When you run a dropshipping online store, you will deal with many different kinds of customers every day. Unhappy customers are a part of every business, just like easy customers are. Even if you do everything you can to make sure all of your customers are happy, some of them will still be unhappy with your product or service. Because of this, customer service is another important part of running a business.
More and more people are using social media and other apps to review shops and businesses. Customers who aren’t happy can vent their anger in any way and on any platform they want. Either they would send you a message or, even worse, they would just give you a bad review right away. You should try not to get bad reviews because they can hurt the reputation of your brand or store. To do this, you’ll need to be able to solve problems well, act quickly, and handle complaints in the right way. We’d like to help you by giving you the 15 best dropshipping tips on how to make a customer happy and keep them from leaving their cart. If you’re good at using these techniques, they might even come back to you in the long run.
Listen and understand your customer
The best thing you can do is not take comments or messages too personally right away. First, try to figure out why the customer is upset. This might not be something you can do anything about. Or, if you’re lucky, it’s something you can fix and make better in the future. Anyway, just let them vent their anger without stopping them and getting angry.
Say you’re sorry and own up to what you did
After listening to your customer, it’s very important to apologize and let them know you understand how upset they are. No matter who made your customer mad, you have to do this. Even if it’s not your brand or shop’s fault, you should still apologize and take responsibility for your contracted companies, like your suppliers. This will help to change the tone of the conversation and make it more friendly. It will also help to rebuild trust. Make sure you say “I’m sorry” in a sincere way so that your customer really believes you.
Try to understand and be polite
We know it’s not easy, but you must always stay calm when talking to an angry customer. Customers will be even more upset if you are rude or treat them badly. You should try to understand the other person’s point of view by putting yourself in their place. When it comes to empathy, it helps a lot to use the right words and put aside your own point of view. The goal is to make your customers feel like they are right and less angry.
Timing is very important.
It’s important to act quickly. Even if a customer is very angry, if you respond quickly, you will always make a good impression. This is important to remember because your competitors are just a click away, and you can lose a customer in the blink of an eye. Consider putting a chatbot on your website if you don’t think you can answer right away or if your customer service team needs help taking care of multiple customers at once. You can start with a simple automated greeting and a question about what they want to know. This would also give you and your team more time to think about questions and complaints before talking to unhappy customers.
Talk to them in the right way
When you respond to unhappy customers on a review, in an email, or in a chat, it’s best to use their name and say hello. This will make them feel like they are talking to a real person, even though chatbots can now also figure out names and addresses. This will also help you connect with your customers on a more personal level. They will feel like you and your business care about their problem.
Avoid anonymity
Just as it’s important to use your customers’ names, it’s also important to use theirs. This makes the interaction more personal. Always put your name or the name of a team member in the chat with a customer. On the other hand, always put your name at the end of every reply you make on social media.
Make sure to answer on all platforms.
Some customers, especially the ones who are the most upset, will take their problem right to your social media channels before they call you. If you try to send them to your live chat or get them to call you, you would only make things worse. Make sure that you or someone on your team solves the problem through the same method that the customer used to complain and is used to.
Don’t talk about what’s wrong.
You need to learn that you should never talk about the problems in your business with an angry customer. They will think you don’t care about them or that you don’t think they have a problem. Your customers don’t want to hear your excuses. Instead, they want a solution as soon as possible.
Think of a way to fix it.
Even though a customer who isn’t happy wants nothing more than a quick fix to their problems. You won’t be able to solve every customer complaint, especially if it’s something you can’t change. So, the best thing to do is to look at the situation and try to come up with a solution or compensation that is either in your control or within the scope of your business.
Ask for more time to figure out what’s going on.
Some problems or issues may take longer to solve than others. If you feel like you can’t solve your customer’s problem right now, ask for some time and follow up with them later. Try to find a replacement or some other way to make up for it in the meantime.
Continue
If you asked for more time to help a customer who was unhappy, make sure you get back to them within the time you said you would. This is very important because if you don’t do it, you’ll hurt your reputation even more. Even if there were no problems with the product or service, following up is a great way to ask for feedback and reviews. This will help you keep a good relationship with all of your customers because they’ll know you care about how they feel.
Handling refunds
When dropshipping, it can be hard to deal with refunds. Since the items you sell are shipped by your dropshipping supplier, you don’t really have to deal with returned items. But most of the time, your customers don’t even know this. If your customer isn’t happy with the product your supplier sent them, you should follow your supplier’s return policy and reassure your customer that everything will be taken care of. If the policy is followed, your dropshipping provider should take back the goods so you can give your customer a refund.
Keep your Frequently Asked Questions page up to date.
This can help you not only solve problems but also keep them from happening. On the FAQs page, you can give your customers more information before or after they buy. This page can also help your team do their jobs when they can’t answer customer complaints right away. Keep it up to date with common problems that your customers have with your products or services. This will make sure there are no misunderstandings before the sale.
Listen to helpful suggestions
People in positions to make decisions should listen to constructive criticism and pass it along. When customer service actively listens to customers, they can get useful data and information that can be used for product development and sourcing. So, you can improve your products to better meet the needs of your customers. Also, it can help you avoid getting frustrated with products or services in the future.
Carefully choose your customer service team.
Last but not least, it can be very important for your business to hire the right people for your customer service team. They will be the first person unhappy customers talk to and will be the voice of your brand. Because of this, everything from the way they talk to how much they care can affect your business. So, having the right person answer your customers’ questions is very important.
Conclusion
By using these methods, you can keep your customers calm and, at the end of the process, win back their trust. If they have a good time with your business, they will tell everyone they know about it. Peer-to-peer marketing and word-of-mouth are still the best and most trusted ways to get the word out about your brand.
Think about putting these tips into your company’s culture and teaching them to everyone who works in customer service. This way, they will not only be ready to deal with customers, but they will also help you keep the reputation of your business and, most importantly, your customers. If you want to learn more about how to be a great customer service rep, you should buy a book that fits your business.