How Omnichannel Customer Experience is Changing E-Commerce

How Omnichannel Customer Experience is Changing E-Commerce

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How Omnichannel Customer Experience is Changing E-Commerce

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Omnichannel is a buzz word that you can read about whenever you read an online article about customer experience and the customer’s journey. If you still do not know what this word exactly means or how it can help shape the present and future of customer service, there is no need to worry as that is what this post is for.  If you are an internet based company, meaning you engage with customers online or you sell products through your e-commerce website, you need to know about how to deliver Omnichannel customer service to your customers.

In simple terms, omnichannel customer service means to provide customer service on various channels that are available today. In today’s modern age, there are so many ways for a customer to engage with your company. They can use the online chat feature of your site, which if you do not have, you should think about getting it as there are several benefits of live chat support. Then, there is the all time favorite method of online communication, the email. A large portion of online buys usually likes to communicate with e-commerce companies using their support email given on the website and expect a prompt response.

Social media has become a major channel of communication for the millennials. When youngsters today buy products online and face any challenges with it, they turn to your company’s social media pages. First of all, in today’s time, your company needs to have a social media presence. You need to cover all major platforms so that you are available to your customers everywhere they expect you to be. Presence alone is not enough. You need to promptly reply to your customer’s questions and address their grievances on all these social media channels.

You would think that with all these advancements in technology and nonverbal communication, that voice support would have less significance now. However, that is not the case. Voice is a medium that still plays a major role in customer service. There are some issues that just cannot be discussed over lengthy emails or long chat sessions. For them, your customers need to directly talk to someone over the phone to get help with their order placement issues or product related queries. A polite and helpful voice support agent can turn any irate website visitor into a delighted one within minutes and turns them into a paying customer as well.

So now that you understand about all the channels where you need to offer customer service, how exactly do you go about doing it? Do you know what some best practices in offering Omnichannel customer service are?  Below are a few of them you can follow –

  1. Offer your customers a good mobile experience

Youngsters today make a majority of their online purchases through their smart phones. Apart from creating an e-commerce app for your company, make sure your website is mobile optimized.

  1. Faster social media response

To keep your customers happy on social media, you need to reply to their comments in a prompt and courteous manner. The expected response time as per industry standards is 30 minutes.

  1. Deploy Live Chat

As said before, e-commerce sites need live chat service so that they can handle website visitor’s queries in real-time. Offering good live chat services will help with reducing your website’s cart abandonment as well.

  1. Don’t ignore Email

A majority of you customers will send you emails with their several challenges. You need to ensure you reply each and every one of them and not ignore any mail. This will go a long way in retaining your customers.

Omnichannel is changing the way e-commerce companies are offering customer service and focusing on improving their customer experience.  Proving customer service on such a deep and multi fold level can be a challenge for your business. It will require a lot of attention and investment, both of time and money. If you are a small e-commerce business that cannot bear the expenses of offering omnichannel support to your customers, you can outsource your customer service process to a third party.

Octopus Tech is an emerging Indian outsourcing company that can provide your customers high-quality customer services that are cost effective for you. We provide omnichannel support through voice, chat, email and social media. To know more about our call center services in India, contact us today.