Top Customer Service Abilities That Drive Success in E-commerce

The best skills to have for customer service allow your agents to provide excellent support to customers. These include empathy, problem-solving, active listening, and time management. An agent equipped with these skills improves customer satisfaction and increases loyalty in e-commerce businesses.

Nowadays, good customer service is more than just answering questions politely! To be great at it, your agents must:

• Know the product well
• Be familiar with support tools
• Think critically and be proactive 

In E-commerce, good customer service means gaining 100% understanding of a customer’s issue and quickly resolving it by showing empathy. Studies show that about 73% of people say customer service affects their buying decisions. Also, about 32% of customers will stop shopping with a brand after just one bad experience!

So, have you trained your agents on some of the best skills to have for customer service? In this article, let’s study 10 customer service skills that can shorten response times and offer better solutions. Also, we will understand what E-commerce customer service is and its importance. 

What is E-commerce Customer Service?

E-commerce customer service means helping online shoppers before, during, and after they buy from your website. It ensures that customers have a smooth shopping experience.

Generally, this area covers:

• Handling many customer requests quickly
• Answering common questions (like questions about products, returns, shipping, and deliveries).
• Managing different online channels (customers may contact you through email, chat, social media, or phone).

When your agents possess the necessary skills for customer service, your business can keep shoppers happy and encourage repeat purchases.

How Do Good Customer Care Skills Help in E-commerce?

E-commerce sales are set to surpass $7 trillion by 2025. As online shopping grows, businesses like yours must provide excellent customer service to keep up with customer demands. Please note that if you fail, customers may become frustrated and leave.

Poor service also harms a brand’s reputation. Below are some key reasons why good customer care skills are highly important in e-commerce:

1. Builds Brand Loyalty

Customer service plays a major role in brand loyalty! About 95% of consumers say it influences their decision to stay with a brand. Another study found that around 60% of customers switch to a competitor due to poor service. 

No matter how great your products are, bad customer service can drive people away. On the other hand, good service creates strong relationships and makes customers return.

2. People Prefer Real Human Help

Despite the rise of chatbots and automation, 75% of customers still prefer talking to a real person when they need support. Automated responses can be useful for quick questions. 

However, customers want human interaction for complex issues. Personalized support makes customers feel valued and increases their trust in your business.

3. Fast Solutions Matter

Speed is crucial in customer service. According to Statista, one-third of customers believe the most important part of good service is getting their issue resolved in one sitting. Customers don’t want to be passed around between agents or wait days for a solution.

4. Bad Service Leads to Bad Publicity

A single bad experience can harm your brand’s reputation. Most consumers share negative service experiences with others. Usually, they do so by leaving bad reviews online. 

This discourages potential buyers as social media makes it easy for bad publicity to spread quickly. On the other hand, positive experiences lead to good reviews, which attract more customers.

5. Good Service Increases Sales

Great customer service doesn’t just keep customers happy! It also boosts revenue. A study found that 68% of consumers are willing to pay more for products from companies with excellent service.

Thus, when customers feel valued and supported, they will spend more and return for future purchases. This leads to:

• More sales
• Improved customer retention
• A competitive advantage

By prioritising customer satisfaction and training your agents on the necessary skills to have for customer service, you can achieve long-term success and higher profits in the e-commerce industry.

10 Customer Service Skills Your Agents Can’t Miss

Today’s customers expect fast and helpful responses no matter how your agents reach them. Below are ten customer service skills your agents must possess:

1) Fast and On-the-Spot Support

To provide instant support, most businesses use messaging-based channels like live chat, WhatsApp, and SMS texting. While using these channels, agents need to do multitasking, which is also an important skill to have for customer service.

• Agents need to pull up past conversations
• Find the right answers
• Anticipate customer needs
• Provide solutions proactively

Additionally, they must also handle multiple chats at once while staying professional and friendly. To improve customer experience (CX), you can:

• Let agents use pre-written templates to respond quickly to common questions.
• Automate basic responses to save time and reduce customer effort.
• Train agents to write clearly and professionally with correct spelling and grammar.

2) Engage with Customers Publicly and Privately

59% of the world’s population is on social media! This makes it a great place to connect with customers. Most businesses often use social media as an important customer service tool.

Here, customers may ask questions in:

• Comments
• Private messages
• Public posts. 

Your support team should be ready to respond quickly and professionally. A skill to have for customer service is that if a customer complains publicly, decide whether to address it there or move it to private messaging.

As a tip, you should train your customer support agents to move negative comments to private messages to protect your brand’s reputation.

3) Easily Switch Between Multiple Customer Support Channels

You must be aware that customers reach out through multiple platforms (live chat, email, phone, and social media). A good support agent must be able to switch between these channels seamlessly.

To ease the work of your agents, you can:

• Use a centralised dashboard to manage messages from all platforms in one view.
• Offer mobile-friendly customer support options.
• Create a system to transfer customer cases between channels smoothly.

