The communication channels they are means through which we can exchange messages of any kind with other people. This is the formal definition of the term and serves as a starting point for understanding the types of communication channels that you have to use in your e-commerce to provide excellent customer service.
In this article you will discover what these contact channels are, with the intention that you choose the ones that best fit your online business. Also, we share some tips so you can make the most of them.
The customer service channels that we will describe below are:
- Telephone
- Online chat (including chatbots)
Let us begin. 😎
1. Email
Email customer support is one of the most popular support avenues today. Initially, e-mail was used to send personal messages but, over time, it became one of the most important communication channels in the corporate world thanks to its efficiency.
To provide good service by e-mail, it is essential to pay attention to the written language, the visual aspect and the response time (ideally between 24 and 48 hours); These three elements are differential factors for customer satisfaction.
Also, we share these 4 tips to manage your inbox:
Personalize your email account
Ideally, you should have an exclusive email address for customer service and with your own domain to generate greater credibility. In this article we tell you.
Before making it available for contact, set up an automatic signature with your company’s visual identity and links, and outline filters or markers for the different procedures, such as “Registration”, “Shipping”, “Payment”, etc.
Next, create two folders: “In progress” and “Done”. As messages arrive in the inbox, I transferred the ones that are already being answered to the first folder and the closed cases to the second folder. This will facilitate the organization of what is processed and the management of the demand.
I wrote a descriptive subject and the query number when replying
It is possible that the client’s e-mail has the objective of the query detailed in the subject or matter; however, it is common to receive messages with non-specific subjects, containing only words like “Complaint” or “Doubt”.
In these cases, when you write the answer, write in the subject a phrase that summarizes the topic of the conversation, such as “Solution to delayed delivery” or “Information on shipping rates”. In addition, assign and inform your clients of their query number. These details reflect the professionalism of your brand.
Use clear and grammatically correct language
In customer service, the language of the e-mail must follow these basic principles:
- Formality;
- simple and clear vocabulary;
- respectful and cordial treatment.
To avoid missing any typos, activate the spell checker and proofread the text before sending it to make sure the words are correctly spelled and accented.
Avoid abbreviations, excessive exclamation points and the use of symbols. We also recommend that you avoid using capital letters (“CAPS LOCK”). In the digital world, this equates to an unfriendly tone and can suggest irritation or impatience.
Finally, we advise you to always use a neutral and visible font; reserve bold for titles and italics for technical terms.
Be sure to write a human and cordial closing
At the end of each message, it is important that each assistant put their name so that the client knows exactly who is dealing with their query.
At the conclusion of the support process, the last email from the company should contain a thank you for the contact and a confirmation that the case was closed. If your brand has profiles on social networks, this can be a good opportunity to make them known and leave open the possibility of an alternative service for the next time.
👉 Take advantage of e-mail to carry out marketing actions. To start you just have to create a free account on a shipping platform. There are some tools that offer you .
2. Telephone
For Generation Y (1981-1993) and Z (1994-2010) in general, the use of the telephone became expendable in customer service. However, for earlier groups, the first intention will be to call a representative. So depending on your audience, it’s important to consider.
Through the phone you will receive requests of all kinds; for this reason, it is essential to prepare extensions or at least different paths to serve each one.
As the person on the other end of the phone line is not seeing the assistant, the treatment and speed of response will determine the success of the support. To achieve this, you have to pay attention to the following aspects:
Right environment and tool
Your company’s call center should be located in a quiet place, preferably without external noise. If possible, set up a dedicated room for this area.
You have to carefully choose the phone you are going to use for customer service: it must be a reliable brand and have the option to silence the call, to prevent the exchange of information between your collaborators from being filtered.
Also, we recommend that the telephone set can be connected with a microphone to improve the user experience.
Clear greeting and personalized treatment
When answering each call, you have to inform the name of the company, your name as an assistant and use a formal phrase such as “good morning” or “good afternoon”. This will convey a professional image to your clients and potential clients, and suggests that the assistant is trained to perform the support.
It’s also good practice to write down or memorize the customer’s name and use it at least once during the conversation. In this way, the support is closer and more human.
Polite language and pleasant tone of voice
There is nothing worse than conversing with an attendee whose tone of voice conveys indifference or anger. Although this is the tenth call of the day for you, it is the first from the client and has nothing to do with previous users.
For this reason, we suggest you speak with a good predisposition and, to facilitate understanding, pronounce the words at a slightly slower speed than normal.
Regarding language, avoid the use of jargon or diminutives. Likewise, use a simple and accessible vocabulary, avoiding technical terms that only professionals in the field know.
Having resources at hand and good internal communication
To speed up the response process, always have on your desk what you need to respond to each request: notepad, spreadsheets, information on estimated deadlines, registration forms, among other resources.
If the customer’s request needs to be resolved by a person from another area of the company, immediately refer the call to the corresponding representative and previously inform them of the entire previous conversation so that it is not necessary to repeat the steps. I also keep track of the entire process.
Close with a flourish
When everything is resolved, be sure to confirm that the customer is happy with the solution and ask if they need anything else. Thank you for the contact and say goodbye again wishing you “good morning” or “good afternoon”. Finally, wait for the client to hang up and then end the call.
3.WhatsAppBusiness
WhatsApp is a customer service tool that allows a totally private, dynamic and personal dialogue.
To use this channel, we recommend that you have a smartphone exclusively for this purpose. Next, install the WhatsApp Business app and set it up with your business information. The profile picture, for example, could be your brand logo.
We suggest you disable the “last seen” function, so that the client does not have a bad experience monitoring the waiting time between the assistant’s access to WhatsApp and the response, which must be sent as soon as possible, of course.
In addition, it is useful to disable the automatic download of multimedia files so as not to overload the device’s memory.
To save time writing messages, take advantage of the “Quick Replies” resource. Go to Settings > Business Tools > Quick Replies and tap the plus (+) icon. There you can create a message with the most frequent questions related, for example, to payment or shipping methods.
Do not forget to put a keyword that identifies each text and that’s it! In this way, when you respond to any contact, you simply have to write the configured keyword and the quick response will appear as an option.
Learn more about this tool:
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4.Online chat
Online chat or live chat is a quick and intuitive customer service tool.
The first thing you have to do is choose a good chat service that offers integration with your e-commerce. In Tiendanube, for example, you can find the apps and .
Another aspect to take into account when using this tool is the user’s profile: if he preferred to contact you through an online chat instead of sending you an e-mail, it means that he expects an instant response. As in the telephone service, briefly greet the user, inform them of your name and your role in the company and respond directly to their specific query.
The conversation is likely to be more casual in tone, so keep it as spontaneous as possible while keeping your vocabulary in line with grammatical rules.
If necessary, I shared with users links with explanatory content about their specific situation, such as a page with frequently asked questions or a tutorial that details how to use your product or service.
You can also use smart chats; I learned more with this post:
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5.Instagram
With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram is one of the . From this data, it is quite obvious that many users will contact you through this channel.
After creating your business profile, set up quick responses, just like you did with WhatsApp Business. Keep in mind that you can reply to direct messages both from your smartphone and from your computer.
On Instagram, as in other social networks, the tone of the dialogue is usually a little more informal, however, it is important to maintain the principles of respect and empathy, because, despite being a more relaxed way of attending, the objective is the same: solve the…
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