Have you ever walked into a store and immediately felt welcomed and taken care of by the employees? That’s the power of excellent customer service. On the flip side, have you ever had a negative experience in a store that left a bad taste in your mouth and made you never want to return? Moments like these show just how much customer service matters—and why it’s worth learning how to improve customer service in your own store!
Providing great customer service is more vital than ever in today’s hyper-competitive business climate. It’s what distinguishes you from the competition, fosters client loyalty, and eventually generates sales. But how do you ensure that your store provides excellent customer service?
In this article, we’ll look at 8 innovative ideas on how to improve customer service in your store. These aren’t your normal “smile and be friendly” suggestions. We’re talking about cutting-edge tactics that will elevate your customer service and set your store apart from the competition.
What Is Customer Service?
Customer service encompasses everything you do to assist customers, regardless of where they are in the shopping journey. That could mean responding to customers asking about your products, helping an existing customer figure out which model is best for an upgrade, or sorting out a problem when an order gets delayed.
It’s not something that happens only after a sale. Often, it begins way before a shopper becomes your customer. Eliminating confusion early–whether through providing detailed product pages or quick replies—helps customers feel more confident about buying from your store.
The goal of customer service is simple: to make your customers feel supported. When you make it easy for customers to get help, they’re much more likely to trust your store and buy from you again.
Why Is Customer Service Important?
Even if you have great products and competitive prices, lacking in customer service can easily push customers away. Numbers prove this:
- More than half of today’s customers (54%) will abandon a brand after one negative experience
- 24% of shoppers will leave a brand due to inconsistent or obsolete product information
- 88% of customers say good customer service makes them more inclined to order from a business again
- 73% of shoppers consider good customer service a key factor influencing their brand loyalties
It’s clear: how you treat customers matters just as much as offering great products. Often, it’s the deciding factor if customers stay or switch to a competitor.
If you’re wondering how to improve customer service and don’t know where to start, look into where customers tend to get stuck. It doesn’t always mean adding more channels. Simple tweaks like providing clear product details and responding quickly to questions can go a long way.
Let’s explore some practical ways to do that in the next section!
8 Effective Ways To Improve Customer Service
Does anyone remember a time when businesses didn’t prioritize their customer’s needs? Well, in the 21st-century customer well-being is without question the most important consideration of all.
The adage ‘the customer is always right’ has never rung more true, with customer service being at the heart of every great business.
Without a loyal customer base, it’s difficult to be successful.
A company’s reputation smeared by negative feedback can stunt the progression of businesses. This is why customer service is so important, but that doesn’t mean nailing good customer service is an easy feat. It’s anything from it.
This is why we’ve collected some pointers on the route to making your store’s customer service better:
1. Write clear product descriptions
Improving your product pages is a great place to start if you want to enhance customer service. These pages play a key role in the online shopping journey. According to industry insights, 87% of shoppers consider product description as a key factor in their buying decision.
Make sure you provide product descriptions that are clear, specific, and helpful. What does the product do? Who is it for? What are common use cases? These small details can help shoppers feel more confident about buying from your store.
AI-powered tools like StoreAgent make this process a lot easier, especially if you have a large product catalog. We’ve used StoreAgent’s Product Description Assistant when building out stores with multiple listings, and it’s been a huge time-saver!
With just a few inputs, you can instantly generate SEO-optimized product descriptions that cover key details like features, use cases, and who the product is best suited for. Check it out in action below:
Clearer product pages can lead to fewer support questions, giving your support team more time to focus on more complex concerns.
2. Answer product questions instantly with AI
Since we’re on the topic of improving your product pages, here’s another valuable tip!
Shoppers often have quick questions before placing an order—simple queries like “Is this machine washable?” or “Will this fit a 13-inch laptop?” If they can’t find the answer right away, they might reach out or leave your store completely.
Instead of answering these one by one, you can use AI-powered tools like StoreAgent’s Product Questions Agent to handle it automatically.
Once enabled, it adds a Q&A section to your product pages where shoppers can type in their questions. Based on your product details, StoreAgent generates an instant response. You can set it up to review answers before they go live to ensure accuracy. Aside from cutting down repeat questions, it helps shoppers get the info they need without having to wait.
