Is Customer Service Dead for Internet Based Businesses?

     You walk into a car dealership and what happens?  Three or four salespeople ATTACK you!  You know the feeling…most would say UNCOMFORTABLE.  I use the word “attack” because that’s how I’ve always felt in this particular setting.  However, as the world begins to shift to an internet based society, I have a new found appreciation for the salespeople I once called “vultures”.  At least I had a live person standing in front of me willing to answer any of my questions and even offer me a cup of coffee!  

     As you plan and/or improve your internet based business, it is CRUCIAL that you find ways to help your customers as if you were face-to-face with them.  Some ideas to consider are:

·        including a help/faqs page on your site.

·        ensuring you have an email address dedicated to answering customer service inquiries.

·        providing a phone number for telephone support (not very common).

·        using html script to allow for live chat when a customer visits your site and has questions.  VPMom.com uses the Bravenet’s Live-Person.

     Place the above items on pages within your website where you anticipate users may experience difficulty or have questions and/or dedicate a page to list all of the ways you can be contacted. 

     Most importantly…don’t let customer service die as we continue our shift to an internet based society! 

Alena Anteri and Dawn Castellanos are the founders and co-editors of
VPMom.com.  Additional business and family advice can be found by visiting http://www.vpmom.com.

Permission to use Dawn and/or Alena's articles is granted by simply
including the above contact information after each article.