In the introduction we explained that great customer service from small online retail stores is the thing that will get them maximum customer loyalty — with minimum effort. Ultimately, that means a more profitable web store.
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As an online store owner, you are first and foremost in “business-business,” not customer service business. So you need to balance your ambition, capabilities, costs, and outcomes very carefully.
The stats that claim customer service is the ultimate cure for almost everything which ails a business won’t help you develop a balance in your business. When did you last see a stat showing the costs of delivering the ultimate service experience? Not too recently we bet.
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During our research for this guide, we uncovered many studies, reports, and articles from 2014 (Nick Toman guest post and Forbes), 2013 (Salesforce), and 2012 (Harvard Business Review: Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers!) that challenge conventional thinking about customer satisfaction, loyalty, and whether customer service should be a cost center.
Read more →Building on the service gap model (SERVQUAL, if you would like to know more) and the data and insights from the Customer Contact Council, the Corporate Executive Board (great book here!), and others, we distilled all the insights down into three core principles of great customer service.
These principles will help you set a clear ambition for your team and focus your own efforts in strategy. They also form the backbone of the following guide.
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