Shopkeepers and retailers play an important role in customer service. They provide information and resolve queries of their shop visitors and customers.
What happens when the world starts shopping online?
The customer is the same. And will have the same questions that someone needs to answer. Answers need to be provided by ecommerce sellers and brands. And to provide such answers they need to operate call centres.
With the growth of ecommerce, one area of focus for all brands and sellers will be to enhance their ecommerce call centre capabilities and capacity.
For brand online stores it is not unusual for an ecommerce brand to receive on an average 1 to 1.5 queries per order. These may be on phone or email or WhatsApp or social media.
They need to be responded to:
1. Accurately
2. On a timely basis
3. In a courteous and consumer friendly way
4. With a problem-solving approach
If you are a brand selling online and plan to make it a significant channel, consider investing in high quality and adequate customer service capabilities.
This does not mean only adding headcount.
It means thinking through the strategy, understanding, and using the appropriate technology and implementing your customer service plans.
Here are some tips:
1. Forecast the number of ecommerce transactions your business may have over the next three years
2. Understand the complexity of your customer service. This could be based on
a. Product complexity
b. Product returns
c. Number of marketing promotions
d. And other factors that increase complexity eg Govt requirements, privacy laws etc
3. Based on the volume and complexity take decisions on
a. Technology
b. Teams
c. Outsourcing partners
4. Budget for adequate costs in your product sales margins. Customer service for ecommerce is essential and it costs money
5. Get the right leadership of your customer service function
Here are some pointers to get a good customer service leader:
Get a customer service leader who has
a. Relevant Ecommerce experience
b. Has industry knowledge about the industry that you are in
c. Is a problem solver – customer care for eCommerce is full of problems that need to be resolved soon
d. Is technology savvy and have a good understanding of new technologies
e. Is a People Manager – with remote reps and work from home this is a major consideration
As a Business Manager, you can plan in advance and have your customer service in sync with your product and market development plans.
Especially if you have plans to use ecommerce as a significant channel.
To know more about how Kankei (www.kankei.com) can play a role in managing your ecommerce customer service please write to info@kankei.com or whatsapp +91 9324747575 or click here