CUSTOMER SELF-SERVE EDITING
The power of customer self-service
A guide to reducing returns and enhancing your Shopify store's buyer journey
Customer self-service is changing the way customers interact with businesses. Customers are no longer content to wait on hold for hours, navigate complex phone trees, or email triages just to get the necessary information. Instead, they want immediate access to answers on their terms, or they might leave a less-than-shining review of your brand.
As a Shopify merchant, you know that your customers are the lifeblood of your business. But with challenges like budget and hiring freezes, staff shortages, and a growing pile-up of support tickets, it can be difficult to provide the level of service your customers deserve. And with customers dropping off at each stage of the buyer journey, it’s clear that something needs to change.
Customer self-service is the solution you’ve been looking for, with different methods you can implement throughout all stages of the buyer journey. By empowering your customers to find the answers they need, like quickly changing their item quantity, you’ll reduce support costs, improve customer satisfaction, and increase customer engagement and loyalty. As ecommerce trends continue to evolve toward customers preferring self-service, staying ahead of the curve has never been more critical.
According to Zendesk, 69% of consumers first try to resolve their issues without contacting a company rep. Still, only one-third of companies offer self-service options such as a knowledge base or order editing.
In this guide, we’ll discuss the benefits of self-service and provide actionable strategies you can start using in just 10 minutes to improve customer satisfaction at each stage of the buyer journey.
The dual benefits of customer self-service
Customer self-service is a powerful strategy with numerous benefits for both businesses and customers. According to Emplifi, 35% of consumers find it very important to have a fully self-serve customer care option available to resolve their issues. By allowing customers to access information and support on their own terms, self-service improves the customer experience, reduces support costs, and increases engagement and loyalty.
Benefits for Shopify merchants
All Shopify merchants should aim to get more 5-star reviews and grow profits. In fact, 5-star reviews and growing profits go hand-in-hand. When you can demonstrate more social proof about your product/service by providing an amazing customer experience it builds trust about your brand. When you implement customer self-service, all the merchant benefits support the golden goal of increasing profits.
Fewer support tickets
For Shopify merchants, implementing self-service tools on your online store can help reduce the burden of support tickets, allowing you to allocate resources more effectively. With fewer support tickets to manage, merchants can focus on providing a higher quality of service to their customers, while also improving overall productivity.
Improve customer satisfaction
Did you know that 67% of customers preferred self-service over speaking to a company representative? According to a Nuance Enterprise survey, they also rate self-service as part of a better overall customer experience. Customers today expect immediate access to information and support, and self-service provides a convenient and efficient way to get what they need. Whether they’re looking for product information, troubleshooting help, or correcting a mistake they made while placing their order (like the wrong item quantity), self-service options make the process faster, easier, and more convenient for customers.
Increase engagement and loyalty
Customers expect brands to be as tech-savvy as they are. When customers have access to the information and support they need via online self-service, customers are more likely to remain engaged and return for future purchases. Refining the customer experience not only helps increase revenue but also helps build the type of long-term customer relationships that are crucial for a successful business. Raising retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by between 25% and 95%, according to Bain and Company.
Stay ahead of the competition
Finally, customer self-service can help Shopify merchants stay ahead of the curve and be competitive in the ever-changing ecommerce landscape. By offering innovative self-service options, merchants can provide their customers with a unique and differentiated experience, while also reducing costs and increasing overall engagement.
Raising retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by between 25% and 95%, according to Bain and Company.
Benefits for customers
For customers, the benefits of self-service are equally impressive. Have you ever placed an order, realized you mistyped your shipping address or ordered the wrong size, and wished you could easily fix it? With self-service, customers have the ability to access the information and support they need, when they need it. This can save them time and frustration, and help them resolve their issues quicker, resulting in more 5-star reviews for your brand.
A tailored experience
Customers expect personalization. When given self-service options, customers are given greater control over their experience to tailor it to their individual needs and issues. For example, customers can access product information, modify orders, and track deliveries, all from their own devices, without having to wait on hold or refresh their email inboxes in anticipation of a response. This saves them time and gives them greater control over their experience with a brand.
Increased customer confidence
Customer self-service helps increase confidence and trust in a business. Giving customers access to personalized support means they’re more likely to feel confident in their purchase and have a positive experience with a business. According to Microsoft, 90% of Americans use customer service to decide whether or not to do business with a company, and 58% of them will switch companies because of poor customer service.
Customer self-service is a powerful tool offering copious benefits for Shopify merchants and their customers. Whether you're looking to improve customer satisfaction, reduce support costs, increase customer engagement and loyalty, or stay ahead of the curve, self-service can help you achieve your goals. So if you're ready to take your customer experience to the next level, let's explore different self-service strategies you can implement for the buyer journey.
