Customer support is very important when you're running a business, whether your business is on or off the net. If your customer support is hopeless, you'll soon find your customers running away from you and worse, telling others to stay away too.
If you're like many of us out there, the last thing you want to do is to spend the whole day replying to customer support emails. Here are 4 easy steps to help improve your customer support and at the same time reduce the time you spend replying to queries. The trick here is to help your customers help themselves before you help them.
- Step 1: Start with a Knowledge base / FAQs
The first step to your support system is to set up a knowledge base or, if you have a quite straight forward product, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section. This will save you a lot of time. Your customers will also be happier since they can find answers to their questions immediately. If you're just starting out, it is still a good idea to set up a knowledge base/FAQs. Just sit down and think of all the possible questions that your customer would ask. Maybe not all. Start with a few and you can always add more to it as time goes by.
- Step 2: Set up a Forum
A forum is a great addition to your customer support system. The forum should be the second place your customer would turn to for help. A lot of people associate a forum to discussions, moderating, a lot of work and a headache to maintain. This is only true if you use a forum as a discussion area.
Instead, you should use it as a customer support tool. Just create different forum categories for eg., pre sale questions, member questions, one category for each product. A forum is an excellent way to provide customer support because:
- Step 3: Install a Ticket help desk
Not all queries can be handled via a knowledge base and a forum. Sometimes there is a need for your customers to send you private information such as usernames and passwords.
When a situation like this arises, you will need a way for your customers to send you the information without others being able to see it. One of the best ways to handle this is to set up an online ticket help desk.
A ticket help desk system will allow your customers to create a user account and log a ticket into your system. They can then send whatever information they need to send. You can even allow them to attach files. Most good help desks will also allow you to prepare pre-written responses for repetitive queries.
Again, a good web host would also have some kind of help desk script installation available at a click.
- Step 4: Use a good email software
And finally, you have the good ole e-mail. Which should be the last thing your customers resort to. After implementing the above three systems, you will find a remarkably reduced amount of e-mails you need to reply to. Customers are getting wiser. Most know that e-mails are seldom replied to. So, they would only resort to this as a last resort.
Don't make a mistake of putting your email address on your web site. Use a form. With email filters rampant on the net, also remember to inform your customers that your e-mail may be trapped by their email filter.
There you go. Just set these up and you'll find your customer support a lot easier to handle.
© 2004 Bina Omar
About The Author
Bina runs the WebSite Workshop that provides tools & training to help newbies build web sites. Subscribe to Bina's ezine 'WebBriefcase!' & get your free course on "How to Make Your Own Web Site in 7 Easy Steps" mailto:subscribe@website-workshop.com
What is your customer saying about you? Do you really... Read More
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one of those magnificent concepts... Read More
Two situations, two perfectly acceptable experiences, but in one case,... Read More
Many years ago, I was a first year apprentice assigned... Read More
Unless you are brand new to business, or have been... Read More
What have you done for your existing customers lately? Probably... Read More
I call it the "wave and roll."You walk up to... Read More
You probably spend a great deal of your time looking... Read More
Different people call their Customers by different names. If they... Read More
Want to know the secret for keeping your clients forever?... Read More
Corporations in every sector are spending more than ever before... Read More
One of my classes in management focused on the repeat... Read More
On a recent airline flight I was an upset... Read More
Even the best business will receive an occasional customer complaint.... Read More
Do many of us realize that we are working an... Read More
One of the most important questions people ask when they... Read More
"Marketing as a spiritual practice." It sounds contradictory ? how... Read More
From Ebay to the smallest home-operated start-up, e-businesses of all... Read More
- Excerpt from Richard Saporito's latest e-book "How to Improve... Read More
Why is it that Microsoft wants you to buy its... Read More
We'll be examining what makes follow up to prospects/customers so... Read More
If you think customer relationship management is just a piece... Read More
Today, there are situations when we actually add a "middle... Read More
Customer Loyalty, we all want it. Don't we?Some people say... Read More
One thing all successful small business owners have in common... Read More
Wherever you turn these days you'll find articles covering every... Read More
Over promising is a problem only when you under deliver.... Read More
We all want great service, whether we are buying our... Read More
It all started a couple of weeks ago when a... Read More
Sales is tough to get right, and depends on retaining... Read More
We, as small business people, naturally dislike complaints from our... Read More
The defintion of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) that I favor... Read More
A client recently said to me: "Most days things seem... Read More
Would you like to have customers that stay with you... Read More
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't... Read More
You have no doubt heard the saying that the customer... Read More
Remember trading stamps? If you're over 40, chances are you... Read More
First let us specifically define customer service. It is the... Read More
Businesses like to brag in their advertising about quality of... Read More
Have you ever been in a department store and known... Read More
It's never too soon to start saying thanks to your... Read More
7:00 a.m., the silence in the house is broken by... Read More
It may come as a surprise to you to discover... Read More
Customers put you in business, keep you in business, and... Read More
With Some Tips on How to RespondTt has probably happened... Read More
The best way to explain this concept is to tell... Read More
Many organizations tackle to the issue of customer service by... Read More
My regular readers will know that one of the things... Read More
These moments come when a customer or client?1. Hears someone... Read More
Customer service today is getting worse. Win customers over and... Read More
There are five techniques that have been proven to be... Read More
However, in the world of business, this cliché may not... Read More
Note to Kmart: It wasn't about the weatherIn the 1970s... Read More
Sure, all clients are different. They have different kinds of... Read More
Looking for hi-fi computer peripherals? Finding it tough to decide... Read More
The purpose of business is to create and retain a... Read More
Is the special treatment you designed specifically to keep customers... Read More
Wherever you turn these days you'll find articles covering every... Read More
Customer Service is a blessing and a curse; a blessing... Read More
It's possible that in the course of your business dealings,... Read More
One of the most important questions people ask when they... Read More
Sales is tough to get right, and depends on retaining... Read More
"Marketing as a spiritual practice." It sounds contradictory ? how... Read More
Have you ever wondered why you often find a coupon... Read More
Running a successful business takes a lot of energy and... Read More
I got it into my head sometime in December 2004... Read More
Customer Service |