4 Easy Steps to Better Online Customer Support

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:

• There is a search function for the customer to find related posts

• You could easily set up a forum for free. Most good web hosts now has a one click forum installation function.

• You don't have to worry about your replies being caught by your customers' email filters

• If you get a question you've answered before, just give them a link to the answer in another post.

• Usually, other forum members are willing to answer a question that they've managed to solve ... for free.

• Hiring extra help is as easy as adding a new moderator.

- 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

---

Dont Forget your Existing Clients

Quest for new clients shouldn't ignore those who pay the... Read More

Breaking the Ice and Winning Over the Client!

Wherever you turn these days you'll find articles covering every... Read More

How To Use Your Current Customers

Jay instructed a customer of his to offer a rare... Read More

To Complain and Win! - My Personal Recipe

Prime directive: Make sure your claim is reasonable! Otherwise, forget... Read More

Customer Service Tips - Is Your Business A Leaky Bucket?

Customer service and customer service training are vital for any... Read More

From Scowl to Smile: 5 Practical Steps to Instill Exceptional Customer Service

Whether in a restaurant, a retail establishment, or the local... Read More

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

However, in the world of business, this cliché may not... Read More

What Every Manager Should Know About Seeing the World from Where the Customer Is Standing

It is important to remember that the customer doesn't necessarily... Read More

Top Ten Strategies for Delivering 5-Star Customer Service

Customer satisfaction is valuable, but customer loyalty is priceless. In... Read More

Got A Consumer Problem?

Millions of people, just like you, end up with a... Read More

Committed To Your Customer? Prove It When They Complain!

Businesses like to brag in their advertising about quality of... Read More

Writing The Book On Great Customer Service

Q: One of the big chain bookstores recently opened up... Read More

The Number 1 Rule for Businesses - Be Professional

Have you ever walked into a store and things looked... Read More

Establishing Yourself as an Expert in the Eyes of Your Customers

The most important aspect of a successful business is developing... Read More

What Every Manager Should Know About How to Learn from the Complaints of Customers and Employees

Listening to complaints, whether they're reasonable or not, is a... Read More

Oil Change Customer from Hell or Hoax; You Decide

Evacuation, "E-Vac" Oil System for Oil ChangingHow do most mobile... Read More

Customer Service Consultants

When all else fails in your company to meet the... Read More

Is Your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) System Doomed To Fail?

"Right, People. Let's blast out that mail campaign we've been... Read More

Accountants / Lawyers Do Yourself a Favor - What do Your Customers Want?

In my day to day practice in strategic human resource... Read More

At Your Service: The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service!

Customer service is an integral part of our job and... Read More

5 Golden Online/Offline Business Rules To LIVE Or DIE By

Whether online or off, if you plan on running or... Read More

CRM - Its Relevance

In today's demanding economy, the first line of any business... Read More

Under Promise & Over Perform: The Art of Managing Customer Expectations

I'll always feel warmly about Conrad's restaurant, in Glendale, California.On... Read More

All of the World of Business Is a Stage

One of the basics of acting taught to me in... Read More

We Sell For Less and Our Stores Are a Mess!

What kind of image do you present when marketing your... Read More

4 Customer Service Mistakes Companies Should Avoid Making

1) Being placed on hold endlessly. Don't you just love... Read More

Post Office, Incredible Lady Postmaster

There are two Post Offices that I routinely visit. One... Read More

Automating Your Help Desk Workflow

Do you know you can open, answer, close and report... Read More

Basic Levels of Consumer Integrity that Presently Permeates Society

Reality is not always pretty. But here is a tad... Read More

Customer Satisfaction Is Your Business

Regardless of what business you are in - you are... Read More

Customer Neglect

What have you done for your existing customers lately? Probably... Read More

Are You Giving Your Customers Enough Reasons To Return To Your Business?

Good customer service just isn't enough anymore in the marketplace... Read More

Customers - Hold Onto the Ones Youve Got

You probably spend a great deal of your time looking... Read More