Now That You’ve Chosen: Is Your Ecommerce Platform Provider Giving You the Cold Shoulder?

FastSpring
FastSpring
June 2nd, 2017
Estimated read time: 3 minutes, 0 seconds

A digital retailer’s livelihood is dependent upon the technology used to run their business. After spending a lot of time researching an ecommerce platform, the last thing anyone wants is trouble getting support when questions or issues pop up. Reliability and overall quality of the technology is important, but research shows that saas businesses often rate availability and quality of an ecommerce platform’s customer service as most important.

Recent data collected by G2 Crowd found that product reviewers are more likely to recommend products with a quality of support rating of 85 percent satisfaction or higher than products below that mark. Regardless of satisfaction rates in other areas, when the customer support is lacking, the platform isn’t going to get high ratings overall.

SaaS businesses should be diligent in their research before choosing an ecommerce platform provider. It’s crucial to ensure they can back up what they are saying in their sales process so that there is minimal long term damage. In other words, it’s crucial to properly vet providers to avoid missing out on possible sales from subpar customer service.

Retailers looking to be proactive in their search for the best SaaS provider should keep the following factors in mind:

What Are the Support Options and Availability?

Prior to evaluating the quality of the support, consider what’s being offered by the ecommerce provider. Look for ecommerce solutions that offer a variety of customer support options. A combination of phone, email, and live chat support lines with 24/7 availability is most ideal, as it’s impossible to predict when an ecommerce issue will arise.

In addition to support via phone and email, seek a platform that offers a wealth of educational resources online and communication on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. A great platform will offer customized assistance for not only the SaaS business, but the customers and web developers as well. No matter the preferred method of communication, the support team should always be ready to help.

Is Onboarding Provided? What About a Resource Library?

The most confusing time in new platform adoption is the beginning. As the retailer learns the ins and outs of the platform and how it integrates and works with the product, it’s likely there will be many questions. Every ecommerce provider should offer dedicated assistance during this time, as well as a collection of published resources that can accessed when needed.

A platform should assign a dedicated account manager to each client to ensure consistency a personal level of support. For clients seeking a more DIY approach to support, there should be a dedicated place where articles on everything from shopping cart styling to tracking and analytics can be easily accessed.

What Do Current Users of the Software Think of the Support Quality?

Peer reviews are becoming increasingly important in the software and ecommerce world. User reviews typically provide unbiased, jargon-free descriptions of ecommerce platforms, as well as a first-hand account of how the software works in real-life scenarios. Testimonials will often rate and review a provider’s customer service quality as well, documenting real interactions with the support team.

Check the ecommerce platform’s website to see if they post user testimonials. Review sites like G2 Crowd are also popular among digital retailers for qualified, unbiased software reviews.

Don’t let your ecommerce platform provider give you the cold shoulder. Be sure to choose an ecommerce provider who will go the extra mile in client support. FastSpring’s award-winning customer support is dedicated to solving your ecommerce needs. See for yourself our customer approval rating sits at a consistent 98%. Click here to request your free FastSpring demo today.

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