Customer Service

Customer service is the backbone of all successful businesses, this is an undeniable fact. Good customer service begets loyal customers who give positive reviews that in turn get you a lot of new customers. In dropshipping, the role of customer service cannot be overestimated. These customers identify with you, and not the supplier. Therefore even after delivery the drop shipper must still stay in contact the client.

Keeping your customers happy, willing to make a repurchase and invite others to your store should be your goal. High traffic is very essential for a successful dropshipping platform, this is a great way to gather and keep customers. Here are 10 customer service best practices for your dropshipping business.

Make Your Staff and Employees Your First Customer

When your customer service team and general staff are happy, they transfer these vibes to the customers and vice versa. This applies to dropshipping companies that have a customer service team. Train your staff especially your customer service team. Even If you are the sole customer service provider Endeavour to acquire exceptional customer service skills also. Be sure to Set customer service expectations for your customer service team.

Have Full Knowledge of the Fulfilment Process

A customer places an order then you tell your supplier who then ships the item to your customer, so you just sit back and relax? If you seek success the answer is NO. First, you must know your products inside out. Imagine what the outcome would be when an already frustrated client asks about a delayed order or returns and you are blank?

You won’t just be losing a customer potential referrals would be cut off as well as a negative feedback that mars your brand’s reputation. Save yourself all this stress and follow up with the fulfilment process from the supplier.

Take Responsibility

Yes, the supplier messed up, but the customer knows only you. Never shift the blame always take responsibility. Let your customer be assured you are in control of the situation. Your customer doesn’t know you are not the one fulfilling the orders, keep it that way. Try pacifying the customer while you work with the supplier to find solutions in case of delayed shipping or the return shipment.

Provide Swift Response to Customer Inquiries and Complaints

This is very essential in customer service. Address them by their name when responding. It keeps your already irritated customer a little calm, and potential customers are encouraged knowing you are readily available. You don’t want your customers waiting hours or days to get a response be it an enquiry or complaint. An “I am looking into the issue and would get back to you soon” does you a lot of good. Since a third party is involved swift responses ensures you save time by working on the problems as soon as possible with your supplier.

Follow Up On Feedbacks and After-Sales

Make your customers feel valued by contacting them after they give their feedbacks. Reply to their feedbacks and review. A thank you message after sales carries a lot of weight also. Don’t wait for issues to arise before taking action. These gestures make customers feel important and make them loyal.

Listen and Empathize With Your Client to Find Solutions

Listen to your customer, read and understand the context of their text perfectly before responding. Put yourselves in their shoes, empathizing with your customers is great but go one step further to find solutions. An ordinary apology and empathy are passive steps, advocacy one the other hand is taking actions and measures to calm an irate customer down.

Respond With Respect and Positivity

Its inevitable nerves get stepped on when dealing with frustrated customers, never let your emotions get the better of you. You are also frustrated by the situation when your supplier messes up. It’s important to not let your emotions overtake your desire to make a customer happy. For all the negativity you get always stay positive and let that show in your response. Address your customers with respect. All these turn furious buyers into faithful loyal customers.

Encourage Crystal Clear Communication

They should know this or that should be debunked. Leave no room for sentences or phrases that may seem offensive or sound uncaring from your path. Let your communication be clear and simple but professional. Avoid unrealistic expectations. Don’t over market a product or your services to something it’s not.

Handle Customer Returns Effectively

Effectively create a standard on customer returns. Work with your suppliers’ return policies to create your terms and conditions on returns. Make sure you can deliver at the time promised. Do not make promises vaguely, pay from your pocket if that is what it takes to not fail on your promise.

FAQ

Answers to commonly asked questions should be found on your e-commerce website. Some questions are repeatedly asked frequently, collate these types of questions and provide adequate answers. Create a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page, let it be easily accessible. This help saves valuable time.

Conclusion

Since dropshipping involves a third-party, customer service is very essential. These best practices help you in getting loyal customers and make their experience worthwhile. Positive reviews help build a strong customer base, your dropshipping store needs all the traffic it can get.

In case you will like to know more about dropshipping or other services we offer, contact us today at Fulfillman. Our dedicated team will be available to speak with you. We will provide suitable answers to your questions and concerns. An amazing experience awaits you.

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You may have the best website in terms of functionality, design, and all. However, without customers pulling out their credit card to purchase your products, it’s all for nothing. This says a lot about how customers are vital for every business, and the need to make sure you offer the best customer service to your customer.

