Customer Service - Practical Ecommerce

9 Books to Transform Customer Experience

Jean Gazis — Wed, 21 May 2025 14:12:05 +0000

A superior shopping and post-purchase experience may be the best way to retain ecommerce customers.

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Getting Started with AI Customer Support

Gian Maria Gramondi — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 13:24:03 +0000

AI is transforming how ecommerce businesses engage with customers. Success lies in starting small and balancing automation with the human touch.

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KPIs for Ecommerce Customer Service

Samantha Collier — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 12:43:31 +0000

Online consumers increasingly expect fast responses to their inquiries. Here are eight key performance indicators to monitor satisfaction.

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Can ChatGPT Improve Customer Service?

Marcia Kaplan — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 12:31:24 +0000

Cost cuts and employee turnover have taken a toll on customer service. Are conversational AI tools the answer?

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6 Customer Service Examples from Online Retailers

Samantha Collier — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 21:33:07 +0000

Changing consumer expectations and advances in technology provide merchants the opportunity to test customer support options. Many reduce costs while improving shoppers' experiences.

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8 Customer Service Channels for Ecommerce

Samantha Collier — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 11:00:28 +0000

Online customer service ranges from live agents to static FAQs. Here are eight common customer service options with pros and cons of each.

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HelpFlow, a Live Chat Service, Ramps Up

Eric Bandholz — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 13:45:28 +0000

Jon Tucker founded HelpFlow in 2015, providing customer support services to ecommerce brands. He speaks with host Eric Bandholz in this week's podcast episode.

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13 WordPress Plugins for Customer Support

Sig Ueland — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 12:33:57 +0000

Offering support throughout your shoppers’ purchase experience is a good way to ensure their return. If you have a WordPress site, there are a variety of customer-support plugins to help. Here is a list of plugins for customer support on WordPress.

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Policy Pages, Done Well, Enhance a Brand

Pamela Hazelton — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 09:00:08 +0000

Shoppers search an online store's policy pages for details on shipping, returns, and more. Rarely are these vital pages engaging. But they should be.

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Pandemic-driven Shoppers Expect More from Ecommerce

Pamela Hazelton — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 14:25:16 +0000

The pandemic has upped consumers' digital expectations. What was once the exception is now the norm. Telemedicine, online learning, virtual meetings — all have advanced in the past year. Ecommerce stores must evolve, too, in how they engage and interact with shoppers.

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To Sell More, Understand Shoppers’ Motives

Pamela Hazelton — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 13:38:04 +0000

Does your store sell products or experiences? Think about it for a moment because the two are vastly different. And how you approach shoppers' questions and concerns plays a significant role in closing sales. Focus on what shoppers hope to accomplish with particular products.

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10 Essentials for ‘Contact Us’ Forms (and 6 Mistakes to Avoid)

Pamela Hazelton — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 15:16:40 +0000

"Contact Us" forms enable visitors to request information, ask questions, and submit concerns. The forms are important for customer acquisition and retention. Yet most contact forms fail usability tests. In "How to Get More Form Submissions, Even on Checkout Pages," I addressed key points, such as requesting only what you need and explaining why.

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Need Sales in the Pandemic? Boost Customer Service

Pamela Hazelton — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 19:02:43 +0000

As the coronavirus keeps millions of people at home, traffic to online stores continues to increase. According to Statista, even non-essential purchases are shifting online. The keys for businesses are two-fold: encourage sales during the shutdown and retain as many new customers afterward.

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Ecommerce a Crucial Industry in the Pandemic; 7 Ways to Ease the Burden

Pamela Hazelton — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 13:18:06 +0000

Online stores will become increasingly crucial in the coming weeks. What follows are seven measures to keep your ecommerce business afloat and ease the burden of operating with limited resources.

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Using Facebook Messenger Chatbots to Support Live Chat

Pamela Hazelton — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 14:03:58 +0000

Chatbots can help bridge the gap between live chat and self-help support pages. While highly customized automatic chatbots require a large financial investment, there are many ways to affordably integrate more personal conversations.