4) Strong Product Knowledge

Customers expect agents to know the products inside and out. Whether they ask, “Is this compatible with my device?” or “What materials is this made of?”, agents must provide quick and accurate answers.

You can develop this customer service ability by training new employees on:

• Product details
• Shipping
• Delivery information

To expand product knowledge, you can:

• Create a comprehensive knowledge base with product details, FAQs, and policies.
• Have your product team brief agents on new updates or features.
• Prepare pre-written answers for frequently asked product questions.

5) Language and Grammar

Good communication isn’t about using fancy words! Instead, it’s about being clear, polite, and professional. A necessary skill to have for customer service is that your agents should use correct grammar and spelling to avoid misunderstandings.

That’s because poorly written responses can confuse customers and make your business look unprofessional.

6) Show Empathy

Empathy means understanding and acknowledging how a customer feels. When customers face problems like delayed or damaged orders, they want to feel heard and understood. Instead of just offering a solution, your agents should express concern and reassurance.

For example, 

• Say a customer says, “My package arrived late and broken. It was supposed to be a gift!”. Now, an agent should respond with empathy: “I understand how frustrating that must be. I’m really sorry this happened. Let me find a solution for you right away.”

This approach makes customers feel valued and increases their patience level.

7) Active Listening

Active listening is one of the most important skills to have for customer service. This means paying close attention to what a customer is saying instead of just waiting to respond. This skill is important in both chat and email support because customers want agents who truly understand their issues.

For example, say a customer says, “I ordered a product weeks ago but haven’t received a tracking update.” 

The better response confirms understanding and offers a proactive solution.

8) Time Management

Customers expect fast responses when they contact support. If agents take too long, customers get frustrated and may stop buying from the store. Here, some important skills to have for customer service are:

• Prioritising urgent requests
• Responding quickly
• Resolving as many issues as possible within working hours.

For example, say an agent has 50 customer queries in a 4-hour shift. Now, they should prioritise urgent ones first, such as shipping issues or payment problems. Be aware that delaying responses can create a backlog and make their next shift more stressful.

9) Be Patient While Managing Tense Situations

Many customers reach out because they are frustrated or upset. A good customer service agent must stay calm and professional (even in tense situations).

For example, 

• Say a customer is angry about a missing refund. Now, the agent should avoid taking it personally and instead say, “I understand your frustration. Let me check your refund status and get this resolved for you.” 

Keeping a patient and composed attitude a necessary skills to have for customer service as they de-escalate conflicts quickly. 

10) Find The Right Opportunity to Upsell

Upselling is an important customer service ability. It means offering customers additional products or upgrades that improve their shopping experience. Instead of just solving problems, agents should look for chances to suggest relevant products based on the customer’s needs.

For example, 

• If a customer asks about a laptop, the agent could say, “This model works great, and we also have a protective case that keeps it safe. Would you like to add it?”

This approach increases sales and adds value to the customer’s purchase.

Great Customer Service Always Wins. Let Atidiv Help You!

When your agents have the primary customer service abilities, they can offer excellent support, which:

• Builds brand loyalty
• Increases customer satisfaction
• Boosts sales

To achieve these, you must train your agents in key skills, such as empathy, active listening, time management, and upselling. Be aware that customers are willing to pay more for better service, and a single bad experience can make them switch to competitors.

Thus, to stay ahead, e-commerce businesses need scalable and cost-effective customer support solutions. That’s where Atidiv comes in. Our expert team at Atidiv helps e-commerce brands by:

• Providing omnichannel support
• Managing high ticket volumes
• Reducing operational costs by up to 60%

With a 98% QA score and 4.8 CSAT rating, Atidiv ensures high-quality service that keeps customers coming back. Partner with Atidiv today!

FAQs On Skills to Have for Customer Service 

1. How can I reduce customer complaints about slow response times?

You can train agents in time management and guide them to prioritise urgent complaints. Also, start using automation tools like chatbots for common queries.

In case you use omnichannel support, opt for a centralised dashboard that helps agents track and prioritise tickets easily. This ensures faster resolutions and higher customer satisfaction.

2. How can my agents handle rude or angry customers professionally?

Some necessary skills to have for customer service are:

• Staying calm
• Listening actively
• Showing empathy

Your agents must acknowledge the issue without taking it personally. Solution-oriented responses can de-escalate conflicts and improve customer perception.

3. What’s the best way to train my customer service agents?

Some of the best ways are to:

• Create product knowledge guides
• Conduct role-play exercises
• Provide real-world case studies

Also, keep providing regular training on important skills to have for customer service to keep them sharp and adaptable.

4. How can I turn customer service into a revenue-generating department?

You can do so by encouraging your customer support agents to upsell and cross-sell relevant products. Train them to:

• Identify customer needs 

• Suggest additional items that enhance their purchase

Also, try to offer personalised recommendations, loyalty programs, and exclusive discounts to increase sales.