Day 4: Defining your online customer service standards

Serving customers is a required activity for everyone in business. There are certainly differences in the method for providing service to online vs. offline customers, however you should provide customer service in a consistent and predictable manner for all customers.

The Standard

You can begin to develop a customer service standard by defining the following levels of support for your company:

1. When is it appropriate for someone to contact you? Are there questions or issues that are unrelated to your business? Are there questions that violate your terms with the customer (ex: questions re: refunds, job postings etc.)?
2. Preferred Method of Contact – What is the best way for customers to reach you? There’s not really a right or wrong answer, but you want to consider the needs of your customers. Also, it’s best that the method of contact for issues that require urgent attention be separated from ‘general’ support issues and questions.
3. What are your operating hours – Most small to mid size business have operating hours and can not afford to be available 24/7/365. Are there time periods during which you and/or your business are unavailable to provide support? Are there exceptions to this rule (i.e. life is hanging in the balance) or is it set in stone? Manage expectations by noting your operating hours in the website contact areas.
4. Turnaround time – What can customers expect in terms of how quickly you’re available to respond to their issue(s)?

The Content

Once you’ve defined your levels of support, ensure that you have developed website content that align with those standards. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Example: The Information / Help Page

This is your method for answering questions from customers that couldn’t obtain the information elsewhere on your website, for whatever reason. If you tend to receive the same question repeatedly, you will want to consider including this information in a prominent location on your product/service pages or providing it in a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) area.

1. When is it appropriate for someone to contact you with questions or inquiries? If you receive the same question frequently, consider including that information on your product/service pages or on a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page. Providing the answer as quickly as possible should be the goal. Reserve your support hours to questions that have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
2. Preferred Method of Contact for Inquiries – What is the best way for customers to make an inquiry? Are customers required to submit their question via a contact form? Are they required to call you? Is there a Live Chat feature on the website? The method for asking a question should be obvious.
3. What are your operating hours for responding to inquiries – During business hours only?
4. Turnaround time – What can customers expect in terms of how quickly you’re available to respond to inquiries? What is your standard for responding to those inquiries (within 24 hours, immediately, 8 hours, 2 hours, 48 hours)? This information should be transparent to the customer. Perhaps on the contact page you would indicate that the customer can expect to receive a response within a specific timeframe. Or you could use an auto-responder system to email this information to their mail account.

Example: The Billing Support Pages

For websites that accept online payments, it is critical that you highlight your billing procedures on the website. Providing this information on the website is necessary due to the fact that the customer is not standing in front of you. With in-person transactions, many customers assume that if there’s a billing issue, they can simple walk back into the store. You want your “online store” to mirror the experience of an offline store as much as possible. Many online stores create a wonderful before-sale experience, but after the sale is completed, there’s no clear method for dealing with billing issues. For billing questions indicate:

1. When is it appropriate for someone to contact you with a billing question or inquiry? Indicate in your website content if the customer should be contacting another entity instead (ex: bank, credit card company, payment gateway service etc.). This creates a more efficient service process for you, as you reduce the number of unrelated issues submitted. This provides a high level of service for your customers because it saves them time and sends them in the right direction.
2. Preferred Method of Contact for Billing Questions – What is the best way for customers to ask a billing question? Are customers required to submit their billing question via a contact form? What information is required (receipt #, order date, billing name etc.)? Or are they required to call you? The method for asking a billing question should be obvious.
3. What are your operating hours for responding to billing questions – During business hours only?
4. Turnaround time – What can customers expect in terms of how quickly you’re available to respond to billing questions? Billing is a sensitive issue for customers, therefore it is important that this information is presented clearly.

The Resources

Feel free to use the provided Powerpoint Presentation for your notes.