Make yourself available to your customers

This just may help you increase conversions

How many times has this happened to you? You search, scour and drill a web page looking for that one answer to that one question that should be on the site somewhere, but it’s not. Why is it not on here? The seconds turn to minutes, and before you know it, you’ve spent far too much time looking. So you take a deep breath and start looking for contact the business owner. This is where it goes wrong far too often for many online merchants: one of the biggest mistakes a online merchant can make is to not provide contact information or display it in a place that is not easily found on the site.

Where is This Going?

Connecting with people is your specialty, and because you sell products or services online, it is your responsibility. Build a process around being sure that all of your customer e-mail inquiries are read and responded to within a reasonable time frame: one business day or same day if possible. Respond as soon as time permits. You will enjoy gaining insight into what types of questions your target market is asking – this knowledge can become a vital lifeline of your business, helping you with product positioning and marketing decisions.

Make sure your customer knows your turnaround time on inquiries. It’s not enough to post your 800 number and email address. Often, when a consumer tries to contact a business, it can feel like the great abyss. Let your customer know that you handle their questions and comments personally, and tell them how soon they can expect a response. Take time to say what you already know- the customer is important, and you want to hear from them. If your customers do not know when to expect an answer, they may be less inclined to reach out to you. Any attempt to increase customer confidence on your site will encourage the sale. Also, if you offer products that often entail shopping for price comparison or a quick sales process, informing the customer on your Contact Us page that they can have an answer in a matter of hours may keep their sights set on your store or service instead of using the time to search for different options. A little good will goes a long way, so let everyone in on your policy for responding, and reap the benefits later.

That being said, think twice before you limit your customers’ avenues for reaching out to you. You may have a very experienced phone staff that you would prefer handle all incoming questions rather than take emails, but by the same token, be sensitive that your preferred method may not be the same on the other end. In your wording, try to direct traffic to your phones, but also leave other options open.

Additionally, if prominent placement of your 800 number leads to un-manageable incoming call volume, analyze your potential profit if you increase your phone staff before you decide to remove the number or hide it deeper in the site. Most e-commerce sites benefit tremendously from placing their 800 number in the header of the site where it can be found above the fold no matter what page the customer lands on when visiting the site. When you give customers more options, lead pipelines and sales are increased.

Where do I Go?

Most businesses place a “Contact Us” link or image that links to their Contact Us page. The more information you can place on this page, the better. People want to know the quickest way to resolve their issue. Do you have a phone number for customer service? Do you want inquires via e-mail? A postal address, possibly?

To make things even more transparent, insert a brief list or summary of your customer service policy on your Contact Us page. Consumers are accustomed to brief statements such as "for information on this, please phone customer service.” If you prefer to be contacted by phone, make sure that point is made clear in your process mentioned on your contact page. State your phone hours, email contact hours, email turnaround time, and frequently asked questions (FAQs).

Take time to create a page that is dedicated to laying out common problems and the best way to take care of each one. Providing a set of FAQs can save you and the customer time by eliminating concerns before they get to you. Plus, customers will get the information in a timely manner, which can only help conversions. Also, make your information not only thorough, but easy to find as well. It does you no good to be available, but hard to find. Place your “Contact Us” link or button in the header or sidebar across your site along with another standard link in the footer.

Why is This Important?

If you went into a store with a question and spent a long time looking for someone to ask about an item you had in your hand and when you finally found that person, they ignored you, would you go back? What about a store that had a friendly staff that was easily accessible and ready to answer the same question with a smile and a handshake? Would you go back to them? Nobody knows the ins and outs of your business like you. You are the expert, and your customer needs your help. With a solid Contact Us page, you can build rapport, improve customer service and earn yourself some valuable word-of-mouth advertising. In the end, isn’t making contact half the battle in commerce?