Ecommerce Customer Support Best Practices

Customer Support is a key piece of the ecommerce shopper experience. The right customer support on your online store could be the difference between a bounce and a buy.

Customer Support Tools You Need in 2023

Live Chat

No one these days wants to make a phone call and they also don’t want to wait for a response to an email. Implement live chat to get the most bang for your buck. You’ll provide timely responses and keep shoppers on your site.

Email is still a big part of business, and that includes customer support. While live chat is gaining in popularity, email is still the go-to platform for shoppers. Make sure a customer support email address is easy to find on your website and on all email communications.

Phone

There are times when only a phone call can get the job done. Some customers will want to talk to someone directly to explain what they need or issues they’re having. There are plenty of tools available that can help with this so you don’t need to outsource or hire additional staff.

SMS is becoming more and more common and, with that, shoppers are becoming more and more used to it. They may even expect it. While texting customers about promotions and need-to-know news is great, why not make texting available for customer support? As noted above, shoppers expect convenience, and what’s more convenient than a text? It’s similar to live chat, but a little more flexible since the shopper doesn’t need to be on your website to use it.

Social Media

Social media is how shoppers discover your brand, so those managing these channels should be responsive. Reply to comments and check your DM’s regularly. How you handle the situation is public when shoppers comment, but that’s ok. Create a plan on how to respond and keep it positive. Your response will help build your brand and voice and establish you as a leader in the industry.

Make Sure Your Customer Support Tools Support What You Do

If you run an ecommerce site, pick a customer support tool that is built for ecommerce. You should also consider what your help desk looks like and includes. Keep it simple with a tool that does multiple things so your team is checking multiple platforms. With too many tools, you risk missing inquiries and things can get messy.

Customer Support Teams

We’re not saying you need to set up customer support teams the same way Searchspring does, but we are highly rated in this area. That being said, here’s how Searchspring’s customer support teams are organized for an example and inspiration.

Implementation Team

The Implementation Team at Searchspring is one of the first teams Searchspring clients interact with. They make sure Searchspring has everything needed to get search, personalization, and merchandising set up and get accounts up and running.

Technical Support Team

This team addresses issues and answers questions from clients that are submitted via a ticketing system. They quickly resolve tickets and effectively communicate with clients by breaking down what’s going on and provide information on progress, how to fix the issue, and give tips.

Customer Success Team

Customer Success are Searchspring team members who are dedicated to specific accounts. They’re there to answer questions, fix issues, and strategize for better search, merchandising, and personalization.