Self-service strategies for the buyer journey
As a Shopify merchant, you understand the importance of providing a seamless and engaging customer experience throughout the buyer journey. But with so many self-service options available, it can be difficult to know where to start. That's why videos, FAQs, and chatbots are three self-service strategies that can’t be ignored.
Videos
Implementation time: average of 7 hours to create and upload a 1-5 minute video
FAQs
Implementation time: Anywhere from 3 hours to 1 week depending on your knowledge base and product complexity
Phase 1 & 2: Guiding buyers from discovery to consideration with self-service options
Let's start with videos. During the awareness phase of the buyer journey, videos can help educate and inform customers about your products and services in a fun and engaging way. Whether you create product demos, tutorials, or behind-the-scenes footage, videos can bring your brand to life and build a connection with your customers.
But videos don't just help customers understand your products and services; they also help reduce support tickets and free up your time to focus on more critical tasks. With videos readily available, customers can easily find the information they need, reducing the need for support tickets and freeing up your resources to focus on other areas of your business.
Next, let's talk about FAQs. During the consideration phase of the buyer journey, FAQs can provide customers with the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions. By answering common questions about your products, services, shipping, and returns, you can give customers the confidence they need to complete their purchases.
And the benefits of FAQs don't stop there. In addition to reducing support tickets, FAQs can help improve your website's search engine optimization, making it easier for customers to find you online. With well-written and optimized FAQs, you can improve your online visibility and reach new customers, while also providing existing customers with the information they need to make informed decisions.
Chatbots
Implementation time: Anywhere from 3 hours to 3 weeks depending on the scope of the bot
Finally, let’s talk about chatbots. Chatbots are a valuable self-service option that can help customers throughout the entire buyer journey. During the awareness and consideration phases, chatbots can provide instant access to information and support, helping customers find the answers they need to make informed purchasing decisions.
But chatbots offer more than just instant access to information. With advanced natural language processing and machine learning algorithms, chatbots can provide a personalized and engaging customer experience that human support simply cannot match. And with the ability to handle multiple conversations simultaneously, chatbots can help reduce support ticket wait times and improve overall customer satisfaction.
Phase 3: Enhancing customer satisfaction during the purchase phase with self-service apps and scripts
Self-service tools are becoming favorites for Shopify merchants because they offer a convenient and efficient way to manage the highlight of the buyer journey: the purchase phase. There are plenty of tools you can use during this phase like; self-service order editing, order status tracking, and order notes and scripts.
Self-service order editing
Implementation time: Less than 10 minutes
Order status tracker
Implementation time: Less than 10 minutes
Order notes & additional scripts
Implementation time: 10 minutes to 2 hours
Self-service order editing empowers customers to make simple changes to their orders without contacting customer service, so mistakes like wrong size or shipping address can be fixed before the order is shipped. This also dramatically decreases the number of products that get returned. A study by Voxware found that 29% of returns are due to ordering the wrong item.
Subscription-based businesses should also heavily consider offering self-service editing tools to allow customers to easily manage their subscriptions. By offering a comprehensive suite of self-service tools throughout this phase of the buyer journey, merchants can deliver an exceptional customer experience, reduce returns, and foster customer loyalty.
With self-service order editing, customers can make changes like:
Change size, color, or other variants
Increase or decrease the item quantity
Remove an item
Change shipping address
Cancel their order
Add an item to their order
Customers can solve their simple order issues and modify their orders if they make mistakes, but you set rules and time limitations depending on your tool. Self-service order-editing using Cleverific Order Editor is an essential tool that Shopify merchants should implement if they want to enhance their customer’s shopping experience and improve their business operations. With the app, you can use the Customer Portal feature to set the order modification timeframe anywhere from 30 minutes after an order is placed to seven days. You can even disallow customers to modify their orders based on any order tags, like “final sale” orders.
Offering an order status tracker to customers during the purchase phase of the buyer journey can significantly enhance customer satisfaction, trust, and confidence. With real-time order tracking, this self-service tool minimizes the need for customers to contact support for order updates, reducing the workload on customer service teams. Plus, it fosters transparency in the buying process, leading to improved customer loyalty and a higher likelihood of repeat purchases. Ultimately, order status trackers can lead to increased sales and a more streamlined buyer experience. There are a few great tools to consider when looking into adding an order status tracker to your Shopify store:
Shopify merchants can customize the order status page to provide more self-service options for customers. You can display options and messages based on customer’s needs using additional scripts. When customizing the order status page, you can show content when:
a particular shipping method is used
a particular product is in the order
based on customer location
By tailoring the content based on specific shipping methods, product selections, or customer locations, you can deliver hyper-relevant information that truly resonates with your shoppers. Imagine the delight of a customer who sees tailored content just for them – like special care instructions for a specific product, shipping-related updates, or even location-based offers. This level of personalization not only streamlines the purchase phase of the buyer journey, but also fosters a stronger connection with your customers.
