Customer service when you're not that big

[smalltown]

I have an ecommerce store, purely dropshipping -- I don't warehouse. It only makes about 4-5K in sales a month right now but I expect that to rise. The problem of course is dribs and drabs of customer support issues coming in throughout the day that significantly cut into my marketing and content work.

It isn't enough to hire a regular employee, and hiring someone really remote seems tricky since they would have to communicate with my dropshippers on some issues, and return calls (Unless I shut off my 800 number and force people to live chat or email, which seems ... unfriendly). So that probably cuts out India. ;)

I'm sure this is a very common issue and I'd love to know how other people approach it ...

[brian.mark]

I'd expect that most e-businesses start out losing money covering payroll. We did for years, until it got to the point we hit some critical mass and started gaining customers continually.

If you don't have the budget, it's going to be tough to ever get to that point, and turning away people by shutting off the toll-free number won't help you get there.

Getting to the point you can hire someone is going to be a lot of work. You'll be putting in long hours. I speak from experience - it's not much fun. But if you stick it out, it should get better. It's just a ton of work getting there.

Brian.

[jestep]

If there are specific area of your business that are creating problems, try to address that area better.

Also, making things like ticketing systems, inclusive faq pages, automated help systems, and other areas with major information can greatly reduce the number of service calls you get. You dont want to alienate your visitors by not allowing them to contact you, but many people would rather not call anyway.

[brian.mark]

Excellent points, jestep.

One thing I've seen used quite a bit lately that seems to work is a blog where all email questions (that aren't specific to one order) get posted along with the answer. If you make it searchable on your site and SE friendly for outside engines, then it can help a lot of people and actually drive traffic.

Brian.

[vwebworld]

You can add "live chat" customer service which will,
when you are not online, change to an email/problem ticket
function. There are a variety of such programs available.

My hosting includes a free one... which I've
installed and set up for a couple of web clients.

Customer service is a critical part of a successful
bricks and mortar or online business. So, attention does need to be provided. If your time is an issue,
maybe there are other things you are doing that can be
performed by others (outsourced)?

~Roland

[Orion]

Maybe outsource the Marketing and/or Content work. That can help you get your volume up until you're able to pay someone else to do the customer service, and you can focus more on the parts of your business you like the best.

It's extremely frustrating when you're on that edge of needing another person or not. It's going from self employed to owning a business (heard that at a workshop once, it's sooo true).

I'm at a similar point myself, I need to find someone that's can help me out here and there part time, and can do almost all the stuff I can, and some that I can't.

[pemburung]

smalltown, for most very small businesses, customer service is survival. Good comments further up this string as well, but as Roland said, you may want to hire someone part-time for non-customer contact stuff, freeing up time for those calls. In the end, you're the only person who really cares about the customer - staff care about their pay-checks, and the connection between these is tenuous for many workers. But first see if there's a common thread to any of the calls, or parts of them, and get rid of the need for them to inquire. I'm sure there's a bunch of things everyone asks, and so post that on the site in an obvious place. If you talk to customers at time of purchase, ask them then if they have any questions, or answer those common queries without them asking. Answer all the common and even some of the less common questions in your order confirmed email. Lastly, sporadic calls through the day takes up more time than in one concentrated period. Try posting an shorter inquiries hours window: "If after looking over our FAQs you have a question or comment, we are happy to answer blah blah blah. We look forward to serving you on our customer assistance line between 11am and 2pm CT." Or some similar time that reflects a reasonable range for the number of inquiries, and preferably when you can be doing something else - like eating lunch, that doesn't take away from concentration time. Stopping and re-starting to answer a phone call (or an email) jobs takes up a lot of time. When restricting access, make it sound positive, not negative. So phrases such as "we look forward to answering your queries" or, "to better serve you by ensuring your question can be answered promptly by a knowledgeable person, please call between..."

Good luck.

[brander]

Hi All,

good comments all so far...

Gleaning the wisdom of the other people who posted here:

Find the common threads of the primary problems. Possibly there is only one or two sources of the overall problem. Once identified the problem source can be dealt with.

Second, outsourcing solutions. There are myriad individuals who do virtual assistance for all types of business. And who can handle all sorts of problems. And who will only charge for the time they take to do it.

Admittedly, there is a time factor involved in finding the right virtual assistant. There are a few factors that need to be addressed. For instance, how familiar is the virtual assistant with your business processes, customer base, and product line?

On the edge of having to hire someone is a good place to be. It means that you are succeeding. It also means that if you sincerely want your business to go to the next level, you will have to take a risk. The risk that you may be creating more problems by hiring someone than you are solving.

In the long run, having employees is a good thing for everyone. People get work. You get to expand and focus on what you really enjoy about your business.

One thing is certain, few if any businesses survive without excellent customer service and retention strategies. Remember it costs more to acquire a new customer then it does to increase the value of existing customers. Don't skimp on providing a level of service that will set your online store apart from all your competitors. Or else your customers will find your competitors and buy from them instead.

