honda is ranked first in providing customer care after-sales services among global car brands. Its services include warranty information, how-to videos, Honda Care plans, 24/7 roadside assistance, and continuous communication with its customers through email, phone, fax, chat, and other channels. Excellent support services translate to increased consumer satisfaction and loyalty with improved sales.
Lenovo offers excellent consumer support services through its app Lenovo Vantage. Users can customize the system's performance, troubleshoot problems, run diagnostic tests, and ensure everything runs properly through the app.
Baratza is the manufacturer of strong and sturdy coffee grinders that offers excellent after-sales customer support. Consumers can easily order replacement parts or call the helplines to interact with friendly support staff and share their concerns. They also offer DIY troubleshooting guidelines and affordable repair services.
Now that we have established the importance of providing good consumer support services, the next step is identifying how you can do it. Below are some of the best practices you should adopt while providing these after-sales services:
Omnichannel reach: Offer support through multiple channels, including social media, messaging, phone, emails, and chat.
Live chat: Offer a live chat facility on your website so that customers can get an immediate and real-time response from a staff member. Ensure that the team and support staff are available at the designated times that you have specified for the live chat.
Access to information: Offer troubleshooting and DIY solution guidelines for the customers. You can also add Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) as a web page or within chatbots for this purpose.
Interface: Make the support interface user-friendly for the users, such as by providing in-app support for mobile users.
Feedback: Ask customers for feedback and improve in the areas where you think they are not satisfied.
Loyalty programs: Offer loyalty programs and incentives to customers can help you retain them.
Reverse logistics: Offer replacements/ refunds where applicable, with a sound returns strategy in place.
Whatever your business is, for which you are providing after-sales customer support services, DHL Express can help you reliably deliver your products to customers. When customers receive their orders on time safely and securely, it will help them build trust in your brand with increased satisfaction. This will ensure consumer retention and brand loyalty. Sign up for a business account with us today and find information about how we can benefit your business.