So in today’s digital world customer service does not end at the drive-thru window or at the cash register. It actually follows that customer home. Your business hours may be 8am to 7pm, but your customer service hours online go 24/7. People can relate and speak with your brand, through Facebook, twitter, instagram, et cetera, all through the day, all through the night. So how are you handling your online customer service? I’m going to give you a few tips The Four B’a, on how to handle online customer service.
The First B, is be a part of the conversation. A lot of people get hung up on the speed of their response, but if you’re not a part of the conversation, then why are you worried about the speed. Make sure you are responding to reviews regardless if it’s positive or negative. If someone gives you a compliment, tell them thank you. Say thank you so much for being a valued customer or a valued patient. Do not violate HIPAA, but tell them thank you. If someone leaves you a negative review, handle it, make sure you’re handling it. Respond to them, say we don’t do business that way, we apologize, can we make it right.
Customer service today has changed dramatically, compared to what it used to be. You want to make sure that you, your team member or your online marketing company is helping you monitor your comments, and responding to comments, and developing customer relationships and customer service. It’s very important! Checking once a year is not good enough. As the internet becomes a larger part of every day life, you need to keep an eye out. I’m not saying you need to be clicking refresh on whatever website every 5 minutes, but you shouldn’t be dismissive. So if you’re not properly handling your customer service online, you better get started!
B number two is to be human. Respond the questions, comments, concerns on your page, just like you would as if they were standing right in front of you. Customer service is simple, it’s human to human relationship. Whether you’re speaking it or typing it on a computer, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is if you are friendly and open. You don’t want to seem like some robot that is automatically replying. Relate to the customer and they will react positively to you. Be cold and distant, and they will be turned off by it all. The goal is to come off as the friendly, lovable you!
B number 3 is be ready to fix the problem. If there is an issue such as Little Suzy got sensitive and cussed someone out at the window or little Tommy Toothbrush gave Mr. Johnson a little attitude, be ready to fix that problem. So it’s very important that you don’t just say that you’re going to take care of it, but you actually do. Teaching customer service is very important. You guys spend a lot of time, money and effort, doing it in the store, now make sure that it is also happening online. Make sure your employees know what is right and wrong in customer interactions. There’s a balance at work here, one of professionalism and friendliness, that all of your workers need to carry out.
The final B today is to be mindful of review sites. Facebook reviews, google reviews, yelp reviews, we can go all day. Make sure you’re monitoring those and make sure you’re responding the positive and the negative. You want to make sure that it looks like you’re out there taking care of business online. If it’s been two years since you’ve last responded or you just let these negative reviews sit and fester, people will take notice. They’ll see a company that isn’t worried about the consumer side, which is something you do not want. You want to be seen interacting with all of the feedback. Someone who leaves something negative and never gets a reply, will most likely never come back. However, by replying and engaging with this person, you can win them back and maybe gain a few new customers in the process.
Recent Comments