Customer service doesn’t start when the customer has an issue; customer service begins the minute a potential customer finds your business and is browsing on your site.
The standard business model when it comes to customer service has been reactive – the customer has an issue, contacts customer service, and the problem is taken care of. While this is far from ideal, it has been consistent for how businesses handle issues. Far from perfect, right? Proactive customer service focuses mainly on proactive communication, shows the commitment to making customer satisfaction your business’s top priority.
Which sounds better to you: taking action before a problem occurs, or after? Anticipating problems before they occur (often based on past customer experiences) will reduce the number of inquiries you receive, allow you to resolve issues before they become an issue and increase customer loyalty. If more attention is given to the “before,” the proactive support, fewer problems will arise during and later.
Statistically, according to a study by InContact, 87% of customers want to be contacted proactively by a business, rather than having to reach out themselves. Almost ¾ of customers say that a proactive customer service resulted in a positive experience in their perception of the business calling them (being contacted by a company means automated spam calls). Proactive customer service works, and customers prefer it!
Remember, it is about five times more expensive to generate a new customer than it is to keep an existing one. Turn your customer service team into a proactive unit rather than a reactive one by following these simple tips:
Keep track of customer actions on your site through Proactive Chat
By keeping track of how your customers use your site or products, it is easier to determine the best way to assist them. HappyFox Chat lets you proactively engage customers based on what page they are at. The screenshot above shows an example of the activities of different website visitors, their location, and their web page of interest. This feature helps in a proactive approach and reaching out to your customers instead of making them do all the work!
Inform customers of mistakes as soon as possible
Mistakes will happen regardless of how proactive your customer service team is. The best way to handle such mishaps is to recognize them, announce them, and fix them. Let customers know about shipping delays, website malfunctions, or other technical issues before you get an influx of emails or calls. By keeping your customers in the loop with complete honesty and transparency, you can build trust and avoid causing a more significant problem by trying to hide the issue.
Provide customers with an extensive self-service option
For every person who asks a question, assume at least a handful more are wondering the same thing. Where reactive customer service wastes time answering the same questions over and over, proactive customer support saves both the customers and the support team the hassle. According to a survey conducted by eConsultancy, 51% of customers prefer to find answers to their problems on their own – so give the customer what they want by having an up-to-date, comprehensive support knowledge base on your website with answers to common questions. This can include information and usage advice about your products, troubleshooting advice, shipping information, and other FAQs.
Monitor customer conversations wherever you can
Many customers take their complaints online, whether it be via social media or through an on-site review. Keep an eye on what customers are saying; thank them for compliments, and apologize or offer a plan of action to address complaints. Knowing what your customers are saying about your business also gives you insight into areas that need improvement (and help you avoid the same issues in the future).
Include a Live Chat option
Live Chat customer support is one of the best, most convenient ways to interact and assist customers real-time. Not only can customers get immediate answers to their questions without the wait-time of email or phone, customers who chat are substantially more likely to convert than those who don’t. Additionally, Live Chat adds a touch of human presence and real person-to-person communication that is so often lacking via online stores.
Contact customers post-sale
In case of E-commerce business, proactive customer service should extend after a purchase has been made. Something as simple as an email asking if everything is okay with the product can do wonders for building a long-lasting customer relationship. It also gives the customer the chance to voice any concerns right away and get a speedy resolution.
Monitor your support tickets for trends
The most efficient way to see common issues is to take a look at your customer support tickets. Which issues keep coming up? Identify and resolve minor common issues before they turn into bigger issues, reduce the number of support tickets, and improve customer satisfaction overall. By analyzing previous customer issues and understanding their needs, you will be able to predict the behaviors of customers in the future and anticipate issues before they occur. Put your business ahead of your competitors by offering exceptional, proactive engagement in place of the reactive support. Your customers will appreciate it, and your business will benefit.
If you can develop and maintain a personal relationship with your customers, you will build a strong, loyal customer base that trusts your business. Not only will this be helpful in customer retention, it will also increase your referrals, reduce operating costs, and contribute to the overall long-term success of your business. Proactive customer service will allow your business to exceed customer expectations by resolving their problems before they know they have them – what more could a customer ask?
And with proactive support, you absolutely need to start thinking about adding live chat to your business. So why not look into a solution like HappyFox Chat? It’s one of the most agile, user-friendly live chat platforms available! HappyFox Chat comes with Unlimited Agents on all Pricing plans. Start with your 14-day free trial today.
