Captivating and attentive customer service is the starting point for consolidated sales and higher average tickets (average amount spent on each purchase).
Customer needs, however, have changed, especially with the exponential increase in e-commerce.
According to one Sage studyHowever, Portuguese consumers are particularly attentive to the number of complaints a brand receives and the purchasing experience of other customers, but these are not the only relevant facts that determine consumer confidence.
Sustainability, concern for the brand's environmental footprint and production cycle, management ethics, human resources policies and means of payment are some of the many factors that nowadays contribute to an increase in sales.
In the particular case of online paymentsIn order to reduce friction in online sales, diversity and simplicity are of paramount importance for the thousands of Portuguese who search for products and services on the Internet every day.
In order to help Portuguese online businesses that sell without a website, REDUNIQ presents a turnkey solution: REDUNIQ@Payments, which will enable businesses that sell or intend to selling through marketplaces or the social networks receiving online payments by e-mail, SMS, WhatsApp, ATM reference or MB WAY, with Visa and Mastercard, without having to worry about membership costs, fixed costs, monthly fees or integration.
Returning to the title of this article, what does what we've described in these paragraphs have to do with customer service?
The answer is everything.
How important is good customer service?
As we can see from the Sage study, Portuguese consumers are not only more demanding, but also more informed, which makes making a purchase and the possibility of loyalty a tougher and more complex process, since the buying journey has to be satisfactory at every stage, especially customer service.
As we've already mentioned, good customer service involves,
- Firstly, captivate customers who are looking for a solution to their problems and needs, at which point the human assistant or chatbot should offer full support to dispel any doubts that may arise.
- Secondly, customer service must be able to guide the customer through the choice of product that best suits the customer and make the purchasing journey as smooth as possible until the end of the process. checkout.
- Finally, at a third point, in the after-sales period, good customer service should resolve any problems that may arise with the product as quickly as possible, be able to manage the customer's expectations and provide them with all the information they need to process a refund, return or exchange the product as quickly as possible.
If these three moments are fully met, your business will thrive:
- Increase the number of sales: according to a study by Neoassist, customers are willing to pay 20% more on the price of a product if it comes with good customer service;
- Increase the average ticket;
- Higher customer loyalty rate, as they will feel satisfied with the shopping experience (positive reinforcement);
- Greater customer satisfaction, which in turn generates a relationship of trust with the business;
- Fewer costs for the business: whether it's returns, refunds or even advertising, good customer service ultimately results in fewer operating costs;
- It adds value to the business and helps differentiate it from competitors;
- Opportunity to study the target audience and their preferences, helping the business to improve key aspects and become more attractive.
How to provide good customer service?
In order to increase the number of sales, average ticket and loyalty rate of your business, it's important that your customer service..:
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Generate empathy
Quality customer service must generate empathy. The assistant must try to understand the customer's doubts and fears, showing them that they are not just another customer, but THE customer.
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Personalise your service
Following on from the previous point, listen to what the customer has to say, understand their needs and answer any questions.
Make them feel unique, which, according to the canons of "what not to do in customer service", means not making them feel ignorant.
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Fast and efficient resolution
The key to good customer service is necessarily the speed with which you respond to your customers' requests and, above all, the efficiency with which you resolve their queries and any problems that may have arisen (after-sales).
If you use chatbots in your online shop, make sure they are programmed for short, concise answers that are easily understood by any type of customer.
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Satisfaction surveys
As well as giving customers a voice, satisfaction surveys will help you improve your customer service.
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Ensuring security in payment methods
In order to create a relationship of trust between the business and its customers and avoid potentially damaging situations for the latter, the means of payment it offers them must always be guided by the utmost security, as is the case with the means of physical payments e online payment of REDUNIQ.
Whether it's REDUNIQ@Payments, REDUNIQ@E-Commerce or the payment terminals REDUNIQ Easy, REDUNIQ Smart e REDUNIQ Softsecurity is completely guaranteed, as REDUNIQ is the only acquirer with the PCI-DSS certification in Portugal.
In practice, this means that cardholders' data is always protected by ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data associated with the use of payment cards, whether it is card data or authentication data.
In addition to guaranteeing secure payments and the incorruptibility of customer data, the PCI-DSS certification helps businesses protect themselves from the potential adverse financial and reputational consequences that could result from breaching the confidentiality of customer card data.