Excellent customer service cannot be overemphasized. It’s key to every business, and it’s what keeps those customers coming back to you. If their experience with your customer service was a bad one, they sure aren’t going to come back. Let’s take a look at some great customer service tips to delight your customers.

Stay in Touch

There are white spaces to be filled between the sale point, and the next transaction. You need to devote resources to continuing to build relationships between you and your customers. Always stay in touch by sending them incentives, wishes, and regular communication like email newsletters. Note: the rate by which you communicate shouldn’t be too much too.

Invite Your Customers to A VIP Sale

VIP sale is a nice idea to make your customers feel as a part of your business. It shows how much you valued them. Believe me, if they feel valued and part of your business, they’ll always come back to do more business or purchases. After a customer has purchased from your store, you could add them to a VIP list. Later, you could host an exclusive sale tagged VIP Sale, and contact these customers to come for a discounted exclusive sale.

Give Them First Access to Certain Products

To lay more emphasis on the tip above, you could create a private link on your store that doesn’t appear in your navigation a few days before making it public. What’s more? You can even mention that the link is exclusive to your VIP customers and that for no one else. The link will contain access for your VIPs to first test your new products and to review them so they can rave about it online.

Sending Holiday and Birthday Cards

All those little gestures like birthday cards can actually mean a lot to some people. It’s a nice customer service idea that you need to try out if you haven’t been doing it. Every year, your customers have their birthdays. You can leverage a customer service app like Happy Birthday Email, which collects your customers’ birthdays and sends an automated email out on their special day.

Fix Complaints

Mistakes are bound to happen, even in business. Delays can happen. However, when they are getting too much, then there’s a problem. If the complaints are about the quality of the same product more than 2, or 3 times, then change your supplier. Whatever the complaints are, always make sure you fix them ASAP or even solve these problems before they know it.

Like and Share Their Posts

Not all shoppers will shop and then go raving about your products on their social media accounts. So, if you get one, then appreciate them by giving them the praise that they deserve. If a customer is wearing your product or posting a picture with it, an excellent customer service tip is to like their post and share it on your social accounts and tag them in the post.

Keep the Experience Fresh and Relevant.

You need to give your shoppers a reason to shop with you again. To do this, you can continue to whet and improve your offerings – and let them know what’s new, changes, and updates about a particular product or services related to what they’ve purchased before.

Have the Right People in Your Customer Service.

This is quite simple. If you want to delight your customers, you need to provide an excellent service; and most times, this will depend on the person your customers interact with. This is why you need to make sure that you have qualified and experienced people on your team.

Make Your Return & Exchange Experience Smooth

Reports have it that about 83% of customers review the merchant’s return policy before making a purchase. The truth is there’s always a risk, no matter how small, that the item delivered may not be what they expected. So, if this happens, the return policy should be as smooth as possible. If it isn’t, chances are they are not going to come back.

Show Your Appreciation

Expressing gratitude can actually delight your customers and keep them coming back. A simple, heartfelt thank you will do, and you can even take it a step further by sending a thank you note or a special reward to them for being part of your business.

There you have it! No business can thrive without customers. As an entrepreneur, your customers are even the biggest part of your success story. This is why it is always important to go the extra mile to deliver quality services and outstanding customer experience. By following the tips provided above, you can delight your shopper and entice them to keep patronizing your business.

In case you will like to know more about our services, contact us today at Fulfillman. We specialize in providing excellent and top class Dropshipping Services, Warehouse Fulfillment, China Sourcing, Third Party Logistics, and so forth. Our dedicated team will be available to speak with you. We will provide suitable answers to your questions and concerns. An amazing experience awaits you.

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Not everyone has the money to put a business. Because of this, discussions on dropshipping with no money attracts entrepreneurs who want to try it. It became known because aspirants have tried to enter the business and became successful. Let us see if we can do drop shipping with no money.

Now the question is, can I dropship with no money? You can drop shop with no money. Money isn’t required upfront because you do not need a store for inventory. The suppliers deliver the product to your customers on your behalf. You pay for the item once you sell it. No bulk purchases needed for a wholesale price because the prices are pretty low.

To get started, allow me to explain further to help you get going on your dropshipping business with no money.

How to Dropship with No Money

1. Sign up for an online store account. This is where you will post the items you would like to sell. By setting up an online account, you can manage your business in the comfort of your own home. There’s a long list of online selling platforms that you can use. To name a few, there’s Amazon, eBay, and Shopify. However, since we are talking about dropshipping with no money, you can start with Shopify. It offers a 14-day free trial. After the 14-day trial period, it will cost $29 for the basic plan.

