It’s nothing new that good customer service is key to customer loyalty, referrals, and greater revenue. A recent survey conducted by Echo Research shows that a majority of consumers believe that most companies are talking the talk but not necessarily walking the walk. This notion isn’t just limited to the U.S.; it turns out consumers all over the world think companies fall short on customer service. Interestingly, the survey also reveals that people tend to have more confidence in smaller businesses providing good service than larger ones. Whatever the size of the business, companies need to make sure their customers feel important and that their needs are being met. It just makes good business sense.
Retailers have found lots of ways to do this on their ecommerce sites. For example, having easy-to-spot “Contact” buttons in key areas of their retail site, and making sure when someone contacts the service team, whether by phone, email, or chat – that they get a quick response. It’s important to follow up and make sure their needs are met, and to offer some form of compensation when something went awry.
But, have you thought about this: another great way to enhance your customer service is to have a top-notch site search? That may sound strange, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Site search is good for pointing people to your service team when your visitors need more help. For example, you can include your 1-800 number (or other contact information) on your “no-results found” page. Additionally, when a visitor searches for “service” or “support” you can send them to a special landing page with the service/support contact information rather than show them a “this product does not exist” message. Our customer, Furniture Crate, does exactly that – see below. This tactic can also be used for people searching for “location” or “store”.
Furniture Crate: Need Help? Ask Our Professionals
Additionally, as we discussed in our July newsletter, have you thought of allowing your customer service team to use your site search? If your site search performs well, it can help your service team find the product or information about a product, callers are inquiring about, quickly, and deliver top-notch service.
A number of site search features help: including SKU jump, which automatically brings up the product page when a product SKU is entered in the search box; partial SKU, which provides a broader range of products that fall under the partial SKU logic; and inventory status, so your service team can immediately see what’s in stock and if there’s limited supply – in which case they can encourage the caller to act quickly.
Any other ideas on improving customer service with site search? Please post a comment.
