Using Instant Messaging for E-commerce Customer Service

Often, customers shopping online need to ask one or two questions about a product immediately. As an  owner, you must have encountered questions left on your website by customers looking to make a purchase. The issue now is when did you see their question, and how quickly could you provide them with an answer?

Although you might have a section on your website for questions, the problem lies in the reply speed. Most customers need an answer right away. Unless you’re working with a big team to run your store, getting these answers to the customers on time will seem impossible. This could result in lost sales and further annoy the customer, which might not make them visit your store again. However, there is a better way to engage your customers with customer support that won’t result in delays.

The easiest and most effective way to improve customer service is to use instant messaging platforms to talk to your customers. Instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, Telegram, Instagram, etc. are very common and are what almost every person uses.

Statistics show that millions of people worldwide use these apps in their daily lives. This article explains the benefits of using instant messaging platforms. You can see why it would be wise to take this approach.

Secure way of communicating 

Instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and so on have end-to-end encryption. This means the conversation between you and the customer is secure. That assures customers that they are talking to a real person and will erase any suspicion of a scam. This will also make the customer feel at ease talking to you as it’s a messaging app they are already used to.

Access to Tools Like Voice & Video Calls

By using instant messaging for your customer service, you’ll be able to use tools such as voice and video calls. This allows you to call the customers and ask them questions about your store. 

You can also decide to include video in your calls with customers. This feature makes your customers feel comfortable with you and your store. This is because they know they can easily call you up if there is an issue when interacting with your store.

Eliminates delay and wasting of customers’ time

It’s a pain when customers need to ask a question about a product, and they have to leave the chat box open to prevent losing their chat history. Using instant messaging platforms eliminates this issue. Since they can leave messages for you while still going about doing their daily activities, they don’t have to remain on your websites.

It is free to use for all customers

All customers can reach out to you anywhere in the world without any extra charge. Since they already use these apps, they don’t need to make payments before contacting you. That’s why instant messaging should be the number one go-to option for online stores. This is quite important for small or medium-sized store owners who don’t have huge budgets for customer service.

It offers a platform for marketing and advertising

Instant messaging apps offer store owners multiple ways of advertising their products. Many of these instant messaging apps allow you to send messages, pictures, or video content to a large audience at once. This allows you to spread the word fast regarding your new and existing products to your customers.

Conclusion

In this digital age, instant messaging is a tool you must include in your e-commerce store for better customer service. This is because it not only significantly speeds your customer service but is also very easy to use. Try to integrate instant messaging for your customer service team and improve your customer experience.

(Contributed by Oluwafemi Adedeji & Hermes Fang)