How's Your Customer Service?
Facebook ads worked on me about a month ago.
Super cute ankelish boots that I've seen before were on sale. Save 35% when you purchase two.
Since ads are a bit iffy these days I went to the reviews and comments - because we all know people do not hold back when it comes to sharing their opinion behind a screen. Besides them taking about 2 weeks to be delivered all seemed good.
After about 50 I clicked through the buy button. Picked out a black pair and dark brown pair both in my size.
(Yes, I typically buy local, but here we are).
Click purchase. Put in my debit card info. Hello, cute addition to some outfits!
About two weeks later I was updating our Quickbooks (yes, I set up QuickBooks for our family account and bless the ease of tracking and budgeting!) and when I got to my shoe purchase it dawned on me that I never got a confirmation email.
I then went to the website, found the contact email, and quickly typed up a kind email asking about my order.
"The black ones are on backorder. Would you like to wait or pick a different color?"
Huh? That was the first thought. Were you going to just wait until they came in to then ship them out? No heads up, oh btw? That was my second thought.
"Please go ahead and ship the brown ones to make sure they fit before I order any others and refund the cost of the black ones. Will I get a confirmation email?"
"Sounds great, yes."
And this time I did and like many of us I check the tracking every other day because....gimme!
Why share my boot purchase?
Because, customer service.
There is so much competition out there that customer service can be the difference between a returning customer or a shitty online review (which if you have a negative experience please reach out to the owner and give them a chance to make it better before you go behind the screen).
This also creates consistency which people do love and employees thrive on.
Think of you walking into a store or ordering online. What experience do you like? Do you like to receive a confirmation email? Do you like to be addressed when walking into a boutique?
Do you like a heads up that a response will be within a certain time so you're not sitting and wondering if they received your email?
I encourage you to take a step back and walk through your customer journey. From how they contact you, to how you deliver your product/service, to receiving that 5-star review.
Your next step is to implement it. And it doesn't have to be fancy.
Email templates, automations via a scheduler or a project management software, and an auto responder for your contact form.
Does it feel tedious? Maybe. (this is a service I offer in a VIP Day if you feel you need help!)
Will your customers (the ones paying you money) appreciate it and come back? More than likely!
Still waiting on my shoes - but I'd never leave you hanging so I'll share how they fit 🤞🏼