|
|
|
|
|
Dealing with customers is an
important part of business. However, if you’re
simply not willing to deal with customers or are
not able to do so for whatever the reason may be
then there are some steps you can take to
minimize customer interaction while continuing
to produce sales as well, (if that’s what you
want to do).
You may not have to deal with customers by
phone, but there will be times when you will
have to deal with customers via email, which is
easy for anyone to do.
But if talking to customers over the phone is
simply not for you or it’s just not possible for
you to do so at the moment then there are simple
tactics which you can use on your website to
minimize customer interaction, at least over the
phone. |
|
|
|
| |
Offer free shipping for all orders
placed online
You can run a banner or a graphical slogan on
the top of your website which states “Free
Shipping for All Orders Placed Online”. And by
doing so, you’re letting the customers know that
if they place their order online then their
items will be shipped for free. But if they try
to place their order over the phone then they
won’t be able to take advantage of your free
shipping offer.
Once your customers see your free shipping offer
on your store then they’re more likely to place
their order online without looking for your
contact details to call you.
However, in order for the customer to place
their order online with confidence, they’ll need
to have all of their questions answered on the
website, and preferably on the product page of
the product they’re going to buy.
Provide complete product details on
every product page
In order to encourage your customers to order
online without any doubts or concerns and
without giving them any reason to call you, then
they must be able to have all their questions
and concerns answered on your website. And you
can help the customer buy the product with
confidence by providing as much product
information as possible on the product page
itself.
All of your product pages should consist of and
include complete product details, features,
descriptions and specifications for each and
every product. It’s also important to provide
multiple product images and images of the
product packaging as well. i.e. box shots for
example.
Customers want to see what their getting before
they buy the product and by providing them with
multiple product images along with images of the
retail packaging of the product then it enhances
the sales presentation of the product and helps
close the sale.
Images to include to each product page:
-Product images from different angles
-Images of all accessories included with the
product, i.e. charger, cables etc..
-Screen shots (for software or electronics such
as digital cameras)
-Box shots (images of the retail package in
which the product is sold)
-Images of people using or wearing the product
(if applicable)
Providing multiple product images on your
product pages helps to build excitement and
promotes an impulse to buy the product online
right there and then.
Provide product reviews and comparison
charts
It’s also important to provide product reviews
and comparison charts on your website as well.
Many times, customers look for comparison charts
before buying the product online. They want to
compare the product with other similar products
in order to see which product is the best deal
for them. And this is usually the case with
technology products as well.
Many customers want to read reviews on the
products before they buy. And you can find your
own reviews online and add them to your website
or rewrite those reviews in your own words,
and/or write the complete review yourself. It
doesn’t take too much time and research to write
reviews and you can write the reviews yourself
for free.
The more information you provide on the product
page then the more likely the customer is to
place their order online at that very moment,
without having to call you and ask you any
questions. And this is your main objective, is
to provide the customer with all the information
they need so that they can make their buying
decision without having to look for your contact
details to call you or contact you in any
manner. |
| |
| |
Provide a Frequently
Asked Questions list
You can also provide a frequently asked
questions list (FAQ) for each product and/or a
frequently asked questions page for all
questions in general.
A product FAQ list can provide a list of
frequently asked questions and answers
pertaining to that particular product.
However, a FAQ list in general can provide
frequently asked questions and answers for all
other matters such as:
-return policy
-shipping policy
-warranty issues
-payment methods accepted
-sales tax
-accounts
-order tracking
-terms & conditions
In order to create an effective “frequently
asked questions” list, you can visit your main
competitors’ websites to see what questions and
answers they have listed on their FAQ list.
You can also place yourself in the customers’
position as if you were buying the product and
then ask yourself every question you would ask
before placing your order online.
Your frequently asked questions page should
answer all of your customers’ questions and
concerns for the products and for questions in
general as well. And by doing so the customer is
able to make an easy buying decision without
having to call you or contact you in any way,
shape or form. |
|
|
| |
Provide a local phone number (non-toll
free)
Although you may not wish to deal with customers
over the phone, it would still be worth while to
provide a local telephone number than to have no
phone number at all.
Most of your website visitors will be
preoccupied with reading product information
online and will not be thinking about contacting
you or looking for your contact details for any
reason – at least not for the moment.
The customer should be able to read the product
page and then proceed to click on the “Buy now”
or “Add to cart” button without any hesitation
and without having to contact you as well. And
if you’ve provided complete product details,
descriptions and multiple images then there
should be no reason why the customer would have
to contact you.
However, if after reading the product page the
customer still has some unanswered questions
then they may begin to look for your contact
details on your website. And although many
customers will contact you via email or through
your contact form, some customers however may
want to call you by phone. Yet if they’re not
able to find any contact phone number at all
then they may become hesitant or simply withdraw
from placing their order.
A business website with no phone number at all
creates hesitation and sometimes suspicion
within the buyer as well. But as long there’s a
contact phone number on your website then the
customer can continue to shop in confidence
knowing that if a problem does arise then they
can still contact you by phone.
However, if you are simply not able to answer
phone calls for whatever the reason may be, then
you can have all business calls forwarded to
voice mail. Then later you can screen each call
and decide whether to return the phone call or
not.
And after seeing a local number rather than a
toll free number some customers may be less
inclined to call and may prefer to contact you
via email. But as long as they know that there
is a phone number to call should any problem
arise then that may be good enough for them.
To obtain a local, non-toll free phone number
please visit www.RingCentral.com
You can also obtain a local phone number with
voice mail features for free with GoogleVoice at
www.google.com/voice |
| |
| |
Live Chat
Live chat or instant messaging has become a
popular means for businesses to deal with
customers online without having to spend more
time over the phone. In fact, some customers may
find it easier to ask their questions via
instant chat than to speak to a person on the
phone
The live chat tool is an excellent marketing
feature and is nothing more than a simple script
which can easily be installed onto your web
pages and will allow your website visitors to
contact you via instant messaging with just one
click.
However, if you’re going to implement the live
chat tool on your website then be sure to be
available when live chat is available to your
customers. (NOTE: You can turn live chat on or
off at any time and/or use it during business
hours only.) |
| |
| |
Guarantee fast email
response time
Did you know that many retailers take 24 hours
or more just to respond to emails?
However, a long email response time can also
cause a business to lose a sale and the interest
of the customer as well. Yet, you can beat the
competition in this area and close more sales by
responding to emails within an hour or less. And
if you’re able to respond to emails within an
hour then you can add this information to your
contact page in order to encourage email
communication.
An easy and simple strategy for responding to
emails quickly is to answer them once and then
save those answers as responses for future email
responses to other customer inquires.
In time you’ll find that most if not all of the
questions coming from customers are similar or
the same in nature. And then all you would have
to do is copy and paste that same response to
every email which consists of those same
particular questions.
However, with or without a fast guaranteed
response time you should always try your best to
answer any and all emails as quickly as possible
as this is one of the best ways to build
credibility and close the sale as well.
If you want to minimize customer interaction for
whatever the reason may be, then be sure to give
the customer all the information they need on
your website so that they won’t have to contact
you. And in doing so, you can close the sale
with minimal to no customer contact at all. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
<-Back
- Main Page -
Next-> |
| |
| >
How to Deal with Customers via Email |
| >
How to Take and Place Orders |
| >
Paying for Products with Your Customers’ Money |
| >
How to Collect Sales Tax for Internet Sales |
| |
|
|
|
