Types of Customer Service Options for Small Business

Customer service or customer support is a very important part of running a business. Any small business owner who wants his business to grow and be profitable needs to invest a portion of his resources to making sure that his customers are satisfied with the products and services they bought. Fortunately, there are ways for small businessmen to provide excellent customer service without breaking the bank. Here are some of the options available to them.

1. Telephone Support - The most basic of customer support options, telephone support is still preferred by many customers, especially the older ones. Nothing beats talking to a real person on the other line. You can have a special telephone line dedicated for such purposes if you receive many calls and inquiries during business hours. Consider voice over Internet phone (VOIP) when setting up a customer service line.


2. Email Support - This is probably one of the convenient and easy ways to provide support to your customers. In your web site, make sure that you have a noticeable button that allows your customer's to send you an email with just a click using their preferred email program. You can also opt to have a contact/email form installed in your web site. Make it a policy to answer all emails within 24 hours after you have received. If you are receiving more emails than you can handle in a day, adjust the response time allowance to 48 hours. You can also have one of your employees handle the email support during their off-peak hours.


3. Live Chat Support - Instant messaging, or live chat as it is called in the business world, is the best real-time support you can give to your customers next to telephone support. You can add a link to the live chat support on your web site and you can answer it while you're on the office and doing some work. Many new businesses can be generated through live chat support.

Nowadays, these types of customer support are outsourced by big, multinational companies in order to minimize costs. Small businesses can do that, too. By turning to virtual outsourcing, businesses can be sure that their customers will get the assistance they need even if they cannot personally attend to their concerns. It's like hiring a permanent employee without the hassles of supervising one, not to mention the expenses associated with having full time staff.