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Answer 6 Questions on an Ecommerce ‘About’ Page

Pamela Hazelton — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 15:55:34 +0000

Every website needs an “about” page. This is where visitors meet the company and learn why it’s in business. An about page instills trust.
An effective about page is more than ...

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16 Must-have Features for Live Chat Implementation

Pamela Hazelton — Sun, 08 Apr 2018 12:41:29 +0000

Once considered an add-on that made communication easier for the consumer and business, live chat is now a staple for most online stores. That’s because waiting on the phone and ...

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Live Chat Is Best Tool for Conversing with Shoppers

Pamela Hazelton — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 13:02:44 +0000

When it comes to helping shoppers, there is no better tool than live chat. It can increase trust, keep visitors on the website, and close sales. Live chat supersedes conversions ...

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13 Chatbots on Facebook Messenger, for Merchants

Sig Ueland — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 08:00:14 +0000

Since the launch of Facebook’s Messenger platform last April, over 34,000 chatbots have been written, using simulated texting and chat interfaces to interact with users.
Chatbots don’t require users to install ...

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Want to Please Shoppers? Respond Quickly

Pamela Hazelton — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 21:44:17 +0000

In “5 Ways to Draw Shoppers In, and Keep Them,” one of my posts last year, I addressed how you have about eight seconds to get an online shopper’s attention.

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Boost Conversions with SMS Messaging

Pamela Hazelton — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 12:55:00 +0000

Many restaurant chains rely on SMS (text) messaging to entice customers. The text messages typically include a link to a special graphic, accompanied by textual content and a special code.

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10 Live Chat Tools for Ecommerce Merchants

Sig Ueland — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 12:47:34 +0000

A live chat tool can be a good way to provide quick answers and a personalized experience to shoppers.
Here is a list of live chat tools. Many of these tools ...

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Customer Reviews Can Sell Your Products

Pamela Hazelton — Sun, 21 Jun 2015 12:56:29 +0000

There is a benefit to shopping on Amazon: customer reviews. They play a big role in helping consumers choose products. They also help Amazon with closing sales. That’s why Amazon ...

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Eliminate Dead Ends to Grow Ecommerce Conversions

Pamela Hazelton — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:19:04 +0000

When analyzing your ecommerce site, make sure that all pages can act as both a destination and a gateway to what shoppers really want. Dead ends leave shoppers wondering what ...

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10 Brands Using Twitter for Customer Service

Sig Ueland — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:09:33 +0000

In addition to social media marketing, Twitter offers companies an easy way to expand their customer service efforts. Twitter provides shoppers with a simple and immediate tool to get help ...

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10 Tools to Survey your Customers

Sig Ueland — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 10:54:36 +0000

Polls and surveys are a great way to engage your customers and get feedback on your business. Survey your customers to find out what they want more of, or even ...

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Live Chat Can Improve Service, Sales

Armando Roggio — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:16:06 +0000

Live chat can be an effective ecommerce conversion tool, providing customers with answers and help just when they’re making a buying decision, and for support questions.

For example, "Laura" wanted to buy a shirt for her husband, but did not understand how the color and size options wo...

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Be a Customer Service Superhero, Like Ron Burley

Armando Roggio — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 21:23:48 +0000

Customer concerns, complaints, and problems give online merchants an opportunity to build lasting customer relationships and boost word-of-mouth marketing. Providing super customer service can make your business a hero to your customers.

The classic “Adventures of Superman” television ...

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Increasing Conversions by Referring Consumers Elsewhere

Pamela Hazelton — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:40:57 +0000

Zappos.com's customer service is legendary. It's been known to order pizzas for customers, to take special product photos for customers, and to help customers match items and colors. It also refers consumers to competitors when they request products Zappos doesn't carry.

Referring cons...

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The Zappos Effect: 5 Great Customer Service Ideas for Smaller Businesses

Armando Roggio — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:47:40 +0000

Zappos, the online retailer, has used incredible customer service to create an extremely loyal customer base. Small ecommerce businesses that want to grow would be wise to take a lesson from Zappos.

As an example of Zappos' almost insane customer care, the company has even been known t...

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