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Part of running a successful direct sales business is providing great customer support and service. Do your customer know what to do or where to go when they need help? When you have a good customer support system in place, your customers will feel valued, respected, and appreciated. This means they are much more likely to remain your customers. On the other hand, if you don’t have a customer support system then your prospective customers will quite likely go elsewhere to shop. Here is how to provide great customer support in six simple steps!

Step 1. First, choose a customer support system. There are two basic ways to handle creating your customer support system; ticket based or email based. Ticket based involves a software program that not only organized your inquires, it enables many operators the ability to facilitate any troubles or questions. Ticket based does not have to be expensive because there are a few open source software programs available, you can create your own CGI script and generate forms or it may even be included as part of your hosting as mine is.

Your customer support system can also be email or chat based. Email is likely the simplest and most basic form of customer support systems and it uses less bandwidth. Whatever system you choose, here’s how to make sure your customers feel valued and appreciated and continue being customers!

Step 2. Create a customer support page on your website with a list of Frequently Asked Questions. This simple step may eliminate up to 50% of your customer’s questions.

Step 3. Provide a form for your customers to fill out with room for their email address and/or phone number and a separate place for them to post their question.

Step 4. Organize your inquiries so that they are sent to one central location. If you are using a virtual assistant to handle your customer inquiries organize a method of responding and follow up that ensures the customers’ needs are placed first.

Step 5. Always make sure every single customer inquiry is responded to promptly, within 24 business hours, and always by a real person.

Step 6. Create a process of documentation. This way if anything happens and questions come up about how an issue was handled, even if you’re handling it yourself, you will have the records to back you up. When using an email based system make sure to archive your email communications in an organized manner with customer name, date, and detailed response.

In our modern world of online business people shop for ease and convenience, and a lost sale is just a click away, therefore is nothing more important than your customer service and support. Personally I’d also recommend having a toll free number for your customers to call, offering this personal service has been a big boon to my business. What ever you decide, pay attention to the details of your customer support system, ensure everyone is being responded to promptly and considerately, and every communication is documented and tracked to ensure quality management for your direct sales business.

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