If you've just started or are about to start your dropshipping business, you probably already have an idea of how high the competition can be. For all online businesses, and dropshipping ones, in particular, effective customer service can make a difference. If you don't implement great customer service skills in your business plan, structure, and offer, you will be losing clients. 90% of customers who don't receive good customer service stop buying from that online store.
But what are good customer service skills? Is it just about being courteous while replying to customers' emails? No, it goes far beyond that. Let's see 8 effective customer service skills to enhance your dropshipping business.
1. Have detailed product descriptions
Are product descriptions part of customer service? You should consider them such as a lot of returns are made from customers because the item they receive doesn't match the product description perfectly.
Therefore, detailed product descriptions reduce returns and enhance customer satisfaction.
2. Don't hide your customer service contact or return/refund policy
Your customer service contacts should be highly visible on your website pages. Also, your return and refund policy must be clear, easy to understand and they should include instructions that are easy to follow.
When a customer can see that the seller is highly available and ready to provide answers or fix issues, they are more likely to make their purchase on your platform.
3. Handle returns effectively
It's always annoying to receive a wrong or defective product, but if the customer can receive a quick and full refund they'll be more likely to purchase from that same e-commerce store in the future. This simple observation is enough to explain why handling returns effectively is a priority on our good customer service skills list.
When a customer is entitled to a refund, don't search for excuses and get the refund done.
4. Include a F.A.Q. page in your website
The majority of customers that contact the customer service have questions regarding products, shipping, and returns. By providing a F.A.Q. page on your dropshipping store, you're answering these questions before they are even asked.
Another reason why this is part of our great customer service skills list is that it shows that you know your clients, you are experienced, and reliable.
5. Have multiple customer service channels
Provide different ways for contacting you. Emails are the most used, but they are not the fastest way of communicating with your clients. Today, there are many ways of providing effective customer service and you don't need to pick one: you need to provide all of them!
- Emails: as we've mentioned, your customers should be able to contact you by email. Create a specific email addressed for your customers' inquiries so that you can be sure you won't miss any of them;
- Phone number: some clients may not be comfortable with the most modern communication media and may want to speak with the customer support team in person. When you provide your phone number, make sure you also indicate what are the days of the week and times of the day when customer support is available. When someone phones your customer support number you want to make sure there's someone picking up!
- Live Chat: a live chat available from your website is one of the most effective customer skills. When a customer can receive all the extra information they need immediately, they are more likely to make the purchase.
6. Use a Chatbot
A Chatbot can make your Live Chat Customer Service even more effective: it'll provide automatic replies to the customers that include the information they're seeking. If the automatic replies are not enough for them, they can always have the possibility to chat with a human member of the customer support team.
A Chatbot makes the customer support's response even quicker and it enhances your reliability, the efficiency of your customer service, and your client's satisfaction level.
7. Be clear about your shipping times
The only reason you might be tempted not to be clear about your shipping time is that they are long, maybe because you're dropshipping from another country. However, even if your shipping times are long, never avoid providing them.
Always be clear about your shipping times: if a customer knows that they must wait 3 weeks to receive their item, they'll wait. If they don't know it, they'll start asking for a refund after 4 days.
8. Provide the possibility of tracking orders
Any person who makes purchases online wants to know where the items they've paid for are while waiting for them. This is why you must be able to provide this information. Be clear, before the customer makes their purchase, about how they'll be able to track their order.
You can provide a “track your order page” on your website, but you could also provide a tracking number that people can use to search for their packages around the world.
SaleYee Dropshipping Platform Takes Care of Great Customer Service
SaleYee dropshipping platform offers full-service from product selecting, inventory & delivery management to after-sales issue settlement. With SaleYee, you can focus on your marketing and sales, while the platform will provide the most effective customer service on your behalf.
- Provide Quality Products: SaleYee provides quality products that are selected by a team of professionals and not just simply imported. When you sell products, the quality of what you're selling is always key. In a way, quality is number one among good customer service skills. Besides, the product details are clear enough with SEO techniques so that your listings can be competitive.
- Local Warehouse: Thanks to its multiple warehouses spread in different regions and countries, SaleYee can deliver products fast, letting you and your customers know where their items are and when they're going to reach their houses at any moment.
- Free Delivery: One of the great customer service skills is being able to provide free delivery. This is not always possible for dropshipping businesses, but with SaleYee, free delivery is part of their offer.
- Returns and Repayments: With SaleYee you can provide the best 90-day after-sales customer service because they'll take care of any after-sale issue. If the customer has any problem with their product or delivery, SaleYee will process the return or repayment according to the rules.
Now that you know how to provide the most effective customer service, you are ready to take your dropshipping business to another level!
