Internet Marketing Customer Support

Who Should Handle Customer Care?

Now that we're convinced about the need for a structured customer service system, the next thing to decide on is who should handle it.

The answer will depend upon many questions that are unique to your business (and that we looked at in the section on structuring your customer support).

There are FOUR ways you can set up your customer support and client service system.

* You Can Manage Customer Support

In the early days of your online business, with little revenue coming in, this may be your only choice. And that isn't bad at all - indeed, you can use the opportunity to create client service processes that can then be handed down to others as your organization grows.

You know your business, your products and your audience best. By dealing with customers, seeing what problems and hurdles they face, you are in a unique position to know what's lacking in your offering - and fixing what's broken.

When others are complaining about having to deal with 'problem customers', you'll be taking advantage of the interaction to get closer to them than you probably ever will as your business grows.

* Your Team Can Deal With Customers

Once a customer support process has evolved within your business, it is often easy for anyone who is adequately trained and given the right tools and permissions to handle the vast majority of customer queries and problems.

You may have a dedicated customer support person on board your team, or it may be a task that rotates among different team members at different times of the day or month.

Always remember to keep close watch on the process, and be quick to address flaws and glitches as they arise.

* Outsource Your Client Service

When your business grows beyond a point when it becomes less cost-efficient for you to have customer support issues handled personally or in-house, it is time to outsource it to 'virtual assistants' - or automate it.

Which option you choose will depend on how well your customer service situations can be handled with automated solutions, how expensive hiring assistants for the job will be, and how skilled your outsourcing service providers are.

One or the other option may be overwhelmingly more advantageous. Make your choice based on this.

* Automate Customer Support

Technology (like help desk software) exists to automate customer support to a degree that was impossible a few years back.

Planning and careful analysis of client service pathways is important as the initial step. By looking at how customer support issues are tackled, and judging which questions crop up most often, what needs attention most frequently, which group of buyers are more likely to need help, you can tailor an automated (or semi-automated) system that deals with most situations - hands free.

This leaves you with a small fraction of customer service situations to deal with in person or through hired hands.

No matter which route you choose to go, there are certain basic core-concepts about customer care, rules that cannot be violated or breached.

5 Essentials of Great Customer Service