If you’ve been wondering how to improve customer service without adding more to your team’s plate, this is another smart place to start!
3. Be reachable via phone
Computers have gradually become the main communication hub for most businesses, but that doesn’t mean telecommunications should be neglected entirely.
Live chat certainly serves a useful purpose, however more advanced questioning often needs the reassurance of someone’s voice. A service that gives ample opportunity to ask everything on the phone can put you in a position to deliver the best customer service you can.
Telephone contact is far more personal, enabling customers to communicate with businesses instantaneously.
When emails aren’t prioritized, and live chat continues to spew out basic, albeit useful advice in the right context, companies can expedite queries and ultimately provide more responsive customer service. Putting the customer first will ultimately translate to better business results. Establishing a positive customer sentiment that increases the chances of them interacting with your business.
A consumer that’s left satisfied by a positive telephone call is much more likely to become a loyal customer and share their positive experience with others.
This is the ultimate goal of customer relations.
Ensuring you’re reachable via phone isn’t an easy task, especially when business operations scale up and you’re in greater demand. Utilizing mobile phones is a great way to remain reachable. You can allow calls to be transferred to various phones around the office for convenience.
4. Utilize live chat
Though live chat once had a bad reputation, you’d be surprised by how rapidly technology is advancing.
If you haven’t already installed a live chat feature on your website you’d be surprised by how capable it can be. It can deliver simple solutions for common queries, one of the biggest reasons why consumers appreciate access to this feature.
You only have to look at the eDigital Customer Service Benchmark survey for evidence of how customer satisfaction is greatly enhanced with the presence of live chat.
Of the 2000 consumers surveyed, 73% were satisfied with live chat. This is in stark contrast to the 61% happy with email support and just 44% with traditional phone support.
This suggests customers tend to return to businesses that provide live chat, with elevated confidence in those that make customer support easy.
As a business, you should focus on offering an elevated live chat experience to instill confidence in your audience with a hassle-free service. What’s great about live chat is you can give quick answers to questions about products.
Live chat offers both peace of mind and real-time support. When shoppers know they can reach out and get a quick response, they’re more likely to trust your brand.
5. Help customers decide faster with review highlights
As a business owner, you’re likely aware of how important reviews are. They’re a builder of trust–98% of shoppers read reviews before deciding to purchase. However, not all customers have the time to scroll through dozens of reviews!
One simple way to improve customer service is to make reviews easier to digest. Tools like StoreAgent’s Review Summaries Agent do exactly that. It pulls out the most relevant points from customer feedback and creates a short summary shoppers can scan in seconds.
Giving customers clear highlights of what others love about your product speeds up their decision-making and uncertainty. This leads to fewer pre-sale questions and a better shopping experience.
6. Use a ticket management software
Most businesses continue to operate a fairly rudimental ticket-based email system.
This works fine if you’re part of a small business that can handle your current capacity. But what happens when business operations expand?
Well, fortunately, you can take advantage of the expanding range of technological solutions at your disposal. Having a robust ticket management software is the future for many reasons. Mostly because of its ability to meet the ever-increasing demands of consumers (and your team!).
For instance, you can tools like Heroic Inbox to seamlessly manage customers’ emails, keep conversations organized, and assign queries to the right team members. This plugin allows you to:
- Centralize customer emails in one place for better visibility.
- Assign and track conversations, ensuring no query slips through the cracks.
- Use saved replies to speed up responses while maintaining a personal touch.
Email accounts can be difficult to maintain. Especially when loads increase and there’s a muddled list of messages to navigate through. Ticket management systems bring organization into the fold since you can arrange each customer request according to factors like importance or time.
With organization comes greater efficiency, and before long you’ll be competently responding to customer requests with considerably less effort. Greater efficiency means you’ll make fewer mistakes, an important consideration on route to achieving maximum accuracy.
Maximize the talent and specialties of your team by leveraging their expertise accordingly.
An antiquated email system can easily give off the wrong impression. E
For companies that want to collaborate with you, having a ticket management system is perceived as a competent, progressive initiative that quintessentially promotes your business.
By leveraging ticket management software you can keep customers up-to-speed.
