There is large degree of finesse required when communicating with customers online. Unfortunately, people online tend to be a bit more rude and lack the tact that they may display in an in-person interaction. Because of this, it is important to master the art of online customer service and communicate in a polite and respectful manner. It is important to be aware that online communication is a lot different than speaking to customers in person, and treating it exactly the same may make you come off negatively to these your online customer base. With that in mind, here are the best ways to communicate with customers online in order to provide the best outcomes with your customer service efforts.
Mind Your Manners
Before anything, you need to be polite and respectful toward customers even if they don’t show your team the same level of respect. You should address them by name, and try to be helpful – especially if their problem is a miscommunication or is easily resolvable. Because customers tend to be more heated and rude online, these manners will go a long way, and wishing them a good day and proactively asking how you can help them will go a long way. By keeping in mind that even rude customers are still human, you will be able to better solve their problems and help them understand where your business is coming from as well in their interactions with you.
Avoid Any Jargon
One of the biggest things to avoid is using any sort of jargon with your customers. While you may have a knowledge customers that appreciates your use of industry jargon, you can only know this after you feel it out. Don’t go in expecting all customers to know exactly what you are talking about at all times, especially if you are solving an issue for them that is causing them immense frustration.
Instead of using jargon, what you should do is try to manage and personalize your customer relationships as much as possible. This can be done using a customer relationship management software (CRM), which can make a huge difference when it comes to avoiding jargon and increasingly personalization. But what is a CRM? A CRM is simply a software that allows you to store and track customer information. You can use this to do things like send birthday discounts, proactively follow-up on any customer service issues, or otherwise log the lifetime of your customers so that you can better serve others in the future.
Project a Positive Attitude
Coming across positively online is not the easiest of tasks. Something as simple as using a period can be interpreted as being aggressive online – and you want to avoid coming off as aggressive if at all possible. As such, you need to be very careful with the type of language you use and always assume that the way you write can come off negatively to the customer. To avoid this, try to exude as much positivity as possible while also being firm when needed. This kind but firm approach will help you in your business dealing and will help you to avoid any negative connotations that may be misinterpreted. You always want to make sure that you can provide solutions without exacerbating the problem – and positivity in your interactions with customers goes a long way in doing so.
