As an ecommerce brand, it’s important to be responsive to your customers – especially when they need help with a problem. Reducing the number of support requests you get in the first instance can help you allocate more time to the support tickets that do come through.
It’s worth investing a little time and effort into this process. The key is to be well-prepared to help your customers when the need arises, but also deliver an experience that side-steps the need for them to actively reach out wherever possible.
Here are six ways to reduce Shopify customer support requests for your ecommerce store.
1. Better Product Pages
We often associate support requests with post-purchase communication. But some support requests will come ahead of any conversion being made (and failing to help resolve these can cost you sales!). Make sure that you’re giving clear and accurate information on your product pages. Product descriptions should be crafted carefully, keeping SEO (to ensure you’re bringing in well-suited customers in the first instance) and good old fashioned readability in mind.
When combined with clear product photography, your product pages should leave customers in no doubt about the suitability and functionality of the item they’re considering. By investing time and resources into creating well structured and well populated product pages, you can significantly reduce the amount of enquiries your support team receive – and pave the way for more streamlined, confident conversions.
2. Improved Order Fulfillment
Receiving a wrong or incomplete order is a frustrating experience for a customer – and puts your business at a financial disadvantage. Not only do you have to deal with additional support requests, you’ll also need to cover the costs of fixing the mistake, eroding the trust of your customers and putting your brand at risk of missing out on future business. Having a rock solid fulfillment process in place is the best way to guard against these costly errors.
Working with a solution like Orderly Print enables you to batch process orders in bulk, bringing efficiency without sacrificing accuracy. The app also allows you to generate helpful picking lists, so your fulfillment staff can stay coordinated as they work to get orders flying out to waiting customers.
3. Attributed Customer Reviews
Another great way to ensure your customers are getting their hands on a product that’s perfect for them (which reduces returns requests and additional support enquiries) is to set up a reviewing system that allows existing customers to give feedback that’s rooted in the context of their own experience.
If you sell hair care products, for example, make sure that reviewers can give their opinions alongside information such as their hair type, color and length. This helps potential customers to get a good idea of the product’s suitability, reducing the questions you’ll have to answer.
4. Preempting Common Requests
One of the best ways to reduce customer support requests is to preempt your customers’ requirements. Give them what they need before they need to ask. It’s a simple fix but something as quick and easy as automating your digital invoice delivery (a function Shopify doesn’t provide natively) can slash your support tickets dramatically, and deliver a better experience for your customers.
Order Printer Pro enables you to create beautifully customized Shopify invoices in minutes, and then automatically deliver them to customers, reducing your support burden.
5. Helpful Order Paperwork
Beneficial paperwork doesn’t all have to be digital – you can also reduce your customer support requests by thinking about the forms that get packed inside your orders.
By including packing slips that state the specifics of an order and return slips that clearly outline the process for returning an item to your store, you can answer questions before they’re even asked, ensuring your customer feels empowered to help themselves find solutions.
6. Regularly Refining Your Process
Finally, perhaps the best and most effective way to reduce your Shopify customer support requests is to listen to the snags your customers are mostly commonly experiencing – and act to eliminate them. Taking a proactive approach, rather than reacting whenever an issue arises, means you can quickly identify the issues that exist within your workflows, fulfillment processes or products.
When you start to monitor and categorize your support requests, you can allocate resources to fixing recurring problems at source. The secret to lasting success here lies in ensuring your support team feels able to draw attention to common problems as they hear about them first hand from your customers.
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