Online Customer Care is really important to get right if you want to grow and develop your business, online and offline.

Many businesses can rely on the internet as a sort of boundary between them and the customer. Even if you are marketing your company online, you have still got to deal with the customer in the same manner as you would if they were stood in front of you. 

But when dealing with customers, especially when you run a business online and not in a brick-and-mortar set up, the temptation can be to be more hands off. In reality, it means that you have got to be more hands-on, than you would be dealing with a customer in person.

So, here’s 3 ideas to help you improve.

Highlighting Your Credentials Doesn’t Mean They Will Treat You With Respect

As far as marketing your business is concerned, a lot of people rely on their credentials. Whether you are still looking for the best competitive tradesman public liability insurance for your company or you want to promote the fact that you have an excellent health and safety record, a lot of these things are irrelevant to the customer. And while you may consider it to be a badge of honour, the customer won’t care. But, it is important that when marketing your company, you have what it takes to ensure the customer puts their trust in you.

Highlighting your connections across the business is fine as far as marketing is concerned but when you are dealing with an actual customer, you have to have the goods to back it up.

This means either training your staff up to ensure they deliver proper customer service or delivering the right goods each and every time. A customer shouldn’t ever notice a dip in the quality of your customer care, whether they encounter you in person, online, or over the phone. 

Work at making this kind of customer care seamless in your business, even if that business is just you. Freelancers you work with should also recognise that they represent you when dealing with customers or creating anything public in your name.

Fixing Your Mistakes Online

On social media, people are quick to point out your foibles, and when you find yourself being bad mouthed by the public, it is important, not just for the sake of your reputation, but for your business, that you deal with any mistakes as humanly as possible.

It’s a very difficult one to deal with, especially if you work with the public face to face or you are limited in your online dealings. But if somebody makes a comment on social media and you aren’t seen to respond to it, they will jump to conclusions that you are shying away. Instead, face the problems head on.

Working With The Medium, Not Against It

If you work with customers on a face-to-face basis, and you are still liaising with customers online, it is important that you be as detailed in your correspondence as possible. Remember that when dealing with people online or in person, providing that consistent communication is essential. 

People can easily misconstrue what you mean online because they can take what you write in a certain tone of voice. It is important that you learn how best to communicate online without upsetting your image and trust value.

Write then walk away before publishing or sending it. Go back to it ten minutes later and re read it and make changes before publishing any response to criticism on social media or to a customer request by email.

Final Thoughts

Being more hands on in terms of your communication online is very difficult, however, it is achievable as long as you think of it being a logical extension of your overall communication. Some people consider it to be a foreign language, especially when they predominantly deal with a brick-and-mortar setup or they work with trades. But these days, liaising with customers online means you have to be as communicative, if not more communicative online than in person.

I hope you found these 3 tips for improving your online customer service. If you have please give it a share on your favourite social media platform.

As ever if you have any questions or want to share your thoughts then please leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

With Grace and Gratitude

Karen

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