Understandably there’ll be occasions when you can’t respond to customers straight away. In this case, you can use the software to send a notification of acknowledgment. Reassuring your audience you’ll be in touch soon is
You can even use the software to prioritize important customers, those responsible for keeping your business afloat. Responding to key requests first is a great way to allocate your time efficiently. Also while ensuring you please those who should be pleased.
7. Add a FAQ page
With an FAQ page, you can address commonly asked questions.
This is great for consumers who can’t find answers elsewhere. Browsing for direct guidance can be an idea that other people might be put off by. Save your customers time by grouping answers in one location, while separating answers into categories for ease of browsing.
By creating a section for general questions, and another for technical questions, visitors can easily extract the information they need.
An FAQ page has everything to do with leaving visitors satisfied. This is so they can accumulate knowledge to return value to your business. What’s great about an FAQ page is it reduces the tendency for consumers to contact you.
Though responding to customer queries is an essential aspect of any good business, reducing the time you spend replying to people will free up the
To create a successful business you must forge a lasting impression on visitors.
An FAQ page is a great opportunity to establish rapport with your following. It is also an opportunity to inject some real personality. Though your answers should be taken seriously, that doesn’t mean you can’t lighten things up with creativity.
You’ll also be able to incorporate important keywords throughout the section, those which ultimately boost your SERPs. It’s essential to improve your online ranking in today’s day and age. By including long tail keywords you’ll almost certainly generate increased traffic through your website.
Build trust among your target audience with credible answers that cement your position as an influential industry leader.
Showing a genuine understanding of the issues and complications your target audience regularly faces can help achieve this. If you’re willing to help consumers through the storm, there’s a much greater chance they’ll stick with your brand long-term.
8. Provide a knowledge base
As we’ve discovered, stellar customer service isn’t just about being present–it’s also about empowering customers to solve basic concerns on their own. Along with a FAQ, having a dedicated knowledge base can help with this. With an organized knowledge base, you can help customers find answers to common questions quickly and reduce frustration.
Thankfully, it’s not complicated to set up with tools like Heroic Knowledge Base. This powerful plugin allows you to create a professional, searchable knowledge base right within your WordPress store. It offers advanced features like instant search, category organization, and detailed reports to understand what customers are looking for.
Aside from improving the customer experience, having a dedicated knowledge base is also a win for your support team. Instead of answering basic questions repeatedly, they can focus their time and energy on more complex inquiries, improving overall service and efficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions
How will you improve customer service?
Start by identifying where customers usually get stuck or confused in the shopping journey. For example, they might frequently have questions about sizing, compatibility, or shipping that aren’t clearly communicated on your product pages. From there, make small tweaks to improve their experience. This may include crafting better product descriptions, offering instant answers to simple questions, or using AI-powered tools to reduce response times.
When looking for ways on how to improve customer service, focus on reducing friction and helping customers get what they need faster.
How to handle a difficult customer?
Practice active listening and try to understand the root cause of the issue. Always respond with a calm demeanor–showing willingness to help can turn the situation around. When appropriate, offer a solution or compromise. Providing options gives the customer a sense of control, which can help ease tension and lead to a more productive outcome.
How can you make a customer feel valued?
Personalize interactions whenever possible, listen to feedback, and address their concerns. Make sure you provide ways to reach out that are easy to access. Likewise, it’s important to reward trust and loyalty. Exclusive discounts, small perks, or even a simple thank-you message can go a long way to making customers feel seen and appreciated.
Conclusion
Businesses that prioritize great customer service are the ones that rule today. The competition is stiff, and clients have high expectations. Research shows that 86% of customers are willing to spend more for a superior customer experience.
As a business owner, you want to be the ruler of your domain, which involves offering excellent customer service. But how do you do it? Not worries, we’ve listed a list of four tried-and-true strategies on how to improve customer service:
- Write clear product descriptions
- Answer product questions instantly with AI
- Be reachable via phone
- Utilize live chat
- Help customers decide faster with review highlights
- Use ticket management software
- Add a FAQ page
- Provide a knowledge base
We hope this guide on how to improve customer service helped out! Do you have questions about this topic? Let us know in the comments!
