Why does an online hardware store need visual customer service?
Masferreteria is a hardware and DIY store dedicated exclusively to online sales, which is why their company has always adapted to using new technology to offer their clients a quick and simple way to purchase their products from the comfort of their own homes.
Can you imagine buying the screws you need without an expert’s help? Selling hardware online is somewhat challenging. There are a lot of products that fall into the same category and all have very different characteristics; for the average customer, it can be pretty complicated to know exactly what product you need. Actually, it can even be hard to describe the model of the product you’re looking for to the professional.
Felix Hernangomez, the person in charge of e-commerce for Masferreteria, mentions that sometimes it’s even tricky to explain to the customer how a specific tool they’re looking for works. “It’s much easier to show them images and manuals in real time.” Behind each consultation and every sale, we’ve got an expert that can assess the client and guide them as quickly as possible.”
He adds that, “Not all customers know what they’re looking for when they enter the store. They have questions about the name of the item, its features, and overall, if the purchase is what they were looking for.” “Even people specialized in hardware products have questions due to lack of information or being uncertainty when they’re buying a product.
At Masferreteria, they think that giving the customer sound advice is fundamental. Furthermore, you have to give that advice at the time the customer needs it, which is why we’ve asked a couple of questions to find out why they opted for Oct8ne in their business.
1. What are the differences between the customer service someone receives in a physical hardware store and your online store?
The only difference is the type of sale and how you drive it, otherwise the customer service is the same in both cases. When you’re making a face to face sale, just seeing the gestures the customer makes enables you to figure out where to direct the sales conversation.
With online sales, it’s a lot harder to know what the customer is thinking and if the information you’re telling them is actually useful or not.
Traditional sales have always been much more close-knit than online sales, but to us, the secret to success for any business is in good customer service regardless of how the sale takes place: the key is the relationship with the customer.
2. What benefits have you found with Oct8ne and what prospects has it brought you?
We were interested in this tool because we wanted to evolve; a traditional livechat doesn’t allow us to have an interactive conversation with the customer. Oct8ne brings quicker solutions to problems and information queries and lets us interact with the customer easily and quickly in real time. This aspect boosts our sales, gives us better conversion, and fewer cart abandonments.
3. What’s your clients’ experience with the coviewer?
The purchase is more interactive. Sharing a window with the customer where you can show them images and videos in real time allows us to interact with them throughout the entire process and offer them multiple opportunities to make the purchase. Explanations and problem solving are faster and more effective.
Knowing that we’re seeing the same thing assures our customers. Thanks to the coviewer and the triggers, we can anticipate each customer’s needs, know what they want and interact quickly with them before starting the conversation.
4. What feature makes customer service representatives’ jobs easier?
Definitely the coviewer. It helps us show our customers information, images, and videos of the products they’re looking for in real time, thus strengthening their decision to make a purchase.
5. What value does this type of customer service bring to your brand?
Better and faster customer service in real time, without waiting. All sales are completely personalized, conducted, and advised by an expert. Interacting with the customer brings greater value to our brand and our sales as our customers can get immediate answers to simple questions.
