Any business that sells goods or provides services needs to pay special attention to one of the essential key ingredients of success – customer service. Whether you’re a small Seller Central business owner dealing with the ups and downs on your own or someone working in customer service in a bigger company, there’s always more to learn. Customer service can make or break customers’ experience with your business, so it is worth paying special attention to in order to ensure that bad customer service doesn’t ruin an otherwise good situation.
While it is easy to forget about it in Seller Central, where you’re constantly worried about SEO, PPC, Design, and other optimization points, it’s just as important there as it is in any other business. Amazon is full of offers, products, and businesses, and providing attentive customer support is what can set you apart in that sea of possibilities.
Customer service is the support you offer your customers. It can occur before, during, or after their purchase, making their experience with you smooth and enjoyable. At the end of the day, a company’s relationship with its customers is based on the very same thing every relationship relies on – trust. By providing comprehensive, caring, detailed customer service at each step of the customer’s interaction with your brand, you are showing them that they can trust you and rely on you to be by their side should any problems arise. That creates opportunities for brand loyalty to rise, which can result in more returning customers, a better reputation, and free marketing by the word of mouth.
That is a relationship beneficial to both parties. The customer trusts the brand and knows they can return to get that great experience again in a pleasant, joyous environment. The brand, in turn, can reap the benefits of having satisfied customers that leave good reviews and spread the word, thus creating a good reputation for the company.
There are many things you can do to ensure good customer service. Let’s start with just a few!
- Know your products and/or services like the back of your hand. That prepares you to answer any questions your customers might have, as well as be able to handle any problems that may arise.
- Protect your integrity by saying no when necessary. It’s better to say outright that something cannot be done than to create a false impression. Be transparent and honest – it’s better to say no and rest assured that your reputation hasn’t been compromised than to give false promises and fail to deliver.
- Listen to your clients. Pay close attention to both their words and nonverbal cues, practice active listening, and try to really understand their needs and expectations. Going off prepared scripts can be easier and save time; however, providing tailored customer support will give you better results in the end.
There is much more that goes into customer service, and for anyone interested in learning more about it, we recently released a full customer service course in MAG-school.com for only $20! That course will get you through all the basics of customer service, provide detailed descriptions of many more tips and techniques than you can use, and take you through each step of that essential process.
