4 Principles of Customer Service in Internet Marketing

For some people, good customer service comes naturally. But in many companies (very understandably!), people who are really specialists in very diverse fields have to engage in the customer service. We talked yesterday about the impact that your customer service practices can have on your internet marketing and SEO. Today we look at how to make sure you aren’t a victim of the Anakin Skywalkers out there (!), by reviewing some of the core tenets of good customer service.

1. Answer phones, emails and instant messages

I certainly understand the reasons why some people don’t answer their business phones, emails or live help requests. You’re just too busy, and it can ‘waste’ big chunks of the day communicating with people. However, if you’re at the stage where you are too busy to answer calls and messages, perhaps it’s time to hire someone to do it … or risk never being busy again.

2. Keep your promises

If something isn’t firm, don’t make it into a promise. If you tell a customer that you will definitely have their order manufactured by Friday, make sure that you do. If you aren’t sure whether it will be ready by Friday, use vaguer language. There’s no harm in being uncertain, but there is in breaking promises.

3. Listen to what your customers are saying

In the old days, this simply meant ‘listening’. Funny, that! In the context of internet marketing, though, ‘listening’ means taking on a whole new set of tasks. Set up a Google alert for your business name as well as possible variations, regularly look for your company mentioned in Tweets and on Facebook Pages. If you find dissatisfied customers, try to resolve their concerns.

4. Be helpful for no reason

Apart from the fact that helping people for no reason fills you with the milk of human kindness and gives you a serious case of the fuzzies, it could also boost your business. There may be no immediate reward … but be helpful to enough people and you’ll reap the rewards in reputation and eventually, profits.