Staying competitive in the field of ecommerce is challenging. Whether you manufacture and produce automotive accessories, import and distribute designer fashion wear, or even have a website for your retail store, if you are selling online, you are competing with millions of other ecommerce sites. To gain a competitive advantage, you should make it your goal to provide superior proactive customer service.

Customer service is a must-have for ecommerce businesses, good customer service can be the difference between being profitable and struggling to pay the bills. Good customer service creates a superior customer experience which will lead to sales growth and profitability. The best way to provide a great experience is to practice proactive customer service.

What is Proactive Customer Service? 

Proactive customer service means that you make the first move, providing customers with recommendations, support, and solutions before they contact you. Reaching out to a customer to inform them of services, products, or issues before they are aware of them will have a beneficial impact on the customer and will create a sense of trust between your brand and the customer. 89% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience.

Ecommerce technology makes it possible to provide proactive customer support directly via your website through messaging agents or indirectly via self-service resources such as an FAQ page or tracking pages for orders. Consumers expect every online retailer to provide these resources but will be pleasantly surprised if you reach out to them first to provide excellent customer service. 

What is an Example of Proactive Customer Service?

There are many ways to practice proactive customer service and generate a positive experience. Here are just a few examples:

• Reach out to your customer via a live chat widget while they are shopping and walk them through the purchase process
• Provide product recommendations based on specific customer actions
• Provide product recommendations during the post-purchase process
• Offer customers a place where they can easily find answers to common questions
• Notify your customer when there is a delivery exception and let them know that you are sending them a replacement or a refund

When you can detect issues early or anticipate what a customer wants before they are even aware of it, you are giving your customers a reason to trust your brand and increase repeat sales. By comparison, reactive customer service will only be perceived as business as usual.

What is Reactive Customer Service?

The opposite of proactive customer service is passive or reactive customer service. Reactive customer service happens when the customer reaches out to your customer representatives about an issue, and they try to resolve the problem. A straightforward way to understand the difference is knowing who makes the first move. Proactive service means you initiate contact while reactive service means the customer must reach out to you first.

Why You Should Practice Proactive Customer Service

According to a Zendesk study, 48% of customers say the pandemic has raised their customer service standards. This means that a more proactive approach to solving your customer service issues that exceeds customer expectations is exactly what today’s consumers are looking for.

Proactive customer service practices will make a great first impression on first time buyers and delight returning customers. It will increase customer satisfaction and build trust between your customers and your brands. Fostering a reputation as a company with excellent customer service will result in more loyal customers, increasing the lifetime value of shoppers and reducing acquisition costs.

 Create A Proactive Customer Service Experience with WISMOlabs 

The WISMOlabs post purchase platform lets you analyze customer patterns and create product recommendations to customers based on customer insights. It also allows you to send out notifications to customers when there is a delivery issue as soon as it occurs and resolve any customer service issues proactively. The customizable branded tracking page that WISMOlabs easily integrates with your ecommerce platform also provides real time delivery notifications and realistic delivery estimates so your customers do not need to call your customer service department for order status updates. Reducing WISMO (Where is My Order) calls is a guaranteed way to reduce costs and increase profits.

Contact WISMOlabs today for a free product demonstration and to learn how to create a proactive customer service experience for your customers.