1. Link to your Help feature at the bottom of the page.
Show help at the bottom of your page. Since consumers also look forward to finding them there, I suggest you carry out the same in your company’s online store. As seen from the above picture Asos does not give the ability to access help on the bottom of the page, making it difficult for customers to get help.
2. Build one central Help feature that the customer can easily navigate
To make it simple for consumers to receive assistance in your online store, I would suggest you design one key help feature that the consumer could navigate, such as the one at Amazon. In case the consumer taps the “Help” link, she is taken to a new page wherein she’ll receive assistance on returning items, delivery prices, and so on.
3. Personalize the Help feature if the customer is logged in so that she can easily learn how to return items, etc
As I am logged in in this case, Amazon understands and welcomes me using a “Recommended for you” text. In this way, Amazon offers existing consumers with tailored as well as direct links to return the products they’ve ordered, etc. Consumers who don’t have an account, alternatively, are given a very generic help function.
4. Develop step-by-step guides that help the customer returns items, etc.
In case the consumer taps a link to a primary topic, like “Returns & Refunds,” she’s sent to a “Returns & Refunds” page wherein she’ll get additional kinds of support. For example, in case she taps the “Return Items You Ordered” link, she is offered a step-by-step guide on ways to do so.
5. Allow the customer to search for help
Many shoppers don’t want to waste time navigating a help function to get answers. They’d rather speak to customer support over the phone or send an e-mail. To prevent Customer Support calls and e-mails nevertheless, you’ll be able to encourage the consumer to search for help by placing a Help search box at the top of your store’s Help page.
Amazon offers such a search box; however, they display it towards the bottom of the Help page, which I don’t recommend as it’s not so visible there.
This exact area is where ASOS shows the Help search field (at the very top of the page) so that it is a lot more apparent. As many consumers want to receive immediate help rather than waiting for an e-mail reply or wait in line for customer support associates, this type of Help search box will not only assist you to save money but also increase customer happiness.
6. Insert a type-ahead feature in the Help search box, which assists the customer avoid typos and to get help quickly
As roughly 10% to 20% of all searches consist of typos, you need to help your consumers spell whenever they enter a search string in the Help search box.
Amazon doesn’t do this; therefore, a consumer has to look through 275 Search results before seeking the help needed. To make this more straightforward for the consumer, Amazon can insert a type-ahead feature, that helps the consumer swiftly find support with no need to look through a search results list.
7. Allow customers to rate your Help pages
As it requires time as well as money to maintain a useful Help feature, it is an excellent idea to make your consumers rate each response to make sure the answers offered are good enough.
In the ASOS web store, the client will be able to rate every answer on a scale of one to five stars.
8. Give customers—with and without an account—the possibility to call your customer service department directly.
Some consumers don’t make an effort searching or navigating for help; they wish to talk to customer support directly. In Amazon’s store, only consumers who’ve shopped with them (and made a purchase) or consumers who create an account will be able to contact customer support, which many think of as a “closed door”.
At ASOS on the other hand, it is simpler to get in touch with customer support swiftly by clicking the “Contact us” link at the bottom of the page.
Even though Wayfair is a leading organization and therefore, definitely gets several consumer queries from consumers who’ve not shopped with them before, they’ve chosen to carry out this “open-door policy,” and I recommend you need to do the same in your online store.
For the majority of organizations, it’s also a great idea to display a consumer service contact number on this page, since consumers typically call you with queries which help them determine if they wish to place an order in your online store or not.
For that reason, it is an excellent idea to coach your customer support associates not “only” to offer exceptional customer support but also to be competent salespeople.
If a consumer is logged in at Amazon, however, a consumer will be able to reach customer support directly using phone or e-mail:
Although it is good that they have some sort of customer service direct line it would be ideal if they had a direct connection line, even if the customer is not logged in their account.
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