It turns out there’s a good reason sales representative chat you up when all you want to do is shop in peace–customers are much more likely to buy, and buy repeatedly, from a store they connect with. The same principle applies whether you’re a physical shop, talking with your customers face to face, or an online store reaching out to your market through well-crafted emails and direct messages.
Online communication is trickier because there is always a sense of impersonality when talking with someone over screens, and there is even less of a guarantee the audience is responsive to your messages. Nevertheless, online marketing is still a crucial part of business, and when done right, it can not only drive up sales, but it also helps establish your company’s presence and secure your place in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
The biggest advantage of e-marketing is that it isn’t restricted by traditional boundaries, and you can talk to your customers just about anytime and anywhere–something every e-commerce looking to succeed in the business should definitely be capitalizing on. Talking to your customers, and listening to them in return, is a great way of making them feel valued. It helps to make them feel that they bring something to the table; and that they are not just another expendable number to you.
When you connect with them in this way, your customers, in turn, won’t see you as just another shop to buy from. You no longer become interchangeable with the next store that offers the same product, and instead become a place that they visit and do business with for its sake. In many ways, it is much harder to gain loyal customers than new ones, but when you do earn your market’s faith, the benefits are more than well worth it.
Happy customers are buying customers, so if you’re looking to boost your company’s performance, read on for the best business practices to engaging your customers online.
Train your team
They say that change starts from within, so for your e-marketing campaign to succeed, you need to have your team onboard. Train your employees on the standard operating procedures of client communication. This includes appropriate language, standard responses, protocol on how to deal with issues and crises, etc. Publishing a training manual wouldn’t be remiss either.
Training should also be hosted regularly, especially with every new communication tool that rolls out in the market. Investing in your employees’ education will benefit the company greatly in the long run.
Respond to emails and social media inquiries quickly
In the digital age, time is of the essence–regardless of the hour. With how connected and accessible everything has gotten, the traditional 9-to-5 limits no longer apply, especially if your business is entirely online.
If your customers send your questions or messages over email and social media, the best time frame to respond is within the succeeding 24 hours. Social media platforms like Facebook note the response rate of business pages, and having a high number on that scale certainly helps your business. If you receive a considerable bulk of messages, it is also a good idea to have an automatic response set-up so your audience knows their inquiries are being received.
This immediate turnaround time is especially important when customers bring up serious problems with your products and services.
Integrate a customer service chat
If social media is not your primary tool of communication, integrating a live customer service chat is a good alternative. Having a live chat is a quick and easy way to connect your clients with customer service, and it can also provide immediate support for common product concerns.
Most live chats will start with a bot to streamline a customer’s line of inquinquiry andp connect them with the appropriate channels who can support them with their individual situation. More importantly, as live chats can take customer inquiries immediately, it significantly cuts back on the time it takes to place a phone call (which can be a while, especially if it’s outside business hours) or to coordinate via email. To an extent, live chats are also a better alternative to static, standard responses on social media messaging, as bot interactions are generally more dynamic, and give an added element of humanity to the exchange.
Open customer service phone lines
Ultimately, there is still no replacing actual human interactions. When customers have something they truly want to say, it’s best if you give them an avenue where they can actually be heard–and know that they are being heard in the process. For this reason, all companies need open customer service phone lines. They need to have the option to talk to an actual member of the staff, especially if they have sensitive concerns that require immediate attention. Having a member of your team to talk to lets your customers know that their concerns are not only being received, but that you are doing something about them.
And at the end of the day, for all the technology has advanced, there is still nothing quite like being able to talk to another human being. After all, your company is run by people, dealing with people.
Communication is absolutely integral to any company. We at CMIT Solutions fully appreciate this fact, and have committed to improving your business’s communication channels. We provide services that will streamline this process, including products like network IT support, cybersecurity solutions, data backup, hosting, and storage, and other services to make digital technologies work for you. We’d love to help your company achieve its goals through our services. Give us a call today to find the best IT solution for your business.