Increase in Customer Sales = Increase in Customer ServiceOne of most popular questions asked in online business forums or even by my customers and subscribers is this :
"How hell can I increase my sales?" or
"I've got tons of visitors but nobody seems to be buying anything? What gives?"
FISHNETS WITH HOLES? ANYONE? Getting traffic is not be all and end all of a successful online business. It requires skills, specific online marketing strategies designed for your site and a robust customer service strategy.
So what if you have thousands of visitors per day! That does'nt amount to success, unless you close at least 5 to 10% of those visitors.
You see, when you get a lot of traffic from your advertising and marketing activities and nobody there to guide them, is like hauling a big fishing net in water with a major flaw.....it has a sizeable hole in middle. So you can say goodbye to eating fish...for now, at least.
Would you go and pick up items on display from a store that does not offer least bit assurance of somebody manning it? Sure! Sure, we're on work smart, work less attitude but hey, humans prefer humans, and they most certainly will buy from somebody they've talked to before. You see, they need to feel some warmth and yes, especially on internet where items are passed on in "cold" or "digital" means.
DOING THE BOTTOMLINE It's good that you have some or a lot of visitors to your website, but bottomline is that you should have best customer service and a lot of options for them to contact you, soonest. The more better!
Look around you. Take a look at most popular sites on net or even your favorite newsletter, they all have one common factor, customer service availability.
The most common or popular customer service strategy is through a form-to-mail which prohibits anybody from spamming your email account rather than having them email you directly, well unless you have a very good email filter software.
But you can offer them additional ways to contact you such as these options below.
PROVIDE MANY OPTIONS FOR CONTACT Online business is a contact sport. You want to close more sales? Then increase your customer service availability and options.
Providing them with a lot of options would mean that you are always ready to receive their inquiries, or issues with a welcoming smile. It would make you more credible. It would create a halo of success to your already plumed hat.
Let us take a look at some of free ways for you to interact with your website visitors:
CHAT SERVICES Mostly, website owners would be one manning these free chat services and if you'd like to be assumed as a pro-entrepreneur you can always advance anytime to a helpdesk solution or upgrade from your free account.
Bravenet.com - Free Webmaster Resources. Cut and paste services you can use for your site for free. They use LivePerson for their customer help service. (FREE AND PRO) http://www.Bravenet.com
Chat-Forum.com - They offer free Java Chat Rooms & Advanced Custom Internet Chat Solutions (FREE AND PRO) http://chat-forum.com/
Parachat.com - They're solutios enable real-time communication on their own web site for a host of applications, including corporate interaction, moderated events, distance education, visitor retention, customer service, dating and romance, entertainment, and family fun. (FREE AND PRO) http://www.parachat.com
Boldchat.com - Boldchat is a FREE live chat service for web sites to do live help and live support chats with visitors. They don't have ads and their free account is for unlimited personal use. (FREE AND PRO) http://www.boldchat.com
PHONE SUPPORT If you want credibility then put your phone number up in your website. Make it more visible to eye especially on your home page or on your product or service order page. This way, they'll be more comfortable to see that they can call you anytime. You can ask your local phone company to provide you with a 1800 number so visitors all over world can call you for free.