Customer service in your online shop

Customer service in your online shop is much more than an expense. Good help can create loyal customers and lead to new sales. Poor handling, on the other hand, can turn a single angry customer into an expensive problem for your business.

The video is from April 2009. The references to Vordingborg Køkken and Fona are my historical examples and assessments at that time.

Customer service in your online shop can build loyalty

Customer service is an incredibly important discipline. In the video, I refer to studies suggesting that a customer whose problem is resolved satisfactorily can be more satisfied than a customer for whom everything simply went as expected.

I do not name a specific study in the video. But what I want to emphasise is that the way you solve a problem can help build strong loyalty.

It is not about creating problems. It is about taking the customer seriously when something has gone wrong.

Support can also sell more products

You should not see customer service only as money going out of the till. It can also be somewhere revenue comes in.

I use SPAMfighter as an example. If a customer asks us something, he gets an answer. If he replies to thank us for good service, we reply again.

There we can, for example, say he is welcome and ask whether he knows we have an antivirus offer. Our support staff can help generate revenue in that way.

Good service and the opportunity to mention a relevant product can go together.

One angry customer can cost a lot of money

You need to remember that just one angry customer can cost you tens of thousands of kroner in revenue. Online, dissatisfaction can become visible to far more people than the customer’s immediate circle.

In the video, I mention a complaints website about Vordingborg Køkken. I say that, in my experience, it still ranks highly in search results around eight years after a dissatisfied customer created it.

My rough guess in 2009 is that a case like that could have cost the company over 100 million kroner in revenue. I also say that I cannot substantiate the figures. So it is my guess in the video, not a documented loss.

My point is that it looks bad when one of the first things a potential customer encounters in a search is a forceful warning not to buy from the company.

Every company makes mistakes. But I think it is unforgivably stupid not to try to put them right.

Customers can tell their story publicly

Even if you think the customer is unreasonable, you need to understand that the world has changed. A big company cannot assume a small customer simply has to put up with the treatment.

The customer does not have to go only through a formal complaints body. He can create a Facebook page or tell his story in an online forum.

I mention a humorous thread about Fona on Amino. It is amusingly written, but my impression is that reading it makes you less inclined to shop with the company.

I also say that I do not actually think Fona generally has poor customer service. But when something goes wrong in individual cases, the public story can still paint a very poor picture of the business.

Join the conversation when something has gone wrong

If you see customers getting angry, you as the boss need to join the conversation. Say you are sorry about what happened and try to work out how you can put it right.

That is better than letting the conflict grow and hoping it disappears by itself.

Of course, the best thing is to provide good service from the start. Listen to people and reply quickly to their emails. In the video, I emphasise that customers expect replies within hours.

Take customer service seriously as part of your business. It can help create loyalty, more sales and fewer expensive conflicts. You can find more of my e-commerce experiences in E-pusher.