10 Customer Service Rules for Web Professionals


Today we’re going to talk about ten customer service rules for web professionals.

10 customer service Rules

But why rules, nobody likes rules right? Our rules are here to really help you with your business and help you grow because not every web professional follow these rules and if you do you really set yourself apart.

Rule 1: Respond To Your Customers Emails

This is to respond to your customers emails within 24 hours, now why do you think that is just so important for these web professionals? Because it is an indication of your customer service. The longer you make that customer wait the longer their problem is not resolved and the longer that they’re thinking about leaving you and going to someone else.

You know what you can do too because I know when you hear that 24 hours I need to respond I’m doing a million things right. A great remedy is to have a reply email that automatically sends out to your customers when they email you, just letting them know like “hey we’re in the process of helping you out”.

And I used to have freelance and do all these things and my clients expected something almost immediately and some of those tasks took a lot longer than the 24 hours to resolve, so giving them that little bit of follow-up of “hey I’ve heard you, I’ve got your request it’s on my mind I haven’t forgotten about you“. So this is like a perfect segue into customer service.

Rule 2: Update Customer

Update that customer on where you’re at with the product where the status is, so they just know and can expect how long until they get that resolved, or their questions answered.

It’s super important I know a lot of Graphic Designers or Web Designers or just a lot of Project Management People use tools like Trello or Asana to kind of keep track of where they’re at with that project. I know a lot of them actually have that visible to the client and their customers so that way they can see where they’re at on the journey, and they can add their comments and questions or just post as those general updates.

Because they want to know that you’re actually working on it and you’re top of mind that actually reminds me I recently we ordered a few bathing suits from new company California-based brand and I was really nervous about when they would arrive because I needed it just in time for pool-party. I was going to and what made me feel at ease was the update at any time, I could see where my order was even down to where the truck was going to drop it off at which FedEx that I could pick them up.

So it would put me at ease that hey I’m gonna get this bathing suit in time for beach goth party which hence the nails and you can reverse engineer that with your own business have your own shipping tracker, but for your projects or your updates or whatever that looks like for you.

Rule 3: Email Again To Your Customers

It’s all about email again, so specify the next steps that your customer or client has to take, don’t put it in the middle of your giant paragraph break these up what I like to do when communicating with clients is. I’ll have just the general info and everything we’re talking about and then kinda at the very end so they actually look at it right things I need from you.

And it’s very bolded bold, we don’t want that to be missed so just have those next steps, those actions that they have to take so they’re not forgotten so you don’t want to be a week or two later like hey I sent you that email where you at like I need that stuff to move forward and they go what are you talking about.

Rule 4: Shorter The Email Is Better

It’s more likely that the customer or the client is actually gonna read it in its entirety and also keep in mind subject lines what’s gonna get that customer to open your email in the first place right, and go ahead and look at your inbox right now, and see kind of look at some of the emails that you’ve received which ones that you would actually look at like clear, or which one would you just skim and pass over we are the ones that are those good examples in your inbox.

They have headlines their email paragraphs are short and sweet they maybe have some images or links that have to click on keep it that short and sweet and make it easy for your client to take those.

Rule 5: customer service

It’s one that I’m guilty of literally every day it’s not to answer emails or calls when you’re just not in a good place to take them, you can be with your family or at a baseball game or skateboarding and you get a call from a client or from someone you work with and your first instinct is to answer that phone call.

It’s sometimes just not a good idea, I don’t have the most intelligent responses when I’m not in work mode. I have to be in work mode to actually get good stuff done right, but also goes back to what we spend a lot of time talking about work-life balance.

When you’re at that your kids baseball game being your kids baseball game and when you’re deciding “hey I’m done with work for the day be done with work for the day”, it’ll actually help you to have a longer career and also a business without getting burnt out so definitely keep it separated.

Rule 6: Don’t Respond To angry emails

When you think about responding don’t be mealy, honestly what helps me a lot and even in your personal life if you’re feeling a little disgruntled about something write it out make a draft, and then walk away go do something else for a little more press send, give it some time to air outlet it breathes to keep.

But don’t respond in a way to an angry email and I know you’re thinking back like you have that one client that one customer that just sent you that email pretty recently how did you respond did you give it that second, or did you just fire off that quick email and that what you probably shouldn’t have.

Rule 7: Offer Some Type Of Support Or Maintenance For Your Clients Or Customers

If you build websites you can offer like website maintenance plans we update plugins, do random service requests.

If you’re a Graphic Designer maybe adjust logos, create a brand, content social media, whatever that looks like because most of the time if we don’t do that’s just one client, and do we offer that ongoing maintenance that’s a client forever you’re getting that recurring revenue helping grow your business and we all like a business right, we all like making money.

Rule 8: Ability For Your Customers

To have the ability for your customers to schedule a call with you don’t rely solely on email, and I know I get emails sometimes and it’s hard to know the tone and how is that person yelling at me. And my friends are not friends just unfriend me.

I can’t tell so avoid that confusion and have that ability there are some online scheduling opportunities out there as well. So it makes it really easy for the customer to schedule in your calendar, give you a little 15-minute call, here ten minutes whatever you need I like a good thirty-minute call to really hash things out but again you don’t want to just rely on email for this.

To boost that customer service and give your customers the ability to schedule a call with you in a protip. I know your time is so valuable if you want to make that scheduled call a premium service you have every right to do, so is a 15 or 30-minute conversation cost money or is it free it’s up to you to decide, but it’s a potential way to increase your dollar bills.

Rule 9: To Take The Blow From The Blame

I know you’ll end up getting that angry email they’ll say you were wrong, you did this, you did that and what we don’t want to do is when going back to that fire off the angry email. And we don’t want to place the blame on them or just fire back and escalate this.

You want to try to defuse a situation you don’t have to say I’m sorry. You can say “I’m sorry for the situation to let me do my best to figure this out for you” and try to figure out that way forward because I know they’re venting, they’re angry but they want a solution and they also want to be heard.

Rule 10:Educate Your Customer

Customer loves you for you’re gonna bring value to the table. I know I love it when I follow a lot of my favorite local businesses on social media and think about what time you’re an expert in your field what do you know that you think your customers would want to know or maybe they need a friendly reminder absolutely.

And it can be quick calls, it can be emailed, but you want to make sure you edit them early on and sets the expectation that you’re here for them not only to provide your service but that ongoing adjudication.

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