Learn more about implementing additional scripts by visiting Shopify’s help docs.
Phase 4 & 5: Driving loyalty and advocacy post-purchase with self-service tools and guides
To truly build customer loyalty and advocacy, merchants must ensure their customers have a seamless and efficient experience during previous phases of the buyer journey, but it’s also essential during the last phases after a purchase has been made. Providing customers with options like self-service return processes and customer accounts allows them to manage their orders with ease. Additionally, merchants should improve upon their existing self-service tools for this phase, like videos and chatbots, but offering product training in their video libraries and including escalation options in their chatbots.
Creating customer accounts is another self-service strategy that Shopify merchants should implement. Customer accounts provide a convenient way for customers to manage their orders, track their shipments, and access their purchase history. Customer accounts also make it easier for customers to complete future orders, see details about any loyalty programs and make returns. You can also offer rewards programs through customer accounts such as loyalty points, coupons, and special promotions to incentivize customers to make repeat purchases.
Return and refund management is an essential part of the purchase phase of the buyer journey. Shopify merchants should implement self-service strategies to make the return process as easy and seamless as possible. This includes providing clear return policies, self-service order editing, a self-service return process, and easy-to-use tools for customers to initiate and track returns.
Product training videos and guides are effective self-service tools to increase customer loyalty. they provide customers with the knowledge they need to use and benefits from the products they’ve purchased. When customers have access to information and engaging product training videos, they are more likely to use the products correctly, troubleshoot issues on their own, and become loyal customers who are more likely to recommend your brand to others. Merchants should aim to provide high-quality product training that is easy to access (like via customer accounts) and understand.
Product training videos and guides
Implementation time: 7 hours per video
Customer accounts
Implementation time: less than 10 minutes
Return and refund management
Implementation time: 1 month or more
Implementing effective customer self-service for your Shopify store
You’re equipped with the knowledge of which self-service strategies fit into different phases of the customer journey. You can now begin auditing and prioritizing to give the best possible shopping experience.
You must identify areas to improve and optimize the customer experience to implement self-service tools. With so many options available, knowing where to begin can be difficult. This is where an audit of the customer journey can be incredibly helpful. By taking a closer look at each step of the journey, you can determine which self-service strategies will have the biggest impact and prioritize them accordingly.
Audit the customer journey
To audit their customer journey, merchants can follow these steps:
Map out the existing customer journey
Identify all the touchpoints where customers interact with the business and document each step. Make note of where customers usually fall out of the buyer journey to see if you can fill in the gaps with self-service to move them through the funnel.Analyze customer feedback
Collect customer feedback through surveys, reviews, or direct interactions to understand their pain points and needs.Identify potential self-service opportunities
Look for repetitive tasks or processes that can be automated or made self-service, such as account management, product information, and common customer service requests.Evaluate technology solutions
Research and evaluate solutions that can help implement self-service tools, such as chatbots, FAQ databases, or knowledge bases.Test and refine
Implement a pilot self-service tool, gather feedback, and iterate to improve the customer experience.
Prioritize your strategies
When prioritizing which customer self-service tools to implement, Shopify merchants should consider their business goals, target audience, and available resources. Here are a few steps to prioritize implementing customer self-service tools:
Identify business goals
Determine what you want to achieve with your online store, such as increasing customer loyalty, reducing customer service inquiries, or streamlining order fulfillment.Understand your target audience
Consider your target audience’s demographics, needs, and preferences to determine which self-service tools would be most useful to them.Evaluate available resources
Consider the resources you have available, such as time, budget, and technical expertise, when choosing which self-service tools to implement.Conduct market research
Look at what your competitors are doing and what has worked well for them.Prioritize based on impact
Consider which self-service tools will impact your business goals and target audience and prioritize those first.Prioritize based on journey gaps
Where are you missing self-service resources in the buyer journey? Audit your customer journey to see where you can fill in the blanks.Test and iterate
Start with a small implementation of the most impactful self-service tool and gather customer feedback. Based on this feedback, iterate and improve your self-service offerings.
Maximize customer satisfaction with self-service and build lasting relationships
Incorporating customer self-service tools provides plenty of benefits for both you as the merchant and your customers. Streamlining the buyer journey and offering quick and easy access to information and support can help create a more enjoyable shopping experience and foster customer loyalty. By auditing your customer journey and prioritizing which self-service strategies to implement, you can ensure that your efforts have the biggest impact. Whether you implement live chat, an FAQ page, or another tool, listening to your customers and continuously evaluating and improving their experience is key. With the right self-service strategies in place, you can take your Shopify store to the next level and build lasting relationships with your customers.
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