2. Source for suppliers. What you sell matters. Find a product that will be profitable for your business. Now that you are starting with no money, it is essential to choose the right product that will help your sales. You can select the products which you are passionate about. Check for products online that shows good reviews. You may sign up to drop shipping sites to help you with a list of products that are trendy. This will also help you search for legitimate suppliers. Later on, I will give you more details as you continue reading the article.

3. Advertise your products. At this point, you already have a product and a store to sell your products. This is where you need the power of social media. You can start by posting your products through Facebook. Make an amazing offer. Who would not go for products that are not on sale, right? You may also offer bundle offers. The goal is to sell more. More products sold means more profit.

What are the Pros and Cons of Dropshipping?

Advantages of Dropshipping

1. Cost. As an online retailer, you only sell your products online. You do not need upfront costs for inventory and warehouse to store your products. You can save up money for shipping fees and packaging for the items were delivered straight from your suppliers. No money needed for bulk orders, the items you are getting are sold at a pretty low price.

2. A wide range of products. Being able to sell products in different sizes and colors is not going to be a problem in dropshipping. Just list them on your store and let your supplier deal with the rest. You can post a variety of products available in your store. Just make sure to give the buyers a detailed description of the product you are selling.

3. Time Saved. Working at home is not going to be a problem with dropshipping. Managing your time checking your sales only requires a computer and an internet connection. You can communicate to suppliers on the other side of the world using messaging apps such as Skype, Viber, or via email.

Disadvantages of Dropshipping

1. Product Shortage. Due to high demands in drop shipping, there may be a shortage of stocks. Customers may rush the products that are sold out. Since orders are only placed and sent by the suppliers on your behalf, you don’t have a watch on the availability of products. To ensure that you do not run out of stocks, make sure to communicate well with your suppliers and ask for items that are running low. This is one way to plan your sales while keeping your customers happy.

2. Customer service concerns. The products are shipped out directly from the suppliers. This means that you have little visibility of the order status. Customers may be asking for delivery status, incorrect orders delivered or raise complaints about the products being shipped. Overseeing this may be a challenge especially if the supplier is on the other side of the globe, right. Well, with the technology running at a fast pace, these challenges can be addressed. Communication really plays a significant role in almost anything.

What Dropshipping Products Should I Sell?

Remember that the products you sell matters. It is based on impulse buying. Products promoted through a Facebook Ads or any social media platform are potential sales. We can, therefore, say that you have to make an attractive advertisement for the product to attract viewers who will then buy your product. Here are some tips to consider when choosing a product to sell.

1. Price. Some buyers do not necessarily need a specific product. If an impulse buyer sees an item for sale at below $10, even if he does not need it, he buys it. Remember that customers are concerned about saving money. Seeing a product for less than $10, makes them buy the product thinking that they’re up for a good deal.

2. Need or Demand. Buyers are browsing for products available online so they can save time queuing up in the stores. In today’s technology and busy schedule, people prefer purchasing online for convenience. Contrary to the first tip, if the person needs the product, no matter the price, he will surely buy your product.

3. Products availability. Some items are difficult to find because they are only available to specific locations. As an example, a skin-care product with good reviews that are only available in Asian countries. People will spend time browsing it online, and money getting the product and have it delivered to them.

How to Find Wholesale Suppliers for Dropshipping?

You already know how to start drop shipping, and what items to sell online. Now, let us talk about finding a legitimate drop shipping supplier. This is very important because not all suppliers are willing to do dropshipping. Also, we’re trying to avoid scam while ensuring we get quality products when selling. We also need to consider budget when sourcing for suppliers. Here are some tips on how to find wholesale suppliers.

1. Do your research. Drop shipping does not require you upfront costs but requires your great effort in putting up the business. Do an extensive research online sourcing for suppliers who are willing to do dropshipping. When you browse in Google, sure it will not give you a list of suppliers. But we are looking for something that will provide us with more savings while maintaining quality. This means you have to go on the fourth, fifth page of your search to look for suppliers.

2. Communicate. Not all suppliers are willing to do dropshipping. They may not have tried it before, or they just don’t want to do it. When I said you have to put great effort into drop shipping, this includes searching for and talking to different suppliers and making them an offer. Communication is critical in dropshipping. It will save you a great deal if you communicate well in this line of business.

3. Take advantage of technology. Since dropshipping is the “new thing,” there have been sites developed to manage and be successful in dropshipping efficiently. This includes sites to track popular products, validate the legitimacy of suppliers and check for reviews. Again, this is one of the advantages of drop shipping, being efficient.

10 Customer Service Best Practices For Your Dropshipping Business