Having success with an online business venture is no accident. In order to take your ecommerce site to the next level, you will need to be committed to providing the best possible customer service experience. Exceeding the expectations of your customers should be priority number one. While this may sound like a vague suggestion, there are a variety of real things you can do to exceed any expectations a person may have when shopping your site. With a bit of hard work and research, finding out how to increase your customer satisfaction rate will be easy.
Collecting Customer Feedback is Essential
The only way you will be able to see where improvements need to be made regarding customer service is by obtaining customer feedback. Making it easy for a customer leave a review of the experience they had with your website is important. Choosing enterprise ecommerce platforms with a host of customization options is key, as it will allow you to take advantage of a variety of survey plugins for your site. With these plugins, you will be able to compile user data that can help you figure out what needs to happen when trying to exceed customer expectations.
Training Team Members is Important
When trying to improve the experience buyers have with your ecommerce site, you will need to work hard to train the team members you have. If a customer calls or emails about details on a product, you will need to be able to provide them with the information they need in a fast and efficient manner. Not training your employees can lead to a variety of disasters. By putting into print what you expect from employees when dealing with customers, you will be able to adequately train employees on what to do and not to do when dealing with customers.
Following Up with Customers
Once a person has made a purchase from your ecommerce website, you will need to find a way to follow-up with them. Adding a personal touch to a blanket email is a great way to show a customer you care about the experience they’ve had. With these follow-up emails, you will be able to find out about any problems a person may have experienced with their order. Addressing any problems right away will help you to avoid bad reviews and can help you gain a customer’s loyalty in the process.
Reward a Customers Loyalty
One of the best ways to exceed a customer’s expectations of your business is by offering them free gifts. If you have a number of loyal customers who have been buying from your site since its inception, then giving them something for their loyalty is great. Having some branded swag sent to loyal customers not only communicates your appreciation, but it allows you to increase your brand recognition as well.
Consistency is Key
Another important thing you need to worry about when trying to exceed customer expectations is being as consistent as possible. If you are unable to get your ecommerce site running like a well-oiled machine, then you will find it very hard to retain customers. Making sure that the right shipping information and pricing is on your site is vital. The last thing you want is to have customer complaints due to shipping delays or incorrect information. You need to get accustomed to doing occasional research to ensure your product pricing is competitive.
Working hard to exceed your customer’s expectations is essential in the world of small business. Once customers see how committed you are to ensuring they have a great online buying experience, they will become repeat buyers.
Hi Endri, thanks for your interesting article, although I would disagree with your argument 😉 – also because I have written about this topic a few times, too. So, let’s start a discussion …
Basically I would argue that it is impossible to consistently exceed customer expectations, simply because the expectations rise with the delivery of a good experience. This means that you need to consistently increase the level of the experience, which leads into a vicious circle that the vendor/business cannot succeed in. You basically also say it in your article, give a gift, and be consistent. After a while the gift becomes an expectation. Not giving it is a poor experience from then on.
How would you deal with this dilemma?
2 ct from Down Under
Thomas
@twieberneit
Hi Thomas, I think if a gift in return to customer’s loyalty can be recognition. The more we recognize our loyal customers by bringing them forward to customer based events, seminars, round tables, it will bring value to us and to them. This will be a win win for both.
I agree that customer expectations rise but I feel as long as we transact at product and service level catching up will be a problem. Talking at a strategic level and understanding were our customer wants to go is what we need to look at. This is what is being mentioned in Jeb Dasteel’s book, Competing for Customers.