How important is Customer Support Service for your online business

Every business has one thing in common i.e. it depends on "customers" to be successful. Customers make or break some business. In order to be profitable, businesses need to first attract, then hold and in the end maintain its clientele. Customer support service is the department which looks into these all important tasks of making sure that your customers do not go elsewhere.

Customer Support in Online Business:
The basic principles remain the same in both online and offline businesses but priorities do change. One area which becomes crucial in online business is Customer Support Service. You can fill your website with as many details, descriptions, FAQs, specifications and instructions as you want, and still the customers will be willing to communicate with you or your representative before they make some purchase. Not to mention its importance in dealing with the after sale queries. Staff should be fully capable of managing angry customers because the word of mouth spreads faster in cyber world.

Mostly three types of supports are used for online consumers; you can choose all three or any of them.

1. Email Support
2. Live Chat
3. Telephone Helpline

E-mail Support:
The most widely used, most convenient and a must for any online business regardless of its nature. You provide them with your e-mail address so they can write their complaints, concerns or comments in detail. They don’t need to wait for business hours and it gives the business and the customers, a chance to explain their position in a detailed manner.

Live Chat:
More and more businesses are now providing “Live Chat” option for their customers. Customers are not required to log into some specific messenger or anything like that. All they need to do is, click on the live chat icon and a new chat window will open, where they can type their message, which will be replied by the business representative accordingly. There are many free services available at internet to facilitate you in providing this feature to your customers.

Telephone Helpline:
Large businesses all over the world depend on telephone help lines as their primary source to provide 24 hours support to their customers. This method is a little bit costly and not really necessary for small businesses. However, this can be very effective if you are able to afford such service. Also this is the most express response your customer can get from you.