What is one tip for personalizing customer service through online communications like live chat or email?
To help you personalize customer service communications online, we asked marketing and business professionals this question for their insights. From ditching the script to asking for customer preferences, here are several ideas you can use to personalize your customer service approach online with live chat or email, etc.
Here are 10 tips for personalizing customer service online:
- Review Communication Multiple Times
- Keep Customer-Service Human
- Ditch the Script
- Use Proper Profile Pictures
- Use the Customer’s Name
- Be Empathetic
- Ask for Customer’s Preference
- Install Pre-Chat Features
- Create a Community
- Remember the Small Details
Review Communication Multiple Times
I always re-read my responses a few different times to tweak the language. First, do a brain dump, put everything down that you want to tell the customer. Then, go through the first review and re-organize and re-phrase what makes sense. Then, go through a third time to help create the tone you want to convey. Try to make sure there aren’t parts that could be misconstrued or taken the wrong way. My personal favorite thing to do is add a smiley face or an emoji if the topic isn’t a happy one, just to show that you care!
McKenzie Nelson, Markitors
Keep Customer Service Human
In a nutshell, you can’t offer a personalized service with an automated solution. Customers will see through your auto-generated email and AI chatbot responses and go elsewhere. Respond as a person. Ask questions, listen, and be upfront about your capabilities. I’m a big proponent of the three T’s — transparency, timeframes, and trust. If you can’t be transparent about what you can do or even offer a clear timeframe for resolving an issue, you can’t build trust.
Benjamin Graham, AnswerConnect
Ditch the Script
Give agents autonomy over navigating the conversation rather than having them use a script. This allows them to sound more genuine and makes it easier to connect with customers. Not only will customers feel important, but agents will also have the opportunity to learn about customer preferences so they can make recommendations to other products based on that information.
Tim Sharif, 310 Nutrition
Use Proper Profile Pictures
One tip for personalizing customer service through online communication like live chat and email is to use a proper profile picture. It sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how many people don’t have an up-to-date profile photo on their email or live chat. On top of this, you need to speak to the customer directly. Being authentic can get you a long way to earn the customer’s trust and develop a long-lasting relationship.
Jason Butcher, CoinPayments
Use the Customer’s Name
Using the customer’s name is an important part of personalized customer service through online communications. Emails should open with the customer’s name in the body of the email. When communicating via live chat, ask for the customer’s name before asking any follow-up questions.
Adrian Cole, HIDE
Be Empathetic
In my business, potential clients often contact several competitors and deal with layers of customer service agents. Wait times and confronting gatekeepers are the bane of every consumer’s existence. Address this head-on in live chat and email communications in the first or second sentence with the caveat that you are ready to provide a comprehensive solution and be by the consumer’s side until they’ve been fully served.
Justin Wolfe, Wolfe Law Group, LLC
Ask for the Customer’s Preference
A simple but effective way to personalize customer interaction is to ask for their preferences. Not all customers have the same preferences and that’s why customer representatives must ask how customers want the interaction to flow. As a result, customers can enjoy a more personalized experience since the company interacts with the customer’s wants incorporated. In contrast, you risk decreasing the quality of their experience when you only assume their preferences. Not only will this make the interaction inefficient, but you also risk annoying customers.
Johannes Larsson, Financer.com
Install Pre-Chat Features
Install pre-chat survey features to send customers to the correct representative with the appropriate expertise based on customer’s concerns. Pre-chat surveys automatically segregate customers according to their concerns, sending them to the correct people to help them with their issues. The pre-chat survey serves as the “receptionist” in this scenario.
Assigning humans as the online receptionist can decrease customer experience, especially if there’s a long queue. However, live chats with pre-survey features don’t share the same problem because the software automates the segmentation process. As a result, customers enjoy a personalized experience without waiting in long lines, making their entire experience smoother and more satisfactory.
Nunzio Ross, Majesty Coffee
Create a Community
Sometimes improving customer satisfaction often stems from having a strong community rather than the product or service itself. People want to join your community if they see the value in it, so you need to offer a much better experience than they may already be used to. Additionally, the wealth of feedback generated by a community of engaged customers feeds directly into making a better product.
As we’ve implemented this within our company, we’ve resulted in overall happier customers and happier employees. Having a space dedicated to your current customers lets them know that they’re still at the top of your mind even after a deal is closed, and that encourages them to choose you time and time again.
Connor MacDonald, Ridge
Remember the Small Details
When trying to find unique ways to personalize customer communications online, always familiarize yourself with the customer’s service or order history. In this way, while also addressing questions they may have or helping them place another order, you can also ask them how they liked the last product or if the service they signed up for is offering them the advantages for which they’d hoped. This can create a personal touch and make a customer feel like more than just the next call in the queue — or a number amongst many others.
Dylan Fox, AssemblyAI
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