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Using Instant Messaging For Customer Service
Using Instant Messaging For Customer Service
Reaching out for a response
When customers reach out to you, they do so for a reason. They want more information about the products you sell, or the services you provide. They want to find out about delivery times or notify you that something hasn’t arrived on schedule. They want to know if something is available in this size or that color; if you deliver internationally; if you have a mailing list they can subscribe to. In short, they want your response. And they want it immediately.
They do not want an online version of call-queueing or an empty customer service desk. They do not want to see an online chat message “Hello! We are not available at the moment. Please leave your message below…” They want an immediate response. And you want to impress your customers by giving them just that.
How to give that response?
This is where Instant Messaging comes in. IM apps are freely and universally available. You do not need a highly-sophisticated, expensive online chat that will inevitably end up short-changing on its promise of instant customer contact.
Think about the way you use IM apps in your everyday life. The chances are, you use WhatsApp or Messenger with friends and family for back-and-forth conversations in real-time. That’s exactly how you can engage with users. Invite them to contact you on WhatsApp, and you are ready to have a live conversation with them, and deal instantly with any question or enquiry they may have.
This does not have to be limited to typed messaging. It can include voice and video calling. Face2Face creates more trust.
Bells & whistles - Key & solution
Several of the most widely used IM apps come with optional add-ons for business, including the ability to:
- Set predefined quick replies to save you time by reusing the messages you most frequently send.
- Organize your contacts or chats with labels, so you can easily find them again.
- Set a greeting message for first contact with a user.
If there is a big delay in getting back to your users, they will leave the website - just walk away from their computer, put down their phone, switch to TikTok or, even worse, visit a competitor’s website.. Instant responding is the key. Instant messaging is the solution. When customers communicate with you via WhatsApp they will get your reply whenever and wherever they (or you) go. Isn’t that great?
A new kind of business mailing
With their permission, you can store customers’ phone numbers, and then send them special offers. They don’t even have to initiate a new chat. Customers will receive your messages directly on their mobile devices, which is a much better sales technique than emailing (who checks their email these days?). Most people use their favourite IM on both desktop and mobile, so you can be sure they won’t miss any of your updates.
Keep things safe
You want your customers to feel safe and secure, so allowing users to contact customer service via a well known IM platform they already use will help them “feel at home”. People like to use familiar brands, so a familiar IM icon on your website will give them the confidence to contact you.
The most used Instant Messaging apps on the market—such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, and Viber—pride themselves on security. They are built by companies who have invested vast sums of money to make sure that everything is secured and encrypted. So this is one worry that won’t keep you awake at night. No more worrying that you might be using some chat service provided by a company that could be hacked, potentially compromising your customers’ data, and badly affecting your own website’s reputation.
Keep it Safe & Secure for your users, while making it simpler for everybody.
Relevant CS-Cart add-ons
You can install add-ons that will allow your users to contact you via IM platforms right now:
Get more apps from developer TopSoft UG