4 More Principles of Customer Service in Internet Marketing

We’ve been looking at how some non-SEO related factors can really suck up the true value of the SEO itself, and subvert its end goal … to make your business money. Inattentive or badly coordinated customer service is something that definitely needs to be sorted out before an SEO campaign starts – today we continue our look at the core principles of good customer service, minute by minute.

Laugh ... but have you heard someone at your organisation say this?

1. Got a complaint – deal with it

If you hear of any complaints from your customers, try your hardest to resolve them to the customer’s satisfaction, without overly compromising your business principles. In saying that, sometimes a measure of compromise will be necessary to keep people happy – you may have to give something away for free that people would usually pay for, for example. Take the angle that you are trying to ‘make up’ for the customer’s inconvenience, and know that this sort of attitude will help your business in the long run.

2. Always ask your customers if they need something else

If someone approached you in store and asked where the milk was, you’d probably take them there, then wait to make sure they found the brand they wanted. The equivalent in internet marketing is not just directing customers to ‘the Products section from the Home page’ … give them a link to exactly what they need. Then ask if they have any questions about it, or the ordering process.

3. Be positive, be genuine

Learn to be positive about your work, your business … and life in general! Greet people with “This rain will be helping the grass grow/farmers/health of the river” instead of saying “Horrible weather we’re having, isn’t it?”. Positivity from the start sets the tone for all your customer’s interactions with your company.

4. Make sure ALL your customer service staff know these principles!

Run customer service refresher courses every so often, preferably with the managers as mock customers so problems can be easily identified. Even if people tend to ‘act’ a little because they know they’re being tested, it will still help them keep the ideals at the front of their mind. And even in an internet marketing context, it is possible to use training tools like mystery shoppers.

It’s a crying shame to see a top Google ranking go to waste through a lack of understanding about customer service. These principles are very simple … but they make a real difference!