The Benefits of Using Slack for eCommerce Customer Support

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Being the new kid on the tech block is not always easy. Trying to assert yourself in a room full of long-established companies is challenging, and the odds are often not in your favor.

That was exactly the case for Slack, emerging at a time where email reigned supreme as the dominant form of work communication. Carving out a niche between various messaging apps and several competing email providers would be daunting.

But now, boasting over 10 million active daily users, Slack’s popularity in the office has undoubtedly outshined its competitors. Their freemium model also makes it easily accessible to anyone with a decent WiFi connection and an email address. Their motto, “where work happens” has proven true by cutting down the number of internal emails, streamlining workflows, and encouraging quick and easy communication.

It’s no wonder customer service teams are maximizing and optimizing their Slack usage as they grow. Knowing the best ways to use this powerful tool can help take your team from ordinary to extraordinary when it matters most.

Connect your tools

Staying connected in the digital workplace is not just a benefit, it’s a requirement. The modern office moves fast and requires teams that are able to adapt to shifting technology and respond quickly.

This has led to a situation where more and more tools are added to everyone’s workflow. And as these customer service software stacks grow, it becomes even more difficult to keep things organized and make sure that your team is in alignment. Disorganization can quickly lead to worse customer interactions, decreased customer satisfaction and eventually churn.

Slack’s ability to help teams stay organized is rooted in its connectivity. With over a thousand integrations, it has managed to bloom from a run-of-the-mill messaging tool to an entire collaboration network. These integrations often align with critical tech found in eCommerce Customer Support stacks.

See the Aircall + Slack Integration here >>

Zapier, Gorgias, Shopify, Zendesk, and other eCommerce support tools can all be synchronized through Slack. Providing an omnichannel experience through your service software doesn’t have to be complicated. Get alerts, respond to support requests, and organize team communication in ‘channels,’ all through one powerful, centralized hub.

Quick Tip: If you can’t find the integration you need, you can easily build it yourself! Connect your service agents with the tools they need to make workflows easier.

Support eCommerce remote workers

By now we all know the benefits of remote work. In fact, we’ve written about the benefits of remote work over, and over, and over again. With a more digitally-driven workforce, remote work is more ubiquitous, meaning managers have to be prepared on how to handle and train remote teams.

This is most critical at times when online retailers and eCommerce stores take their hardest hit: the holidays.

Heavy holiday traffic is an especially critical time for online merchants and their support teams. A 2018 study by BigCommerce showed that almost a third of their retailers were expecting to hire additional staff over the holiday season.

With more staff, more inventory, and more sales, it’s critical to get training and communication right from the start. Thankfully, an eCommerce customer support team doesn’t have to be in the same space in order to work well together.

Using Slack, it’s easy for customer service agents to troubleshoot, answer queries, and resolve tickets on different platforms with ease. The ongoing conversation and instant access to coworkers help teams feel connected, even when they are miles apart. And when you do need that face-to-face meeting or quick phone call, kick off a Zoom video chat or a phone call on Aircall, directly from their Slack integrations.

Quick Tip: Use the #channel function on Slack to organize your online office space by dedicating different channels to specific issues, so everyone, remote or in-house, knows exactly where to go for help.

Move information fast

Your ability to stay on top of your workload depends heavily on having the right tools. From making phone calls to logging customer notes and updating profiles, being able to work efficiently (especially during crunch time) can make or break your customer support flow.

With Slack, customer support teams can move information back and forth to each other and through different support channels. No need for files to get lost in endless email threads or have a support agent scramble to manually search for customer information every time they get a call.

For example, the Aircall and Slack integration lets teams respond instantly to calls with real-time alerts from an Aircall Bot when an important event happens. The flexibility to have information in one place, and instantly share it with everyone that needs it is vital to a fast-paced support environment.

Quick Tip: Use the ‘pin’ function on Slack to keep track of the most highly trafficked documents like internal SOT (source of truth) documents and frequently asked questions. This makes it easy for everyone to find when pressed for time.

Build an eCommerce Customer Community

What if you could build a community where your customers could talk to each other, help each other problem-solve, and share in their excitement for your product?

eCommerce companies have some of the most enthusiastic, dedicated, and loyal customers surrounding their product or service. One online retailer, Glossier prioritizes its customer relationships. They are often interacting with their customers on social media, pop-up events, and yes, Slack.

Customers who love a product want to engage with it, as well as the community around it. Slack lets teams build that community and create a more personal touchpoint than an occasional email. Teams can leverage this existing customer loyalty and enthusiasm to increase brand awareness and drive sales.

Best of all, updates and interesting content can be quickly shared on Slack to customers. Want to offer shoppers a ‘secret’ discount code or win over potential customers? Invite them to be part of your Slack group. It’s more engaging than a  barrage of impersonal emails, and your loyal customers can help you drum up support and enthusiasm without much effort on your end.

Quick Tip: Slack communities are a great place to get product feedback, without having to rely on customer surveys. Ongoing conversations will give insight into product pain points that can be used to drive improvements.

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Ready to integrate your tools? Check out the Aircall App marketplace, and start connecting today!

Published on September 20, 2019.