[LinksAndTraffic]

Originally Posted by smalltown

I have an ecommerce store, purely dropshipping -- I don't warehouse. It only makes about 4-5K in sales a month right now but I expect that to rise. The problem of course is dribs and drabs of customer support issues coming in throughout the day that significantly cut into my marketing and content work.

It isn't enough to hire a regular employee, and hiring someone really remote seems tricky since they would have to communicate with my dropshippers on some issues, and return calls (Unless I shut off my 800 number and force people to live chat or email, which seems ... unfriendly). So that probably cuts out India. ;)

I'm sure this is a very common issue and I'd love to know how other people approach it ...

I recently discovered a company that can help you with this issue: http://www.successfuloffice.com/

They are American based, and they will assign specific people to handle your account. Those people will deal with whatever issues you might need to have handled.

It really is a neat operation, but don't let me tell you about it. Instead, take a look at what they have to say for themselves.

[smalltown]

Wow! Somehow I missed the email notifications of new replies to this topic. Glad I stopped back in, because there are some good ones!

This is becoming no less of a problem, so I appreciate the variety of responses here. Thanks again.

[deepsand]

[quote="smalltown"]Wow! Somehow I missed the email notifications of new replies to this topic. Glad I stopped back in, because there are some good ones!

<snip>quote]

No, you didn't miss the e-mails; they missed you.

The e-mail re. this post of yours is the 1st that I've received!

[chris-321]

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[offshore_ecommerce]

You have already got grt responses, but i'd like to add my personal opinion

No business can survive without serving their customers. Handling frustrated customer requires different strategic approach. Two Solutions i'd suggest you

LIVE chat, Email, Telephone support are the best ways to handle your frustrated customers. But the issue here is. Who is going to communicate with your customer? No other go, you have to hire someone to respond to your customer. Hire a part time customer service executive in-house. There problems are associated with in-house souring like Set-up cost, Training etc

Second Option would be Outsourcing not just outsource to somewhere nearby, offshore outsourcing is another method to vanish your problem. There are ppl who can take your work and also open to learn your business model to deliver the right solution. There are companies who work with FTE based billing (Full time employee) you can ask them to supply a virtual employee based on Half FTE which is something like hiring a part time Offshore Employee. Offshore outsourcing will give many strategic advantages like decrease in infrastructure cost, quick turn-around time, multi-tasking man power etc

[Rich Dad]

Once you decided what way to go let us know! Its always good to hear how things went good or bad.

Domain Forums

[skincareguy]

my two cents here. great comments before me. with 100k customers under my belt, customer service is my #1 priority. a customer scorned is a dangerous situation for your business. in my case I have about a 40% repeat business rate. let me say that another way.....40% of my business comes to me FREE of advertising costs. Bad customer service would decrease that number, directly effecting my bottom line. We all feel the pain of time constraints when we are building our business, but this is one area to really handle well. A pissed off customer not only will never return, but will likely cause hundreds of people to avoid you as well.

Good luck!

[cw1865]

Originally Posted by smalltown

I have an ecommerce store, purely dropshipping -- I don't warehouse. It only makes about 4-5K in sales a month right now but I expect that to rise. The problem of course is dribs and drabs of customer support issues coming in throughout the day that significantly cut into my marketing and content work.

It isn't enough to hire a regular employee, and hiring someone really remote seems tricky since they would have to communicate with my dropshippers on some issues, and return calls (Unless I shut off my 800 number and force people to live chat or email, which seems ... unfriendly). So that probably cuts out India.

I'm sure this is a very common issue and I'd love to know how other people approach it ...

Before I got 'big' (I now have ten people), I was in the exact same position, selling small amounts and hoping for more WHILE working full-time. At the time I did this:
1. If I could not answer the phone I would forward the toll free number to an answering service (there are many out there)
2. All e-mails would hit my Sidekick, receipts, tracking information, etc. including notifcations from the answering service that a customer had called.
3. If I could answer, the toll free would be forwarded to me and I would answer it directly and handle the inquiry.

The system works really well. At the end of the day ANSWER THE CALLS!

[rei12]

Have you considered a web Live Chat solution? Actually, now you may have this chat on modile dvices, even on mobile phone. We have been using it for a while, it helps

[sarkipedia]

Yes most e-businesses start out losing money covering payroll, we have to take care better

[myvasco]

Hello,

A few months ago I read:
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
by Timothy Ferriss

Yes, the title is catchy, his tips are not so sky-rocketing, but it is definitely a nice read, and helps you to prioritze, where you are heading too.
Accompanying the book he runs a website and a blog. What he is recommending is delegating, offshoring lots of service.

There are things I would never ever recommend to the shop owners we consult, but thinking of how radical one can delegate work usually helps. And gives us a start to get through the bulk.