Colorado Web Solutions

Leading by example – This is Customer Service!

Posted on August 28th, 2012 by Matt Sampson - Colorado Web Solutions

It takes a lot to impress me when it comes to customer service. As the owner of Colorado Web Solutions, I have strived to build our company on high quality products and design, but the foundation of it all is great customer service.

As a business owner, I know that customers are the most important aspect of our success and providing great customer service is critical.

I recently had a small issue with a purchase I made with Apple and after contacting them and receiving their replies, I felt compelled to write about it.

Apple is arguably the most successful company in the world right now, they could very simply provide mediocre customer service and probably get away with it, but they don’t. They provide stellar service, even as the monstrous company that they are. I am so very impressed.

I believe that all businesses can learn from examples like this one.

Here are 5 the factors that stood out to me during this interaction with the iTunes Store team.

1) I received a fast reply. It was the same day.

2) The reply was written by (or at least sounded like it was written by) a human.

3) The reply was clear and explained the action they were taking to resolve my issue.

4) The reply was more than an answer, they acknowledged me as a customer and as a person that experienced an issue.

5) When I replied again to them thanking them and praising their service, they took the time to respond to that as well.

 

I think we can all learn from Apple. If every company could provide service like this in the world, people would be so much more satisfied with their spending.

Here is the interaction:

 

3 PM Monday I wrote:

Somehow my iphone was having issues purchasing this book previously and it appears to have been purchased either 2 or 3 times. I only wanted it once :)

Can you check to see that it’s only been purchased one time? Thanks so much in advance for your help! Matt Sampson

 

6:45 PM Monday Apple wrote:

Dear Matt,

I understand that you are concerned about being charged more than once for “###### (Name omitted by CWS)”. I know you would like to have this taken care of as soon as possible. My name is John from the iTunes Store and I will do my best to help you.

After taking a peek into your iTunes Store account, it does look like it was purchased a second time.

I went ahead and I have reversed the charge for the purchase. In five to seven business days, a credit of $23.95 should be posted to the credit card that appears on your receipt for that purchase.

I really hope this will resolve your concern. If you still have any problems please message me. Thanks for being a great iTunes Store customer.

Have a great day, Matt.

Sincerely,
John

 

7:30 am Tuesday I wrote:

Thank you so very much, that’s perfect.

I must say that I am blown away by the level of support you provide. Considering you are the largest company in the world, I am absolutely shocked at how amazing you all are. Thank you so much for your service and support. I’m extremely impressed.

Have a great one.

Matt

 

7:45 am Tuesday Apple wrote:

Hi Matt,

John here again from the iTunes Store. Thank you for your kind words. I was more than happy to take care of this for you.

Nothing makes Apple happier than to hear that we have pleased our customers. I wish you the best and hope that you continue to enjoy the iTunes Store.

Take care.

 

 

Bravo Apple. You’ve got a customer for life now. Are you getting customers for life with your Yahoo Store? This was a great example of one way to do that.

Have a great week everyone –

 

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Pagination for Yahoo Stores

Posted on August 14th, 2012 by Brent Carey

Colorado Web Solutions is often asked by Yahoo store owners what features will help take their web store to the next level. As every site presents its own unique complexities, that is somewhat of a difficult question to answer, at least in a general sense. What that next upgrade should or could be will depend on a multitude of factors. However, if a client’s site is very product-intensive one feature the client should always consider is Advanced Pagination.

It’s amazing how often we encounter client sites or just sites in general, that have a large number of products displayed on a Product Listing page and yet the site is not utilizing Pagination. Without Pagination, customers not only have a bewildering number of products to browse through, they also end up having less control over how the page content is displayed. While there is a current fad for allowing more scrolling in order to serve content/ads as the page is browsed, for many smaller web stores this type of technology is out of reach and wouldn’t necessarily translate to more sales.

Pagination can deliver a more positive experience for a user due to the page loading faster. Having ten or twenty products per page will decrease page rendering times as compared to a hundred or more products. The faster the load time, the better the experience. Having less products per page also means that much less information to digest. Again, less products to look at per page can make it easier for a customer to make a choice.

A good product listing page not only breaks down large numbers of products into manageable sections, but also gives the user options. Customers like having choices when it comes to surfing. Today’s shopper can quickly decipher a page’s pagination feature and sort by 10, 20, 50 items per page or by popularity, name, price and more. Some customers may be inclined to purchase by sorting via price, while others may want to shop by name. Giving people more browsing options can translate to additional sales. We feel that the benefits of Pagination, both aesthetically and functionally make this feature upgrade an important consideration for any Yahoo store.

For more information please see:

http://www.coloradowebsolutions.com/rtml-advanced-pagination.html

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Yahoo Store Product Reviews

Posted on August 1st, 2012 by Brent Carey

Product Reviews are a key feature for any Yahoo store. Here at Colorado Web Solutions, we’re big proponents of adding reviews.  A product review is a powerful tool that not only gives customers the ability to understand more about their possible purchase, but also demonstrates to your site’s visitors that your products/site are attracting other customers. Many studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between reviews and higher conversion rates.

Having reviews inside your Yahoo store will help do the following:

Educate customers – While a Product Description is essential in educating your customers about your product, reviews offer another tool in which to help people understand why they need to purchase what you’re offering.  Reviews offer the ability to provide customers with an unbiased opinion. Simply put, they help customers make a decision. Reviews, both good and bad add validity to a store.

Give customers a voice – In general, customers love to offer their opinions. If you give customers the ability to write up their opinions for all to see, they are in essence becoming part of your growing community. Having a community of buyers is essential to a site’s success. Remember, if no review is present on a product’s page, the customer may possibly look for a review on another site before purchasing. The more clicks away from the “Buy Now” means your chances drop for that conversion.

Increase your site’s SEO relevance – Reviews give real SEO value to a site. Content is king – and adding reviews to a product page instantly gives value. Having several reviews on product page will only add organic richness to the content. Each review is likely to contain valuable keywords. Each new review is a unique piece of content. Every time a review is posted it will add significantly to the overall organic value of the page.

Reviews are so important, there really isn’t any time to waste making them a part of your Yahoo store. The more reviews you have, the better the chance you’ll get that conversion. Think of it this way – the more people talking about your product, the more people will buy that product. If one person reviews your product – that’s one person’s opinion may sway your customer to buy. If one hundred people have reviewed that product, chances are the customer will be more inclined to make the purchase.

For more information please visit:
http://www.coloradowebsolutions.com/rtml-product-reviews.html

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