Customer service is an essential component of any business. Clearly, if you work alone your business thrives on good customer service. But what if you run much of your business online? How do you provide excellent customer service 24 hours a day seven days a week? Here's an idea which is working for me.

One of the challenges of an online business is having constantly available support - especially if you are a small business or a self-employed, lone worker. People want instant answers. They expect replies to emails in the same working day. Many people seem to want even more rapid replies.

However, most technical support and customer support call centre staff will tell you that something like eight out of every ten calls are about the same concerns. If you run your own online business, you'll probably discover too that many of the customer service requests you get are generally about the same difficulties people are having.

I looked at the calls and emails I was getting about my online information products and realised that there were eight common questions which I received from customers who had purchased an ebook from me. Naturally, in trying to provide good customer service I contacted each individual and dealt with their concerns. Each time I was able to ensure that I retained their custom. But the problem was it was taking me time.

So, here's what I did. I set up an email which contains the answers to all eight questions. Then I created a new email address which is included in all my sales receipts. I ask people who have any questions or concerns about their purchase to send their question to that special email address. Of course, the special email address is an autoresponder. What happens is that as soon as someone has sent in their question, they get an immediate reply. Because the reply contains answers to almost all the support questions I get, it is usually instant customer satisfaction. Plus it means I don't have to spend time on the query.

The autoresponder repeats the subject of the customer's email within the text, making it look more personal. Also, because I get a copy of their incoming email I can see whether their question is answered within the autoresponder message. Usually it is. I can then send an email asking if they need more details or if their question has been answered. But I don't have to do this straight away. That's because the autoresponder has provided a good level of customer service.

So, using an autoresponder can provide high levels of customer service, helping you maintain customer loyalty.

If you want to see my autoresponder in action, just send an email to: support@grahamjones.biz

Graham Jones is a psychologist who has specialized in the way we use the Internet. He is an expert on information products and runs Infoselling.com where you can get a FREE report on how to sell your own infoproducts.

http://www.infoselling.com