AskIt.com Offers 10 Tips (+ One) To The Tops In Online Customer Service

These tips have been provided by AskIt.com

If you're doing business online, your nearest competitors are only a click away. So it's crucial to consistently deliver what a customer wants, including quick, relevant answers to customer service questions.

Since 80% of the questions handled by live customer service representatives in an online environment are routine, automated response to these frequently asked questions makes a lot of sense. That frees your online experts to handle more complicated problems. Smart companies are redesigning their Web sites and introducing high quality online customer service tools to improve the speed and quality of their responses while reducing their own costs.

1) Start today.
Procrastination costs you profit opportunities because today's customers are your best source of future profits. It's the old 80/20 rule. If 20% of your customers produce 80% of your sales, take steps today to keep those best customers happy and loyal.

2) Measure what matters to your business.
Are you focusing on acquiring customers, increasing dollar amount per sale, reducing returns? Do customers require detailed assistance, or will a quick answer suffice? If your customer service is online, do you direct routine questions to an automated response system so your experts can provide personalized answers to tougher questions?

3) Ask for feedback at every customer contact.
You gain fresh feedback from customers as you post sales, handle inquiries or close trouble tickets. Good news or bad, you want to know what your customers think of you.

4) Treat customers with respect.
Don't irritate customers by asking them for information you already have about them. If the information is in your database, it can be tied to customer service contacts and survey responses for analysis and reporting. Personalized e-mails also raise response rates.

5) Respect customers' time.
Customers hate long waits on hold or long waits for an answer to en e-mail query. A quick accurate response builds customer loyalty.

6) Use what you learn.
Track customer queries and analyze the feedback you collect. Look for relationships, monitor trends, and share what you learn with customer service managers and agents.

7) Capitalize on trends.
If you spot trends early, you can take advantage of new opportunities as they develop or resolve customer difficulties before a small problem becomes a big one. Market research consultants can help you see hidden patterns, and point out where increasing responsiveness by X% can help you increase revenues by Y%.

8) Benchmark your performance.
Who provides the best customer service in your industry? How do you measure up? And how can you improve?

9) Experiment for improvement.
Don't be afraid of trial and error. Celebrate improvements. Continuous, real-time feedback keeps you on track.

10) Reward Results.
Recognize superior performance by customer service staff. Tie rewards and recognition to results.

11) Be willing to invest.
Good people and good technology are critical. Be prepared to invest funds and energy to ensure first-rate customer service.

About AskIt.com
AskIt.com, www.askit.com, is the first company providing affordable outsourced online customer service and support solutions targeted specifically to organizations seeking an easy to use and rapid to deploy solution for their Web sites or intranets. AskIt.com is backed by investors including internet.com Venture Partners III, part of the affiliated venture capital arm of internet.com Corporation (NASDAQ: INTM), Advanta Growth Capital Fund L.P., venture capital affiliate of Advanta Corporation(www.advanta.com) (NASDAQ: ADVNA, ADVNB), and Gabelli Group Capital Partners, Inc.

AskIt's solution allows companies to cost-effectively: reduce inbound emails and customer support costs up to 80%; increase customer service levels by offering 24x7 automated support; and, gain valuable insight into their businesses. AskIt's functionality includes: self-help; inbound and outbound email management tools; and, integration with live-chat. AskIt.com customers include: Dean & Deluca, ritzcamera.com, Boater's World, The American Society for Association Executives, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the New York New Media Association, BabyUniverse.com, and ActionGear.com. AskIt.com is a privately held company and is headquartered in New York.

For additional information, contact info@askit.com or call (212)414.9590.