Internet websites can be very impersonal. You will want to give your customers the ideal buying experience, it is important that you engage with them and make them feel that you care for and appreciate their custom. This approach will ensure that your customers return to you over many years. I firmly believe that the “corner shop” buying experience can be recreated on the internet.

Engage with your customers by encouraging them to phone you for advice. Let them know that if there is a problem, you will sort it out without quibbling. A chat facility is an ideal method of connecting easily with your customers. An instant response to a question is generally much appreciated especially if it’s a technical query. You can get across that you can answer technical questions about a product by simply having a chat button that says “click here for technical queries” You will gain many customers by such a simple method.

Obviously pretty much everybody will be conversant with sending emails. Answer email queries promptly. By responding quickly you are letting your customer know that you are genuine and wish to give them the best customer service that you can. In some instances you may be able to put small contact forms on different pages on your website. A good idea is to title this form in such a way that the customer knows it’s going directly to the department that they require a response from. This is true even if your online shop is very small. A mechanism for a customer to have a question answered about a specific product is an ideal way to engage with your customers.